Big 2nd half gives Cedar Valley Christian a win in 1st-ever postseason game

MARION - Keep on playing, boys.

The Cedar Valley Christian Huskies overcame an obvious case of rookie jitters and an opponent playing significantly better than its record to win their first Iowa High School Athletic Association playoff game, 72-60, over Alburnett Thursday night at Marion High School. No matter how this all turns out the rest of the way, no doubt this has been a terrific inaugural season.

“We've never done this before,” said CVC forward Jon Landis. “This kind of league, it's tougher, but it's a lot of fun. We just kept working hard tonight and got it done.”

“We've worked really hard in practice, the coaches have pushed us really hard,” said CVC point guard Jeremy Strutz, who could play for any team in the Metro. “It's been an up-and-down season, but I think we've done really well.”

Good enough to win 13 ballgames and advance to a Class 1A district semifinal Tuesday night against 10th-ranked Lone Tree. These clubs met to open the regular season, with Lone Tree winning, 82-61.

“We know they're a good team. really fast,” Strutz said. “We're just going to need to slow the game down.”

Strutz had a game-high 22 points, 15 in the second half, as Cedar Valley Christian (13-9) overcame a seven-point third-quarter deficit. Alburnett (7-16) rode the hot shooting of Alec Philipp and Karsten Wright to a 36-33 halftime edge, each player scoring 13 points.

But CVC switched defenders on sophomore Philipp, with Will Muhlbach holding him to four second-half points. Wright finished with a team-high 21.

“I've got to hand it to Alburnett. They're way better than their record,” CVC Coach Jeff Pospisil said. “I thought the key was we put a guy with longer arms on Philipp ... Then I think we stepped it up on offense.”

Muhlbach added 17 points for a team that has only seven guys in its playing rotation. Nick Henderson came off the bench for 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“We had a few nerves we had to get out that first quarter,” Strutz said. “We haven't been here before, so it takes a little bit getting used to.”

Here is the game boxscore:

AT MARION

ALBURNETT (60): Joey Freeland 2-8 0-0 5, Connor Frederick 1-3 0-0 3, Karsten Wright 8-15 1-2 17, Garret Runninghawk 2-10 3-5 7, Alec Philipp 8-13 2-4 21, Ian Long 1-2 2-2 5, Ky Dierks 1-1 0-0 2, Kolton Rose 0-0 0-0 0, Chaz Sorensen 0-0 0-0 0, Ross Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Sebastian Struchen 0-0 0-0 0, Colton Shadden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 8-13 60.

CEDAR VALLEY CHRSITIAN (72): Luke Long 1-1 0-0 2, Jon Landis 4-8 1-2 11, Will Muhlbach 8-10 1-4 17, Jeremy Strutz 7-11 6-8 22, David Sperling 3-6 2-4 8, Nick Henderson 6-9 0-1 12, Spencer Zielke 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Koch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-45 10-21 72.

Halftime - Alburnett 36, Cedar Valley Christian 33. 3-point goals - Alburnett 6-13 (Freeland 1-2, Frederick 1-1, Wright 0-1, Runninghawk 0-1, Philipp 3-6, Long 1-2), Cedar Valley Christian 4-9 (Landis 2-4, Strutz 2-4). Rebounds - Cedar Valley Christian 33 (Henderson 10), Alburnett 2 (Wright 6). Total fouls - Alburnett 17, Cedar Valley Christian 11. Fouled out - Frederick. Turnovers - Alburnett 13, Cedar Valley Christian 17.

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