Friday March 3rd Local Sports

THIS WEEKEND:

== FRIDAY
AM-1300 KGLO, kgloam.com — Region XI men’s first round — NIACC vs. Northeast — Pritchard’s Pre-Game 6:45, tipoff 7:00

 

== SATURDAY
AM-1300 KGLO — If NIACC wins Friday, Region XI men’s quarterfinals vs. Iowa Lakes — Pritchard’s Pre-Game 4:45, tipoff 5:00
AM-1300 KGLO — If NIACC not playing, Iowa women in Big Ten semifinals — pre-game 3:45, tipoff 4:00

 

== SUNDAY
AM-1300 KGLO — Iowa men vs. Nebraska — pre-game 12:00, tipoff 1:00
AM-1300 KGLO — Iowa women if playing in Big Ten championship — pre-game 3:45, tipoff 4:00
AM-1300 KGLO — NIACC men in Region XI semifinals if playing — Pritchard’s Pre-Game 6:45, tipoff 7:00

 

 

DES MOINES — Three championship games are set for the girls state basketball tournament while semifinals take place in Classes 1A and 2A today:

== 5A Semifinals Thursday
Johnston 42, Ankeny Centennial 35
Pleasant Valley 50, Dowling West Des Moines 33
5A Championship tonight — 6:00 p.m. – Johnston (24-1) vs. Pleasant Valley (25-0)

 

== 4A Semifinals Thursday
Dallas Center-Grimes 33, Ballard 32
North Polk 53, Bishop Heelan Sioux City 41
4A Championship Saturday — 2:30 p.m. – Dallas Center-Grimes (22-3) vs. North Polk (23-2)

 

== 3A Semifinals Thursday
Benton Community 51, Vinton-Shellsburg 42
Sioux Center 46, Solon 44
3A Championship Friday — 8:00 p.m. – Benton Community (23-3) vs. Sioux Center (20-5)

 

== Class 2A Semifinals today
10:00 a.m. – Dike-New Hartford (24-1) vs. Sibley-Ocheyedan (22-3)
11:45 a.m. – Central Lyon (23-0) vs. Pocahontas Area (21-4)

 

== Class 1A Semifinals today
1:30 p.m. – Algona Bishop Garrigan (24-1) vs. Remsen-St. Mary’s (24-1)
3:15 p.m. – Newell-Fonda (23-2) vs. North Linn (23-1)

 

 

 

ESTHERVILLE — The NIACC men open Region XI tournament play tonight in Estherville facing Northeast Community College in a first-round game. NIACC dropped both of their conference contests against Northeast this season, 91-74 in Mason City on January 10th and 104-88 at Northeast last Saturday. You can hear the NIACC-Northeast game on AM-1300 KGLO and kgloam.com starting with the Pritchard’s Pre-Game at 6:45 with the tipoff at 7:00. Should NIACC win tonight, they’ll face the top seed of the tournament Iowa Lakes at 5 o’clock Saturday evening in the quarterfinal round.

 

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS — The 7th-ranked Iowa Hawkeye women open their portion of the Big Ten Tournament in the Twin Cities tonight against Purdue. The Hawkeyes beat the Boilers back in late December in their only meeting of the season.

That’s Iowa coach Lisa Bluder who says Purdue has a lot to play for. The Boilers rallied to beat Wisconsin Thursday night.

Bluder says quick turnarounds in tournament play are a challenge mentally and physically.

The Hawkeyes are 23-6.

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS — Drake coach Darian DeVries hopes experience is a plus as the Bulldogs get set to play Murray State in tonight’s quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. The Bulldogs are 24-7 and the second seed in the tournament.

DeVries does not subscribe to the theory that it is tough to beat a team three times. The Bulldogs swept the regular season series against the Racers.

Depth was a factor in Drake’s late season run that saw them win 10 of their last 11 and DeVries says it will be crucial in a tournament run.

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Led by Bowen Born’s 23 points, the Northern Iowa Panthers defeated the Illinois State Redbirds 75-62 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener on Thursday afternoon. Born also had five assists for the Panthers (14-17). Michael Duax scored 19 points while shooting 8 of 10 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line, and added five rebounds and three steals. Tytan Anderson was 6 of 10 shooting (2 for 3 from distance) to finish with 16 points. The Panthers face the top seed Bradley this afternoon.

 

 

 

AMES — Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger says he remains a fan of Caleb Grill even though he is no longer part of the team. Otzelberger dismissed ISU’s top three point shooter from the team on Wednesday, just days before the Cyclones close the regular season at 7th-ranked Baylor.

Grill played for Otzelberger at UNLV and followed him to Ames when he took the Iowa State job. He averaged nearly 10 points while playing in 25 games this season.

In a statement Grill said the dismissal stemmed from a word he said that he regrets. Otzelberger did not want to discuss any specific incident.

Otzelberger says he has to balance what is best for the player against what is best for the team.

The Cyclones have lost four straight games heading into Saturday’s contest at Baylor.

 

 

 

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The NIACC wrestling teams are in Council Bluffs for their national tournaments this weekend. The NIACC men have six wrestlers in the men’s championship tournament, led by district champion Ein Carlos at 184 pounds leading the way. Carlos placed fifth in last year’s national tournament. On the women’s side, Laken Lienhard is the top seed in the 143 pound bracket after being ranked #1 all season. Wrestling in both tournaments takes place at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

 

 

 

ANN ARBOR — The 2nd-ranked Iowa wrestling team opens the Big Ten Championships Saturday morning at Michigan. The Hawkeyes finished the regular season 15-1 in duals.

That’s Iowa coach Tom Brands feels the health of the lineup is improving. The Hawkeyes struggled with injuries during a good portion of the season.

Top ranked Penn State is an overwhelming favorite to win the team title.

 

 

 

TULSA — The Iowa State and UNI wrestling teams are in the Big 12 Tournament this weekend. The Cyclones are ranked fifth after finishing 16-3 in duals and coach Kevin Dresser hopes the Cyclones are a better tournament team this season.

UNI is ranked 18th and coach Doug Schwab says the competition this weekend will be tougher than last year.

The tournament takes place in Tulsa.

 

 

 

WEST DES MOINES — The Midwest High School Hockey League tournament takes place this weekend in West Des Moines. The Mason City Mohawk hockey club is the sixth seed in the tournament and face the third seed Omaha in the quarterfinals at 1:45 this afternoon. Omaha swept Mason City in a weekend series last month in Omaha. The tournament takes place at the MidAmerican RecPlex.