Tenacious defense by Ankeny shuts down Prairie at Crossover Challenge

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Prairie arrived with a full complement of momentum.

Winners of three games in a row, the Hawks were eager to see how they would fare against a team from the vaunted Central Iowa Metropolitan League. The third installment of the Crossover Challenge gave them that chance against a battle-tested Ankeny bunch.

After a back-and-forth first three quarters, the fourth frame was one Prairie would like to have back.

“They are so aggressive defensively,” Prairie Coach Todd Kuntz said after the Hawks were upended by Ankeny, 67-50, Saturday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse. “I think that is just the way a lot of those CIML teams play that we as a conference can adjust to a little bit. They took us out of a lot of things we did.”

Prairie (3-3) led by as many as six points in the first half at 23-17, but Ankeny closed strong with a 13-6 surge and claimed the advantage at the break, 30-29. The margin was narrow throughout most of the third frame until Ankeny exploded with 17 of 21 points and a 62-46 lead with 1:58 to go.

“They are tough to cover defensively,” Kuntz said. “And I think once we started missing open shots, which we got quite a few open threes today which we characteristically make, I think it somewhat had an effect on our defense. And once they got their momentum going, basketball like any sport is a game of runs and the run just wasn’t in our favor in the second half.”

Ankeny (4-3) had four players score in double figures, led by senior Amario Aguirre with 23 points. Drew Sorenson and Jasani Campbell both added 16, while Kael Roush had 10.

David Fason paced Prairie with 16 points, while fellow senior guard Will Wehr registered 10. Prairie returns to conference play Tuesday at Iowa City High.

"We can't pout," Kuntz said. "We know if we don't go down there and play well, teams are too good anymore to sleepwalk through anything, We'll practice Monday. We've got a great group of kids."

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