Cedar Rapids Prairie heads to break on a winning streak

CEDAR RAPIDS - It’d been awhile. Reid Burkle had the specifics doped out.

“I think it’s been, what, 350 days,” the Cedar Rapids Prairie senior forward said. “So this was a big win.”

A big second win for his basketball team. In a row.

Knocking off Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 81-58, Friday night on the far southwest side made it a bonafide win streak for the Hawks. The first time in almost a year they’ve taken back-to-back games.

The last time was in early January 2023. This couldn’t have come at a better time, considering everyone takes a holiday break now for not quite two weeks.

“We’re growing every day,” said first-year head coach Todd Kuntz. “We’ve got so much to work on, so many ways to get better, especially defensively. But our kids’ attitudes are unbelievable. They show up to work every single day, and they care about each other. For year one for me, no matter what the rest of the season brings, that’s a success for us. Just to have a team that wants to be there and is genuinely happy for each other is rare these days.”

Kuntz came from Dunkerton, where he built a successful small-school program, leading it to last season’s Class 1A state tournament. It appears he’s on his way to doing some good things here, too.

Prairie (3-4) lost its first two games, crushed Burlington, played Class 4A fourth-ranked Linn-Mar to the wire, then was beaten soundly by No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy. This week brought a win Tuesday over Iowa City High and now this one.

“It’s a transition,” said Burkle, who led the Hawks with 19 points. “We’re switching every screen this year, and we’ve never done that before. We want to go up and down the court more. Since my sophomore year, we’ve been breaking people down in sets in the half court, haven’t gotten up and down the court as much. It’s been different, but it’s been good. I like it.”

Apollo Payne added 18 points, Logan Wagemester 11 and Jace McDermott 10 for Prairie, which racked up 27 points in the first quarter, led by 14 at halftime and 17 after three quarters. The Hawks pretty much did as they wished offensively, moving the basketball well, scoring from the inside (see Burkle and Payne) and the outside (see Wagemester and McDermott, who combined for five 3-pointers).

Prairie shot 56 percent from the field.

“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people after Christmas. I really do,” said Kuntz, adding the emphasis for his team over break would be defense. “I feel great about this team.”

Preston Blanchett Jr. had 15 points to lead Jefferson (2-6). Sophomore point guard Eric Smith added 12.

The J-Hawks are a very inexperienced team but have some nice pieces.

“The MVC is a loaded league, and Jefferson is not an easy matchup,” Kuntz said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons, so we knew tonight would be a high-scoring game. But our kids are learning to play with freedom, they are learning to play with confidence. That’s all I can ask from them.”

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AT CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON (58): Jamie Kaiser 3-12 0-0 9, Austin Wilcox 0-1 0-0 0, Preston Blanchett Jr. 6-19 3-4 15, Eric Smith 5-10 2-2 12, Khai Gatewood 2-7 0-0 4, L.J. Nyenow Jr. 2-3 1-2 5, Dayten Guy 2-4 0-0 4, Tyler Huston 1-1 0-0 2, Antonis Christodoulou 1-2 0-0 3, Andrew Wulff 1-1 0-0 3, Colin Cano 1-1 1-2 3, Jeremiah Peiffer 0-0 0-0 0, Caden Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 7-10 58.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (81): Reid Burkle 9-12 1-4 19, Apollo Payne 9-12 0-2 18, Jace McDermott 4-7 0-2 10, Austin Joens 3-9 0-0 7, Logan Wagemester 3-8 2-2 11, LaMarious Clark 3-6 0-0 6, Shraden Lechtenberg 2-2 0-0 4, Carson Nove 0-0 0-0 0, T.Y. Pour 1-3 0-0 3, Kamal Ajram 0-1 0-0 0, Wyatt Eash 0-2 0-0 0, Reid Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Wachtl 1-1 0-0 3, Hudson Kimm 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-63 3-8 81.

Halftime - Prairie 41, Jefferson 27. 3-point goals - Jefferson 5-16 (Kaiser 3-8, Blanchett 0-1, Smith 0-1, Gatewood 0-1, Guy 0-2, Christodoulou 1-2, Wulff 1-1), Prairie 8-26 (Payne 0-1, McDermott 2-5, Joens 1-7, Wagemester 3-6, Clark 0-1, Pour 1-3, Ajram 0-1, Eash 0-1, Wachtl 1-1). Rebounds - Prairie 37 (Blanchett Jr. 8), Prairie 36 (Payne 8). Total fouls - Jefferson 10, Prairie 9. Fouled out - Nyenow Jr. Turnovers - Jefferson 15, Prairie 9.

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