UIC wins continue to evade Kee boys basketball team

by Emily Scholtes

The Kee High boys basketball team came up just short in a pair of Upper Iowa Conference home contests this past week, dropping two of its last three games. The Hawks fell just a point short against Postville Monday, January 26, 40-39, and allowed Central Elkader a 42-36 victory Friday, January 30, but sandwiched a 58-48 non-conference win at DeSoto, WI Tuesday, January 27.

vs. Postville ...

Monday, January 26 the Kee Hawks welcomed fellow Upper Iowa Conference competitors, the Pirates of Postville. The Hawk offense came out sputtering and was unable to score for most of the first quarter. With eleven seconds left in the quarter, sophomore Jason Mooney was finally able to end Kee's scoring draught, however, the Pirates held a commanding lead after the first eight minutes of play, 10-2.

The second quarter found the Hawks revitalized as they fought their way back into the game. Although Kee's defense held the Pirates to only twelve points in the quarter, the Hawk offense prevailed and trumped Postville's scoring, 15-12. At the end of the first half, Kee had cut the Pirates' lead to five points, 22-17.

The Hawks' comeback continued through the third quarter as Kee's offense led the charge while the Hawks' defense managed to tame the Pirate scorers. Once again the Kee Hawks outscored Postville in the third quarter, 8-5, and closed the gap on the Pirates' lead, trailing 27-25 heading into the final frame.

Just when the Hawks appeared ready to take over the lead, the Kee offense stumbled, going the first four minutes of the fourth quarter without a single bucket. With one minute remaining, the Hawks trailed by four and a last-second three pointer from sophomore Jon Heiderscheit put the Hawks within one, but Kee was not able to pull out a victory and fell to the Pirates, 40-39.

Junior Joe Manning led Kee's offense with nine points. Sophomores Mooney and Heiderscheit each followed up with eight points apiece. Sophomore Jalen Cooper and Manning tied for the rebounding lead for the Hawks with each pulling down six rebounds, including three offensive and three defensive for Cooper and two offensive and four defensive for Manning.

KEE HIGH FG FT PF TP

Heiderscheit, J. 3 0-0 4 8

Lapel, J. 0 0-0 0 0

Gavin, S. 0 0-0 0 0

Mooney, J. 3 2-2 2 8

Cooper, J. 2 0-1 1 4

Manning, J. 2 5-6 4 9

Stussy, C. 2 0-0 3 5

Feuerhelm, B. 2 1-2 4 5

TOTALS 14 8-11 18 39

3-point FG: Heiderscheit 2, Stussy 1

Postville FG FT PF TP

Landsgard, J. 4 2-3 1 12

Kruckenberg, J. 1 1-2 1 4

Jacobson, I. 3 1-1 4 7

Imoehl, D. 1 0-0 2 2

Schutte, B. 4 4-4 3 12

Cook, K. 0 0-0 1 0

Lechtenberg, J. 1 0-0 1 2

Cox, Z. 0 1-2 0 1

TOTALS 14 9-12 13 40

3-point FG: Landsgard 2, Kruckenberg 1

at DeSoto, WI ...

The Kee Hawks took a break from the Upper Iowa Conference Tuesday, January 27 as the team traveled to DeSoto, WI to face off against another band of Pirates. The host Pirates started off the game with the first possession, but Kee's defense put on the pressure and caused a quick DeSoto turnover. Junior Blake Feuerhelm fired up the Hawk offense with a quick drive down the baseline for the easy lay-up. The Hawks and the Pirates battled back and forth and stayed even with each other. After eight minutes of game time, the teams were tied, 11-11.

The two teams continued to battle back and forth during the second quarter. With two minutes remaining in the quarter, the Pirates held a five-point lead, but the Hawks quickly closed the gap. At the end of the first half, DeSoto clung to a slim lead, 22-21.

The third quarter brought little breathing room to either team as the Kee Hawks and the Pirates fought to gain a solid lead over the other. Both teams traded the advantage back and forth, but the Hawks were able to outscore DeSoto in this quarter, 13-10, and took the lead, 34-32.

Both teams laid it all on the line in the final quarter, bringing about the highest scoring quarter for both sides. With the help of juniors Joe Manning and Feuerhelm, the Hawks put up more points in the fourth quarter than they had in the entire first half. The Hawk offense dominated for the last eight minutes before claiming the hard-fought victory over the Pirates, 58-48.

Leading Kee High's offense was Manning, who put up 28 points for the night. Junior Blake Feuerhelm contributed with another 17 points of his own and took charge of Kee's defense by tearing down 14 rebounds, including two offensive and 12 defensive. Manning followed up with eight rebounds, including two offensive and six defensive.

KEE HIGH FG FT PF TP

Heiderscheit, J. 1 0-0 0 2

Lapel, J. 0 0-0 1 0

Gavin, S. 0 0-0 0 0

Mooney, J. 2 0-0 2 4

Cooper, J. 0 3-4 1 3

Manning, J. 11 6-8 1 28

Stussy, C. 1 2-4 0 4

Feuerhelm, B. 7 3-3 1 17

TOTALS 22 14-19 6 58

DeSoto FG FT PF TP

Anderson, T. 1 1-2 1 3

Vosser, D. 2 0-0 0 5

Theobald, T. 4 0-0 2 9

Paulsrud, M. 2 0-0 2 5

Phenis, Z. 0 0-0 1 0

Finley, S. 4 0-0 1 9

Russell, B. 1 1-2 5 3

Wiltger, A. 0 0-0 0 0

Holt, C. 1 0-0 2 3

Pedretti, M. 5 1-3 0 11

TOTALS 20 3-7 14 48

3-point FG: Vosser 1, Theobald 1, Paulsrud 1, Finley 1, Holt 1

vs. Central ...

The Kee Hawks finished off the week, Friday, January 30, with a game at home against the Warriors of Central Elkader. Junior Blake Feuerhelm led the charge on the Upper Iowa Conference rivals with a quick lay-up to capture the early lead. The Hawks continued to lead throughout the first quarter, while the Warriors fought to stay in the game. After the first eight minutes, the Hawks were ahead, 12-8.

Unfortunately for Kee, the Warrior scorers could not be subdued by the Hawk defense for long and as quickly as it came, the Hawks lost their lead over Central. With Kee's offense floundering, the Warriors quickly took advantage and by the end of the first half held the lead, 24-20.

The Hawks' offense started off the third quarter with plans of taking over the lead, however, Central's defense managed to keep the Hawks from narrowing the lead. Although Kee outscored the Warriors, their attempted comeback was not enough and at the start of the fourth quarter the Hawks were still down, 33-30.

The Hawks held high hopes of pulling ahead of their opponent, however, a string of three-pointers from the Warriors' offense would spell defeat for the Hawks, 42-36.

Heading up Kee's offense was junior Joe Manning, who tallied 15 points, with Feuerhelm and sophomore Jalen Cooper each adding six points. Manning and Cooper led Kee's defense, pulling in eight rebounds each, including four offensive and four defensive for Manning and three offensive and five defensive for Cooper. Feuerhelm tore down seven rebounds, including three offensive and four defensive.

KEE HIGH FG FT PF TP

Heiderscheit, J. 2 0-0 4 4

Lapel, J. 0 0-0 0 0

Gavin, S. 0 1-2 0 1

Mooney, J. 0 1-2 2 1

Cooper, J. 3 0-0 0 6

Manning, J. 7 1-2 2 15

Stussy, C. 1 0-0 5 3

Feuerhelm, B. 3 0-0 2 6

TOTALS 16 3-6 15 36

3-point FG: Stussy 1

Central FG FT PF TP

Juergens, K. 2 0-1 3 6

Bankes, M. 4 2-4 2 10

McGreal, J. 0 0-0 0 0

Stender, S. 0 0-0 0 0

Sylvester, J. 0 1-2 3 1

Sylvester, T. 7 1-1 1 16

Blair, A. 4 1-2 1 9

Moser, N. 0 0-0 3 0

Ingles, Z. 0 0-0 0 0

TOTALS 17 5-10 13 42

3-point FG: Juergens 2, T. Sylvester 1

The Hawks host Sumner-Fredericksburg Tuesday, February 3 before playing at Valley Friday, February 6 and then playing a rescheduled January 16 home game with Turkey Valley Saturday, February 7. Kee will then start next week with back-to-back road games at Spring Grove, MN Monday, February 9 and at Turkey Valley Tuesday, February 10.