(Des Moines, IA) — Atlantic boys basketball are having a hard time putting together two straight halves of basketball and Tuesday was no exception. After a first half where both teams were pretty even, Harlan switched to a 2-3 zone defense late in the second quarter and then used a zone trap in the second half to run away from the Trojans 59-44.
The Trojans came out shooting — Kinnick Juhl hit back to back threes in the first quarter and Gavin McLaren got two buckets inside. The Cyclones came back with Dallas McDowell hitting 4-4 from the charity stripe and 6 points overall in the opening quarter. The game was tied at 16-16.
Hudson McLaren hit a three in the second quarter and Grant Petty got some jumpers in the lane but McDowell was unstoppable for the Cyclones. He had 9 points in the quarter, mostly on dribble drives and Kobe Klassen hit a three on a kick out from McDowell. Harlan built a 28-23 halftime lead.
Atlantic shot a solid 42 percent in the first half but the shooting percentage tumbled to 28 percent in the second. McDowell continued to dominate with 10 points in the third quarter and Harlan built a 45-37 advantage. Shelton Mualia was the standout for Atlantic, scoring 6 points in the third quarter and played solid defense inside. Unfortunately for Atlantic, he got too many fouls and would earn his later in the 4th quarter. Both teams emptied their bench with about 3 minutes left in the game.
Atlantic (2-17) was led by Juhl with 11 points and Mualia with 10. Gavin McLaren had 4 points in the first quarter but scored just 2 the rest of the game. Grant Petty added 8.
Harlan (7-11) rode the back of Dallas McDowell with a career high 27 and Jozef Reisz added 13.
Next up for Atlantic, they visit Lenox this Friday. The Cyclones will host Treynor on Thursday.
