For North Linn, home is where the heart is ... and a bunch of wins

TROY MILLS — You ask these guys on the North Linn boys’ basketball team about the long home winning streak that’s intact at the school, and you get answers you’d expect.

It’s impressive. It’s special. But it’s something we don’t really think about too often.

Then there was senior guard Ben Wheatley.

“In the back of my head before the game tonight was ‘I don’t want to be on the team that gives that up,’” Wheatley said, with a mustachioed grin, after his Class 1A second-ranked team beat 2A No. 6 Alburnett, 64-47. “I don’t want to be on a team that loses a game to end that streak.”

There’s a little uncertainty about the specifics of this North Linn home win streak. Coach Mike Hilmer isn’t 100-percent certain, but believes his Lynx haven’t lost on their home floor since 2015 to Easton Valley.

He and North Linn girls’ basketball coach Brian Wheatley were talking the other day about when the last time was the Lynx girls and boys both loss on the same night?

“We couldn’t remember,” Hilmer said. “But we think it’s got to be at least 10 years.”

Those are some great programs Hilmer and Wheatley have put together with small-town kids from Troy Mills, Coggon and Walker. Hilmer’s team played a down-to-the-wire two-point game it escaped earlier this season at Alburnett, but a 13-0 run late in the second quarter broke a 22-all tie and gave North Linn a large enough spread to win.

The Lynx (14-0) led by as many as 20 points late. They got a lot of production from their starting five: 21 points from all-state forward Haughenbury, 12 points from sophomore point guard Mason Bechen, 11 points from senior guard Wheatley and 10 from forward Ty Pflughaupt.

Junior guard Breckyn Betender contributed three 3-pointers and nine points.

“It was a huge step up for us,” Haughenbury said. “Coming off that last win last time, we watched film and saw there was a lot of stuff we could do better. Take those steps, make huge steps here at the end of the year. I think we made a huge step tonight.”

“I thought we were where we were supposed to be most of the time tonight,” Hilmer said. “After we beat them by two, there’s a couple times of year you look at film as a coach, and if I was watching and not coaching think ‘Man, what are they doing in practice?’ They’re not blocking out and stuff. We’re starting to do the little things better. Really proud of our kids, because sometimes that doesn’t happen.”

Braydon Osborn did the best he could to keep Alburnett (13-2) in it, splashing four treys and scoring 16 points. Payton Baker came off the bench for three 3s and 11 points.

“I think they just put a lot of defensive pressure on us for one thing,” said Alburnett Coach Jeff Christopherson. “And we didn’t execute offensively in that little stretch there. You can’t give them baskets and then not execute at the other end. When you’re playing good teams like that, a possession here or a possession there means the difference between a three-point game and a 10-point game.

“But we’ll be fine. I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the ballgame, but there’s a bigger picture out there. There’s another prize out there for us. We’re 13-2, and if you look at our calendar, we’ve got some big ballgames coming up, one against Central City and one with Wilton. We’ll fight for every game we have left right now. I don’t want them to define themselves by just this one game.”

AT NORTH LINN

ALBURNETT (47): Braydon Osborn 5=14 2-4 16, Tytan Bowers 1-1 3-4 5, Mason Neighbor 2-6 0-0 4, Adam Neighbor 0-3 0-0 0, Jordan Caton 2-8 0-0 6, Payton Baker 4-7 0-0 11, Grayson Carolan 2-2 0-0 5, Mathew Neighbor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-41 5-8 47.

NORTH LINN (64): Ty Pflughaupt 5-7 0-0 10, Tate Haughenbury 7-15 7-10 21, Mason Bechen 6-13 0-1 12, Breckyn Betenbender 3-3 0-0 9, Ben Wheatley 3-6 5-6 11, Jake Van Etten 0-1 1-2 1, Drew Ries 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 13-19 64.

Halftime - North Linn 35, Alburnett 25. 3-point goals - Alburnett 10-26 (Osborn 4-8, Mas. Neighbor 0-3, A. Neighbor 0-1, Caton 2-8, Baker 3-5, Carolan 1-1), North Linn 3-10 (Pflughaupt 0-1, Haughenbury 0-2, Bechen 0-3, Betenbender 3-3, Wheatley 0-1). Rebounds - Alburnett 16 (Osborn 7), North Linn 30 (Bechen 8). Total fouls - Alburnett 15, North Linn 7. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Alburnett 13, North Linn 8.

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