(Atlantic) (10-9) Creston and (12-6) Atlantic square off in a Class 3A first-round Substate Boys basketball game tonight at Atlantic. This is the third meeting between the two Hawkeye Ten Conference opponents. Atlantic won both regular-season games, 62-36 on December 1 and 55-49 on January 23.
Creston enters post-season, having won three out of their last four games, with victories over Clarinda, Harlan, and Clarke. Atlantic finished the regular season, winning nine-out-ten games.
“To be successful in the post-season, it comes down to dictating the tempo and executing at a high level on both ends of the floor,” said Atlantic Head Jeff Ebling. “You have to come in focused on the task at hand. You can’t look ahead because it doesn’t matter if you don’t pass the next step. We’ve seen it many times, and it’s not necessarily the best team that moves on; rather, it’s the better team that night that advances.”
Early on in the season, the Panthers faced adversity after losing two starters to injury; Cael Kralik and Brance Baker. But the Panthers settled in, and others have stepped up. “In particular, Cole and Kyle Strider have stepped up to provide balance for this team,” said Ebling.
Comparing the numbers, Atlantic averages 58.2 points per game while allowing on average 52.3. Creston averages 55.3 points per game while allowing 54.9 per outing.
“At the end of the day, it’s basketball, players make plays, and hopefully we make more plays than they do on Monday night,” said Ebling.
Colby Berg leads Creston in scoring, averaging 15-points per outing. Skyler Handlos and Dayton Templeton lead Atlantic with 16.6 and 11.1 points per game, respectively.
The tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Atlantic. We will have the broadcast on 95.7 FM. The pre-game starts at 6:40 p.m.
The winner of the Atlantic-Creston game plays the winner of Glenwood and Clarke. The other games in Substate 8 tonight feature (17-3) Dallas Center-Grimes vs. (0-18) Perry, and (9-11), Harlan matches up against (9-12), ADM.
