A laugher, a relief for Linn-Mar

MARION – This was not a close game, and that was OK with them. More than OK.

The Linn-Mar Lions had a case of hearbreaker-itis last weekend, which made Tuesday night's 68-52 relative laugher of a win over Ankeny a gigantic relief.

When you play Iowa City West, everyone's number one, straight up but lose, that's tough. When you have seventh-rated Ankeny Centennial on the ropes the following night but lose by a point, that's even worse.

'We didn't play our best tonight, that was obvious,” said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. 'But we were probably due for a little letdown after what we went through last weekend. To have a letdown and still win, I guess, is a good thing.”

It's also a good thing when you win comfortably despite off nights offensively from your big two. Guards Jordan Bohannon and Nic Uhlir average 16 points apiece but finished under that average combined (Bohannon had eight points and Uhlir six).

This was a game where the other guys stepped up, no one more than Trevor Noble. The senior forward had a career-high 17 points, making all eight of his field-goal attempts.

Granted, they were virtually exclusively layups. Time and again, he'd find himself wide open underneath the basket, with Bohannon and Uhlir throwing him passes for a plethora of ‘gimmes.'

'They had a lot of pressure on our guards, and we were trying to get some open lanes there underneath the basket,” Noble said. 'My teammates found me.”

After Noble, the scoring was very spread out for Linn-Mar (9-3). No one else had double figures, but everyone contributed.

Moving forward, that'll be important for the Lions. A date with defending Class 3A state champ Dubuque Wahlert comes Friday, and the postseason is right around the corner.

'The one nice thing is we've got several guys (other than Bohannon and Uhlir) who have shown they can do it,” Robertson said. 'Different guys have stepped up. It hasn't always been the same guy, which is kind of nice.”

'It was kind of nice tonight,” said Linn-Mar's Ryan Schmidt, who had six points and eight rebounds. 'But I think last weekend really helped us gain some confidence, knowing we can play with the best teams in the state. That proves we are right there with them. Tonight was a good night to just come back and get another good win.”

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AT LINN-MAR

ANKENY (52): Riley McCoy 0-4 0-0 0, Carson Walljasper 2-3 1-1 6, Conor Riordan 5-10 0-0 11, Trystan Cummins 1-2 2-2 4, Cole Whitaker 2-4 1-2 6, Chris McCleod 1-4 0-0 2, Jonah Plummer 2-5 0-0 5, Skylar Scott 1-1 1-2 3, Collin Shannon 0-4 0-0 0, Drew Maschoff 2-6 0-0 5, Tanner Rinker 3-5 0-0 8, Ethan Hanna 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Maschoff 1-3 0-0 2, Joel Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Inthalangsy 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Neal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 5-7 52.

LINN-MAR (68): Lane Halupnik 2-8 0-0 5, Ryan Schmidt 2-4 2-3 6, Trevor Noble 8-8 1-3 17, Jordan Bohannon 3-11 0-0 8, Nic Uhlir 2-8 2-2 6, Jordan Brandt 3-5 0-0 7, Beau Klostermann 4-6 0-0 8, Jason Tichy 2-7 2-2 7, Riley Murphy 2-2 0-0 4, Rashad Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Willenborg 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Sylvester 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Bundy 0-0 0-0 0, Garett Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 7-11 68.

Halftime – Linn-Mar 37, Ankeny 22. 3-point goals – Ankeny 7-21 (McCoy 0-1, Walljasper 1-1, Riordan 1-4, Cummins 0-1, Whitaker 1-1, McCleod 0-1, Plummer 1-3, Shannon 0-1, D. Maschoff 1-3, Rinker 2-4, T. Maschoff 0-1), Linn-Mar 5-18 (Halupnik 1-3, Bohannon 2-6, Uhlir 0-3, Brandt 1-3, Klostermann 0-1, Tichy 1-2). Rebounds – Ankeny 31 (Riordan, D. Maschoff 5), Linn-Mar 33 (Schmidt 8). Total fouls – Ankeny 12, Linn-Mar 11. Fouled out – None. Turnovers – Ankeny 15, Linn-Mar 8.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com