Falcons knock out Exira-EHK boys, 56-41

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Feb. 20) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys got just the start they wanted in Tuesday’s district battle at St. Albert, scoring the first six points of the night and leading 19-12 near the midway mark of the second quarter.
 Sustaining their early success in the post proved difficult, however, and a couple of key stretches made the difference as the senior-laden Falcons outscored the Spartans by 23 points the rest of the way and notched a 56-41 victory in a Class 1A district semifinal.
 The Falcons, who struggled against the Spartans’ 3-2 zone for about the first six minutes - scoring just two points - finished the first half on a 12-0 run to lead 24-19 at the half, then added a 13-2 spurt early in the third quarter to go up 36-25. Exira-EHK twice cut the gap to eight points but would get no closer as St. Albert pulled away in the final four minutes to survive and advance.
 The Falcons (13-9) also beat Stanton 60-53 Friday night and were set to face Bedford (19-5) in Monday night’s Substate 7 final at Shenandoah (postponed on Saturday). The Spartans finished their season with an overall record of 15-8.
 Dakota Rold, Exira-EHK’s 6-foot-6 junior post, finished with a team-high 18 points (7-of-10 field goals), six rebounds and four blocked shots Tuesday, and was particularly effective inside early in the game. Rold scored 12 of the Spartans’ first 15 points and 18 of the first 27, but the Falcons gradually did a better job defensively of driving the wing players further back from the three-point arc and creating more difficult post-entry passes.
 Jake Carley finished with five treys and a game-high 20 points for St. Albert, Blaha scored 16 and 6-5 post Matt Fagan added 11. All three seniors played a key role on the school’s state runner-up squad two years ago.

 
 

 

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