Central Lee boys hot at right time

NEW LONDON – The Central Lee Hawks boys' basketball team has won 9 of their last 11 games, including a 61-32 win over New London on the road Tuesday night.
The Hawks (10-3, 8-3 SEISC) only losses in the stretch were a 48-64 loss to No. 3 Burlington Notre Dame last week and a close 59-54 loss to Mediapolis at home on Jan. 2.
Will Hayes led the Hawks with 15 points and Carson Morrison had 13 in the win. Ward Fraise had six boards in the win and Kaden Swan had nine assists.
Central Lee opened up a 32-21 lead in the first half on the strong shooting of Morrison who had three first quarter 3-balls and a total of 11 points. The Hawks led 7-4 after three minutes of the first quarter and then took off for a 20-8 lead at the end of one. New London would rally a bit to cut the lead to 10 at the half, but Central Lee would hold the Tigers to just 11 second half points, just three in the final period for the win.
The Hawks play at Winfield-Mt. Union Thursday in a boys'/girls' doubleheader.

Lady Hawks win at New London
NEW LONDON – Taylor Jones continued her strong play after the holidays with 18 points Tuesday night as the Central Lee girls held the Tigers to just 12 points on the night in a 55-12 win in SEI Super Conference girls' basketball.
Kenna Sandoval had 17 in the win as Central Lee rolled out to a 17-1 first quarter lead and then put up 21 in the second period to lead 41-7 at the half. Head Coach Taylor Hickey was able to get her bench plenty of action in the second half with all 10 players seeing the floor in the final two periods.
The Hawks improve to 7-7 overall, but have a solid 7-4 record in the SEISC. They travel to W-MU on Thursday for a boys'/girls' doubleheader.

Crusaders win 5th straight
FORT MADISON – The HTC boys got one of their most balanced games of the year in a 72-43 win over Van Buren Tuesday night at home.
The Crusaders had four players in double figures led by freshman Jack Ragar’s 19. Corbin Van Niewaal had 16, Layne Rung had 15, and Jay Ellison added 11 in the win.
After going 4-5 in the first half of the season, HTC has reeled off five straight and is averaging 63 points per contest.

Holy Trinity opened a quick 7-0 lead and stretched that to an 18-7 first quarter lead. They held a 23-point advantage at the half at 36-13 and never looked back. Ragar, Rung, and Niewaal all had eight points in the second half.
The win sets the stage for Friday’s clash with Class 1A No. 3 Burlington Notre Dame at Holy Trinity High School in Fort Madison. The girls will open the night with the boys to follow.

Hawk keglers split with West Burlington
BURLINGTON – The Central Lee boy' bowling team rallied in the baker rounds Tuesday night to down West Burlington 2,604 to 2,561.
West Burlington led after rallying in games two and three to lead by 56 pins, but the Hawks rebounded taking the final two baker games for the win.
Chad Barnhart had the individual high for Central Lee with a 224 and finished with a 395 to lead the Hawks. Luke Kruse had a 212 and Johnathan Seyb rolled a 208. Tate Gallerick had a 203.
“I told the boys after the meet that I was proud of them for not giving up and fighting back til the end. It was a great win tonight and it feels great,” said Head Coach Antonio Estrada.
The Falcons won the girls meet 2,175 to 1,526. Krystal DeBrackeleire had the high game for Central Lee with a 146. Serene Liebelt rolled a 134.
“The girls struggled a bit tonight. Things we need to do better is hitting our marks on the lane and following through on our release.  But I see improvement every week and that's all I ask for,” said Estrada.
Last Tuesday, Barnhardt rolled a 489 in individual games for a strong 489. Kruse rolled a 213 on the way to a 368 to lead the Hawks who finished third with 2,224 behind Washington’s 2,732 and Keokuk’s 2,931. The girls fell to Keokuk 2,654 to 1,743 led by Liebelt’s 345. DeBrackeleire had a 321 for the Lady Hawks.

Lady Crusaders fall to Van Buren
FORT MADISON – Adalyn Kruse scored 17, Elizabeth Griffin had 11, and Isabella Behne had five as the only scorers for HTC in their 45-33 loss to Van Buren Tuesday night in Fort Madison.
The Crusaders trailed by just four points going into the final period, but Van Buren’s Sophie Jirak got hot from deep, converting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Warriors pull away for the win.
HTC falls to 3-12 overall and 2-9 in the SEI Super Conference. Van Buren improves to 11-6, 8-4 with the win. Holy Trinity hosts Burlington Notre Dame on Friday night in girls'/boys' doubleheader.