Swan, Wyrick lead Hawks to district win

DONNELLSON – Central Lee’s Owen Swan was almost perfect in the third quarter.
The Hawks were almost perfect in the third quarter.
And that was enough to get past the 38 points from Louisa-Muscatine senior Finnegan Cline and give Central Lee a Class 2A, Substate 5, District 9 first round win 82-70 Monday night at Central Lee.
The win sets up a district semifinal game Thursday at 7 p.m. against West Burlington (19-2). The Falcons own two wins over the Hawks – a 79-39 pasting on Dec. 20 and a more respectable 78-65 win on Jan. 24 in Donnellson.
Head Coach Jonny Swanson’s squad did just about everything right in the third period after coming out of the halftime break with a 38-28 lead. Brayden Wyrick had 16 in the first half. He would finish with 28 to lead the Hawks.
It was just the second time all season Swanson’s team had two players with 20 or more points in a single outing.
Swan came out on a full-throttle tear after the break, matching up 3-balls with Cline on both team’s first possessions. The Falcons would come out with the same pace with Cline and Xavier Wheeler hitting four straight three-pointers to cut the lead to five at 45-40.
Swan would then take things over, hitting two threes and converting one of two freethrows for seven straight points to push the lead back to 52-40 while the Hawks' defense held.
Central Lee would push the run to 9-0 with a bucket inside by Will Hayes and then another three from Swan for a 57-42 advantage.
Cline would break the 0-4 shooting from the field by L-M following the hot start with a bucket at 2:11. Brett Cook would score off the baseline from the left side and then Swan would add another 3-ball in front of the Hawk student section with 1:05 left to make it a 62-46 affair.
Both teams cooled off considerably in the fourth quarter and the Falcons couldn’t get any closer than nine points at 70-61. The Hawks opened the period 0-7 and got just two points on some Wyrick freethrows. Hayes would break the slump with a baseline drive and score at 68-56. Cline would rip off nine straight for the Falcons, but Wyrick would take over in the final four minutes with six points down the stretch, all off rebounds, to take the wind out of L-M’s sails. Hayes and Wyrick both scored eight down the stretch for Central Lee to put the game away.
Swanson said he had a feeling L-M would be more prepared this time around. The Hawks handled them fairly easy in the SEI Super Conference Shoot-Out 75-39 a little more than a week ago.

“We played them the first time and we ran away with it. I knew that wasn’t going to be the case this time. They’ve got plenty of good players that can shoot the ball. They’re a well-coached team and I figured they’d have something up their sleeve,” he said.
“But it’s good we played as well as we did offensively because they really shot the ball well.”
Central Lee has won eight of its last 10, a stat that won’t be lost on West Burlington Head Coach Cody Van Fleet, who was in attendance.
Swan  said the Hawks will just go out and give the Falcons the best game they can.
“We’re going to give West Burlington our best shot. We’re peaking at the right time, but they are a tough team to beat,” Swan said.
“We come to practice with energy every day, and intensity. Getting that mental focus, knowing that the second half of the season is tough. We trust our guys and coach and his game plan. I just have to trust my teammates and help facilitate other scoring.”
Swanson said it took some time for Central Lee to meld together and that meant some growing pains.
“At the beginning of the year, we let some (games) go that we could’ve had. We’re slowly progressing and trending in the right direction, both offensively and defensively, and we’ve been playing well for the most part,” he said.
“This is when you want to play your best basketball.”
West Burlington will bring in McDonald’s All-American candidate Mason Watkins, who put up 41 on the Hawks last time at Central Lee.
“The last time we had Mason here he had 41, so hopefully we can figure out a way to slow him down and slow down those supporting roles. West Burlington is a really good team and everybody knows that. That’s kind of everyone’s goal to beat those guys.”
Swan finished with 24 in the win Monday. Wyrick had 28 and Hayes finished with 25. Wyrick had 13 rebounds on the night, nine were on the offensive side and regularly resulted in points. Kaden Swan and Owen Swan each had four assists.