Courtesy Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil
By Mike Brownlee
West Burlington, IA -- Iowa Western's men's basketball season ended with a fight to the end, showing a resiliency coach Michael Johnette has preached since day one in falling to Southeastern 67-60 in the Region XI tournament semifinals Wednesday (2/26) evening.
The game was the rubber match of a three game season series between the ICCAC's #2 and #3 seeds. Iowa Western prevailed 75-74 in overtime at Reiver Arena in game one; while Southeastern reciprocated with an 87-84 win at Loren Walker Arena. The third installment of the series would prove to be just as competitive as it's predecessors with a game that would end up having 17 lead changes and 8 ties.
After a deadlocked first half at 31-31, the Reivers found themselves behind late in the second half, as Southeastern surged to go ahead by 10 points at the 4:32 mark. The Reivers then did what they have done all season long, they continued to battle. This season's Reiver team that had won several come-from-behind victories cut the Southeastern advantage into a two-possession game at 62-57 with 37 seconds left, but the Blackhawks executed from the foul line to seal the win. "The last two minutes probably lasted for an eternity for them," Johnette said. "We kept chipping away. On the road, semifinal of region play — we gave ourselves a chance to win, just didn't quite grasp it."
Iowa Western turned the ball over 19 times in the contest, compared to 10 for Southeastern. "Playoff basketball is possession basketball," Johnette said. "In the first half I thought we had better pace offensively, took care of the ball better. I thought we got sped up in the second half in spurts. They took care of the ball better than we did in the second half. A couple possessions here or there was the difference."
Guard Josiah Strong led the Reivers in scoring with 23 points, to go along with five rebounds. Forward Seneca Louis added 13 points and 10 boards, while guard Caleb Huffman scored 13 points. Southeastern got a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds from their bigman Aaris Bonds, exposing the thin interior resistance the Reivers have had to endure all season long after losing their starting center Andre Silva to a season ending injury in October.
Sophomores Strong, Louis, Huffman, Jalen Dalcourt, Jake Hazuka, Mal Pine, and Alec Spence played their final game for Iowa Western, which finishes the season 16-14.
Johnette said it was a season of challenges. "This year ended up being a winning season. They continued that tradition. But it wasn't an easy season. I was just really pleased with this group — this is a group that knows resiliency. They had more challenges than some teams we've had. But in a lot of ways that will help them far beyond this season. They can use this season as a lesson to be resilient, keep fighting through and you can always live with the results. That's what we're trying to teach these young people. How to handle things and do things the right way. This group grew and they learned. And we wish them well."
