by Dylan Sanders

It was a key Heart of Iowa conference game at Gilbert with both the Mustangs and the Tigers in the midst of a chase for the conference title. Unfortunately, after beating them at home earlier in the season, the Mustangs lost 69-51 in a fast-paced game. Junior Jackson Thomas led the team with 11 points.

Head coach Fred Lorensen said, “Gilbert put a lot of pressure on our players on the perimeter. They got us to play a little faster than we wanted to at times, and that caused us into some rushed shots and turnovers.” 

Gilbert attacked from the beginning jumping out to a quick 28-17 lead by halftime.  The Mustangs really struggled to get it going from beyond the arc throughout the game, only making five of 17 three point field goal attempts in the game.

The Mustangs did do a lot of things right in the game, though, such as having 11 different players score during the game. Junior Noah Lanphier had his best game of the season scoring eight points along with dishing out three assists. He also had 2 steals and a block.

Coach Lorensen said,” We are trying to get Noah to make the transition from playing on the perimeter to playing inside more. It was good to see him get in there and be more aggressive offensively.  He had some nice moves down by the basket that resulted in scores.”

Other Mustangs who scored were Brayton Van Dyke with seven, Andrew Van Ryswyk with five, Nick Dredge with five, Elijah Sperfslage with four, and Reed Worth with three.  Mark Bruxvoort, Jason Stafford, Derek Brown, and Dayton Boell all scored 2. Jackson Thomas led the team with 6 rebounds.

With the loss the Mustangs fell to 9-6 overall, 8-3 in the conference.  The Mustangs play at Nevada for Mega Night this Friday.