Dubuque Hempstead rides big second half to victory at Cedar Rapids Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Dubuque Hempstead boys' basketball team needed a bucket.

After going up by 10 points late on Cedar Rapids Prairie in the third quarter, the Hawks had fought their way back within three points.

Then, the Mustangs' Lucas Duax got his hands on the ball a few inches beyond the 3-point line. Without hesitation, the 6-2 junior guard rose up and nailed a 3, quieting the home Prairie crowd.

The Hawks couldn't get any closer, falling 74-68 Tuesday night at Prairie High School. Hempstead improved to 10-3 as its win streak stretched to six. Prairie fell to 9-5.

'We knew our offense could score points and we knew it was going to be a lot about how our defense played against them.' Duax said. 'We knew if we got a hand in the shooting pocket, we could keep them in front of us and get some runs.'

Hempstead trailed 42-36 at the half, thanks in part to some hot shooting from Prairie. The Hawks hit six 3-pointers in the first half and were also able to get into the paint with relative ease.

They, however, cooled off in the third quarter, as Hempstead scored 20 points in the quarter. The Hawks managed just 10 and weren't able to rediscover their shooting stroke.

Free throw shooting certainly helped the Mustangs' cause as they hit 11 of 12 second-half freebies. Hempstead's dribble penetration started working better as the game went on, which opened things up on the outside. Of Duax's game-high 23 points, 19 came in the second half on 4-for-7 3-point shooting.

Prairie's Max Smith Drahos and Griff Clark led the Hawks in scoring with 22 and 19 points, respectively.

Duax's brother, Connor, also had an impressive game for Hempstead, scoring 18 points and was an integral part of keeping the Mustangs in the game during the first half.

'We're a very senior, experienced team,' Hempstead Coach Curt Deutsch said. 'Experience was definitely on our side. We've been in games like this before and we were able to execute.'

l Comments: jordan.hansen@thegazette.com