Grayhounds streak to win over Fort Madison

BURLINGTON – If you’re gonna play a game in streaks, it’s always better to have the last one.
That’s what Fort Madison Head Coach Ryan Wilson said following Friday’s 63-60 loss to Burlington in Carl Johannsen Gym.
The Grayhounds started the game with a 22-4 run capped by CJ Chandler’s free throws, and then outscored the Bloodhounds 22-9 in the final period to come away with the win when Brody Ulik’s 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short for Fort Madison.
Nolan Guzman led the Hounds with 15 points. Ulik had 14 and Jonah Tackett had 13 on the night.
Trailing by 18 with about two minutes left in the first quarter the Bloodhounds got red hot and started to chip away at the Grayhound advantage. Guzman started the run when he hit a long 3-ball from the left wing kicking off a 12-2 run that cut BHS’ lead to just six going into the second period.
Then Fort Madison put up 28 points in the second period with Tackett hitting three 3-pointers all in front of the Hounds’ student section, the second one giving Fort Madison it’s first lead of the game at 27-26.
Fort Madison would then get three straight stops on the defensive side while Ulik and Tackett hit back-to-back buckets with Tackett's being another deep ball. Another defensive stop and a baseline three from Lucas Helmick put Fort Madison up by nine 35-26. They would stretch that lead to 15 holding Burlington scoreless the rest of the half for a 41-26 lead.
Burlington would come out in three-quarter zone pressure to start the second half and after Fort Madison handled the pressure and got into an uptempo game in the first half, this time the ploy seemed to take Fort Madison out of their comfort zone.
“They came out with that early in the game and they built a lead off of it, but we broke the press early and then we struggled with it,” Wilson said. “You gotta learn when to slow down and just understand situations. But ultimately we just got absolutely destroyed on the boards.”
The Bloodhounds are still playing without 6’9” post Darius Foy. Foy should be eligible following the Christmas break and Wilson said you can’t replace someone that size.
“You can’t replace 6’9”,” he said.
“As far as filling that void you have guys out there that haven't played a lot of minutes. This is big boy basketball and our guys are just slowly growing up and going through the motions - and getting better. (Zekiel Groves) did a great job and played stronger than he has all season.”

He said having Foy back will not only help with rebounding, but scoring.
“Getting 6’9” back is going to be a big deal offensively and defensively. They went to like a box-and-one junk defense on (Nolan) to try to make somebody else beat ‘em. When they were in that defense it's a big deal to have some size back,” Wilson said.
Out of the break, the pressure held Fort Madison to just one field goal attempt, a 3-ball that Reece Huey converted for a 44-26 lead, but then Burlington went on a 6-0 run. Aurelio Jaciunde hit a three from the key to make it  47-32 with 3:10 left in the third period.
Burlington would work to cut the lead to 10 at the end of the 3rd when Michael Kantzavelos’s half-court shot at the horn found the bottom of the net.
The shot seemed to give the Grayhounds the energy they needed heading into the final period.
Burlington would convert seven of their next 10 shots from the field, while holding Fort Madison to six points over the next six minutes. Burlington would take the lead at 56-55 when Edmonds buried a three from the right wing of the offense. A Bloodhound turnover turned into a Zech Hart bucket in the lane for a 58-55 lead.
Jaciunde would score again on a one-handed floater in the lane with BHS defending the perimeter. But Hart would go to work again in the lane and get fouled on a bucket. He converted the freebie for a 61-57 lead with :29 left on the clock. On the next possession Hart would foul out bumping into Ulik on a drive. Ulik made the first and missed the second for a 58-61 deficit. But he would score again on the next possession after Burlington’s Keyshawn Wyldon missed on Burlington’s end.
With Fort Madison down 61-60, Guzman appeared to tie up BHS’s Jeff Morris in front of the scorer’s table. An official blew play stopped and made no call and went to consult with other officials before calling a foul on Guzman, his fifth, and giving Morris two free throws, which he converted for the 63-60 final score.
Burlington’s Caleb Akey also tried to call back-to-back time outs after the official had put the ball in play on Fort Madison's final possession. Officials stopped play both times but didn’t award the timeouts.
Wilson declined to comment on the final officiating except to say he didn’t know if the calls would have changed the outcome.
The Grayhounds (3-4, 2-1 SEC) had four players in double figures led by Kantzavelos with 16. Edmonds had 12, Morris had 14 and Hart had 13.
Fort Madison (0-5, 0-3 SEC) wraps up the 2025 part of the season today with boys/girls doubleheader at Burlington Notre Dame.