Alburnett hopes to continue magical season

ALBURNETT - The goal was modest. Being competitive has to come before anything else."Basically, when we started the season, we said we were just trying to get to double figures in wins, and that was it," said Jeff Christopherson.The Alburnett Pirates got the bonus plan instead. An 18-3 record is a remarkable turnaround after going 7-16 the previous two seasons.Head coach Christopherson thinks the 18 regular-season victories might be a school record."Honestly, we didn't expect to win as many games as we did," said leading scorer Alec Philipp. "It feels good. I think we did it by not being selfish with the ball."Strong offseason work and success at a team camp over the summer at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City also were factors, they say. And the play of Philipp, a four-year varsity player and 1,000-point career scorer.The 6-foot-1 guard averaged a shade under 21 points and 10 rebounds per game."You look at it, and everything starts with him," Christopherson said. "If we get a rebound, we get it to him and tell him to go as far as he can. Hopefully he gets to the rim."Sophomore Joey Philipp (Alec's brother) and Ryan Moyle are the team's next leading scorers. The three losses have come to Tri-Rivers Conference foes Springville (twice) and Easton Valley.Those two clubs have a combined record of 37-3.Despite its success, Alburnett is a No. 3 seed in its Class 2A district and is forced to play an opening-round game Monday at Dyersville against Monticello (12-8). If the Pirates win, they'd draw Clayton Ridge, which they just beat last week, 61-46.Cascade and Beckman are on the other side of the district bracket, so this is not an easy draw. District-opening double-headers in Class 1A and 2A around the state are scheduled for Monday night."No matter what happens Monday night, I'm as proud as I can be with these boys," Christopherson said.