Class 1A third-ranked North Linn knocks off No. 1 Bellevue Marquette, 69-60

BELLEVUE - A loss is but a blip at most schools.

You move on to the next game, maybe learn a thing or two from it, go from there.

But things are a little different at North Linn because the Lynx just don’t lose very often. This is arguably Iowa’s best small-school boys’ basketball program for a reason.

So a seven-point setback at the hands of rival Alburnett two weeks caused a stirring. A culture change was needed, as Coach Mike Hilmer said.

“There was a culture change from the Alburnett game to the very next practice,” Hilmer said, after his Class 1A third-ranked Lynx beat No. 1 Bellevue Marquette, 69-60, Friday night. “That doesn’t always happen. Sometimes it’s ‘Oh, they got lucky to beat us.’ But this was ‘We’re going to practice harder, we’re going to do the little things better, we’re going to listen better.’

“I’m really proud of that.”

He was really proud of this performance. North Linn (17-1) built a 15-point halftime lead, bumped its advantage to as many as 21 in the second half and withstood a significant Marquette rally.

The Defenders (20-1) pulled within 50-46 early in the fourth quarter on a Kannon Still 3-pointer, but NL kept its composure.

“It got a little stressful when they hit some of those 3s, but there was never a time when we were going to lose, I felt,” said North Linn’s Mason Bechen, who had a team-high 20 points. “We kind of came into this game as the underdogs, and I think that kind of helped. I do think we deserve a number one seed (in the postseason). I think we can go down to Des Moines and make a run.”

As they always do.

The Lynx have been in a state championship game six years in a row. They haven’t lost more than one game in a season since 2015-16, have lost just four regular season games total in that span with a combined record of now 225-9.

They haven’t lost multiple regular-season games since the 2014-15 season. North Linn even slipped in the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s 1A rankings this week from second to third despite not losing.

It’ll assuredly move up next week.

“Our offense has gotten better, we don’t have to call as many set plays,” Hilmer said. “Everybody contributes, it’s not a one-man show. I’m really proud of them collectively.”

Ty Pflughaupt and Breckyn Betenbender scored 14 points each to complement Bechen’s offense for North Linn. Drew Ries was humongous in the first half with 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Still’s 17 points led Marquette, with Spencer Roeder adding 13. Caden Kettman had a game-high 13 rebounds.

You very well could see both of these teams at the state tournament next month. This was high-quality basketball.

“Win or lose, this was a good experience for us,” said Marquette Coach Isaac Sturm. “As fun as it is to be undefeated and do all that stuff, you’ve got to test yourself with teams like North Linn. We’re going to hopefully see them in Des Moines if we make a run here.

“That’s why we love this game at the end of the year. It’s a measuring-stick game. We’re right there with the top dogs. Now we’ve got to secure it, get better at some things and make a run.”

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AT BELLEVUE

NORTH LINN (69): Jake Van Etten 1-2 0-1 2, Ty Pflughaupt 5-11 2-2 14, Cole Griffith 1-4 1-2 4, Breckyn Betenbender 5-15 2-2 14, Mason Bechen 7-12 6-8 20, Drew Ries 5-7 1-2 13, Hayden Schmidt 0-0 2-2 2, Cael Benesh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 14-19 69.

BELLEVUE MARQUETTE (60): Spencer Roeder 5-15 3-3 13, Isaac Brinker 2-5 1-1 5, Eli Scott 4-10 0-0 9, Kannon Still 6-13 0-0 17, Caden Kettman 3-8 1-1 8, Jacob Litterer 3-6 0-2 8, Aidan Clausen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 5-7 60.

Halftime - North Linn 33, Bellevue Marquette 18. 3-point goals - North Linn 7-20 (Pflughaupt 2-6, Griffith 1-4, Betenbender 2-6, Bechen 0-2, Ries 2-2), Bellevue Marquette 9-26 (Roeder 0-5, Scott 1-4, Scott 1-4, Still 5-12, Kettman 1-2, Litterer 2-3). Rebounds - North Linn 31 (Ries 7), Bellevue Marquette 33 (Kettman 13). Total fouls - North Linn 13, Bellevue Marquette 20. Fouled out - Roeder. Turnovers - North Linn 7, Bellevue Marquette 12.

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