ATLANTIC -- No one could blame IKM-Manning’s players and coaches for being a bit jubilant Saturday night. This post-game celebration, after all, had been a full year in the making. Twelve months after losing a substate final heartbreaker vs.

 DES MOINES -- If Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton defeated Newell-Fonda on Monday, the Spartans will play in Thursday’s Class 1-A semifinals at the Girls State Basketball Tournament. The 2nd-ranked Spartans (23-0) faced the No. 7 Mustangs (18-6) in Monday’s quarterfinal round at Wells Fargo Arena. The winner will play either No. 3 Springville (23-1) or No. 6 Kingsley-Pierson (21-2) on Thursday at 11:45 a.m.

 DES MOINES -- Three wins away from a three-peat, Harlan Community is poised to make history in its fourth consecutive trip to the Girls State Basketball Tournament. Ranked third in Class 4-A, the two-time defending state champion Cyclones (20-2) will open defense of their titles on Wednesday morning against 7th-ranked Marion (19-4). The state quarterfinal game will tip off at 11:45 a.m.

 DENISON -- Thursday’s Class 3-A, District 1 final dealt a harsh case of déjà vu at the Harlan Community boys basketball team. For the second straight year, the Cyclones’ season ended abruptly in the district finals with an overtime loss to a sub-.500 team.

 CARROLL -- The AHSTW boys basketball team lost a hard-fought battle vs. Ridge View, 53-50, in a Class 2-A district semifinal game on Thursday, February 18, at Kuemper Catholic. The Vikings finished the season at 10-11 overall. R.J. Harris and Blaine Lees led AHSTW in defeat with 20 and 19 points, respectively, and also combined for 16 boards.

MANNING -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s boys basketball season ended in the Class 1-A district semifinals last Tuesday following a one-point loss to Paton-Churdan, 38-37. The Rolling Valley Conference rivals had previously split two regular season games which were also closely-contested. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 17-6. 

REGIONAL -- The IKM-Manning boys basketball team posted lopsided Class 1-A district wins over Audubon (Tuesday) and Paton-Churdan (Thursday) to set up its Substate 7 final win over Nodaway Valley Saturday night. IKM-M outscored Audubon 46-17 in Tuesday’s second half to pull away for a 76-43 district semifinal win in Manning. Kyle Wagner nearly matched the Wheelers on his own, scoring 38 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists.

 HARLAN -- In the win-or-go-home world of postseason basketball, sometimes rivalry trumps record. So while Monday night’s Class 3-A boys district semifinal looked like a mismatch on paper, Denison-Schleswig gave Harlan Community all it could handle on the court. The fifth-ranked Cyclones survived in the end, getting 33 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks from Kyle Juhl to hold off the Monarchs, 67-61, in Harlan.

 HARLAN -- From a game-opening 15-1 run to its mild-mannered victory celebration, the Harlan Community girls basketball team was all business Tuesday night in a 55-32, Class 4-A regional final win over Spencer. But as the third-ranked Cyclones prepare to chase a championship three-peat in their fourth consecutive state tourney appearance, one gets the feeling that this team has yet to reach its pinnacle performance level. If they get there, it

 RED OAK -- Throughout another season-long journey to the Girls State Basketball Tournament, two constants have existed for Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton. Defense and winning. It’s only fitting that those two things went hand-in-hand again Monday night as the unbeaten, 2nd-ranked Spartans survived a major test from Nodaway Valley to win 41-35 in a Class 1-A, Region 7 final at Red Oak. After trailing for much of the first half, Exira-EHK sped to a

 PLEASANT HILL -- The Harlan Community bowlers fell short of qualifying any teams or individuals for state this year after competing in the Class 1-A, District 2 State Qualifying Tournament held February 16 at Pleasant Hill’s Great Escape. The Cyclone boys placed second out of six teams with a total score of 2,697, while the girls placed third with a score of 2,132. Knoxville earned both state qualifier berths, posting scores of 2,828 (boys) a

SENIOR NIGHT -- Twelve senior members of the Harlan Community bowling teams were recognized prior to the Cyclones’ Senior Night dual vs. Red Oak on February 11.
Six of these seniors (Stroud, Trader, Portwood, Chamberlain, Grote and Besta-Thompson) have been with the program from its beginning four years ago, with Portwood being the only one to bowl every varsity meet since her freshman year. (Photo contributed)

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- The Harlan Community boys placed second and the girls placed fourth at the Hawkeye Ten Conference Bowling Tournament, held February 12 at Council Bluffs’ Thunderbowl. The Cyclones claimed two individual medalists as senior Bailey Portwood placed second in the girls field with a two-game series of 403 (191, 212) and senior Zach Besta-Thompson placed third in the boys field with a 434 (190, 244). The Denison-Schleswig girls an

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning boys basketball team moved within two wins of the state tournament here Tuesday night with a 76-43 win over Audubon in a Class 1-A district semifinal. Exira-EHK, meanwhile, lost a one-point heartbreaker to Paton-Churdan, 38-37, to finish the season at 17-6.

 HARLAN -- It was a good night all the way around for the Harlan Community girls basketball team on Saturday. Senior point guard Jordyn Moser scored a game-high 24 points to surpass the 1,000 mark for her career, Taylor Frederick totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds and the 3rd-ranked Cyclones easily handled Bishop Heelan, 59-32, in a Class 4-A regional semifinal game in Harlan. The victory moved HCHS within one step of its fourth consecutive tri