Cedar Rapids Prairie relishes 2nd chance, sweeps past Ottumwa in 4A substate

CEDAR RAPIDS - The postseason is a second chance for teams, and Cedar Rapids Prairie was in need of one.

The Hawks concluded the regular season on a three-game losing streak and with losses in eight of their final nine games. That's not too good.

But hitting the reset button worked out just fine for Prairie, which won its Class 4A substate quarterfinal handily over Ottumwa, 62-46, Monday night at Prairie. Forget about the past and focus on the present.

'This is a new beginning,” said Prairie's Jalen Rima. 'We're coming out ready, for sure.”

'Even though we haven't been winning, the coaches have liked our effort. How hard we've been playing,” added Prairie's Max Smith-Drahos. 'They've been telling us that even though we haven't been getting wins, don't let that change your effort. Keep working hard, doing your stuff, and good things will come.”

Good things came here, especially in the second half. Prairie (8-14) ratcheted up the pressure defensively and went on a 14-0 run to begin the third quarter and put this one officially away.

The Hawks never trailed but never really had an overly comfortable lead, either. They were up nine after a quarter and 29-21 at the break.

'We started out slow, but we turned it on in the second half,” said Rima, who had a game-high 16 points. 'The coaches were pretty upset at halftime, even though we were still winning. They wanted us to be up more. Not trying to trash Ottumwa or anything, but we know we are the better team.”

'We came out kind of slow, didn't come out with the energy we needed,” said Smith-Drahos, who added 14 points. 'The third quarter, we played good defense, turned them over and got the job done.”

Prairie now gets a rematch with Iowa City High (12-9), with the hopes being it'll be as a good a game as the one the teams played in late January. City High won that one, 66-65.

'Our guys know we can play with them,” said Prairie Coach Jeremy Rickertsen. 'They're motivated. I don't think they are ready to be done, yet.”

Gage Ryder had 14 points to lead Ottumwa, which finished with a 4-18 record.

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AT C.R. PRAIRIE

OTTUMWA (46): Gage Ryder 6-10 0-0 14, Jalen Strunk 0-2 0-0 0, Matthew Moreland 3-6 0-0 6, Sam Moreland 0-3 0-0 0, Trey Thomas 2-3 0-0 6, Sam Yeaway 2-7 0-0 4, Noah Boyer 1-1 2-2 4, Dalton Bowers 0-1 2-2 2, Wyatt Crosby 0-2 0-0 0, Henry Altfillisch 1-1 4-4 6, Kane Brunbaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Jorge Rodriguez 1-1 0-0 2, Hunter McCoy 0-0 0-0 0, Jovonta Bays 1-2 0-0 2, Trent Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-39 8-8 46.

C.R. PRAIRIE (62): Logan Serbousek 1-2 0-1 2, Jalen Rima 4-9 8-9 16, Jake Eilers 1-3 0-0 2, Cal Clark 3-7 1-2 9, Max Smith-Drahos 5-8 3-3 14, Ryan Oxley 4-6 0-0 8, Darren Kilpatrick 1-4 1-2 8, Griff Clark 1-2 0-0 3, Mason Hook 0-3 0-0 0, Matt Lorenz 0-0 2-2 2, Cooper Reittinger 0-2 0-0 0, Cade Chadima 1-1 0-0 2, Mac Nierling 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Levi Usher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 15-19 62.

Halftime - Prairie 29, Ottumwa 21. 3-point goals - Ottumwa 5-16 (Ryder 2-5, Strunk 0-2, S. Moreland 0-2, Thomas 2-3, Yeaway 0-1, Bowers 0-1, Crosby 0-2, Bays 0-1), Prairie 5-13 (Eilers 0-1, C. Clark 2-4, Smith-Drahos 1-2, Kilpatrick 1-2, G. Clark 1-1, Hook 0-1, Reittinger 0-2). Rebounds - Ottumwa 28 (Boyer 5), Prairie 23 (C. Clark 6). Total fouls - Ottumwa 18, Prairie 10. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Ottumwa 16, Prairie 6.

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