HARLAN -- The Harlan Community boys basketball team finished the regular season Thursday night with a 65-49 win over Carroll Public, improving to 18-3 overall going into the start of postseason play Monday night. Kyle Juhl led the Cyclones with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Will Lansman had 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks. See Friday’s News-Advertiser for more details.

 AREA -- The IKM-Manning and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball teams both won Class 1-A district quarterfinal games Thursday night while AHSTW was defeated in 2-A district semifinal by Ridge View, 53-50.

     ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. – Harlan bowler David Tyrrel took second place in the PBA-50 Midwest Regional Pro Tournament here Saturday, January 31. The tourney was a part of the National Senior Tour.     Tyrrel, who has held a pro bowling “card” for some time, said it was the first time he could bowl in the 50-and-up category, having turned 50 on January 6, and it was his first professional competitive effort in some time.

 DES MOINES -- Jacob Wingert’s first-round victory proved to be the highlight for Harlan Community as the Cyclones scored just two points at the 2016 State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines. Wingert, a junior at 160 pounds, and senior 132-pounder Elias Shaeffer were both making their first state meet appearance for HCHS. Wingert defeated Tyler Zeimen of Cherokee, 7-2, in Thursday night’s first round before being pinned twice in the first peri

 DES MOINES -- Of the 84 Iowa wrestlers competing in Saturday night’s state championship finals, the vast majority got their start in the sport long before seventh grade. AHSTW senior Tim Barr, however, is one of those rare exceptions. And while Barr’s amazing season and three-day state meet run didn’t end with him standing on the top step of the medalist podium at Wells Fargo Arena, countless kids who have wrestled since kindergarten would ha

 DES MOINES -- It wasn’t the exact ending he wanted, but Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior Lane Ring was happy to at least wrestle his final high school match inside Wells Fargo Arena. Making his second state meet appearance, Ring finished in the top 12 of the Class 1-A, 195-pound bracket Thursday and Friday, winning one out of three matches.

 ELK HORN -- The three-pointers weren’t falling for Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton Tuesday night, but Class 1-A’s second-ranked team did enough other things well to easily pass its first postseason test. Shooting 33.8 percent overall and just 4-of-23 from three-point range, the unbeaten Spartan girls compensated by grabbing 21 offensive rebounds and 26 steals in a 64-41, Region 7 quarterfinal win over Griswold. Exira-EHK’s fullcourt press keyed a 1

 CRESTON -- Evidently, there’s more than one way to skin a Panther if you’re the Harlan Community boys basketball team. Back on December 15, HCHS drilled a school-record 19 three-pointers (in 35 attempts) to soundly defeat Creston, 80-47. In Tuesday night’s rematch, the Cyclones shot just 4-of-19 from behind the arc, but still managed to win handily over the Panthers, 62-34, and gain a share of the 2016 Hawkeye Ten Conference title. Will Lansm

 ROCKWELL CITY -- A slow start to each half proved tough to overcome for the IKM-Manning girls basketball team Tuesday night. Crawling out of a 9-0 hole to start the game, IKM-M led 27-25 at halftime but South Central Calhoun controlled the third quarter (13-5) and held off the Wolves, 53-48, in a Class 2-A, Region 6 quarterfinal. The Titans (17-4) ended IKM-Manning’s season for the third straight year - twice in regionals, once at state - and

 LOGAN -- The AHSTW girls’ locker room door stayed shut for at least a half-hour following Saturday night’s Class 2-A first-round regional game at Logan-Magnolia. The Lady Vikes had just been defeated 62-28 by the Panthers, marking their third loss to Lo-Ma by 30-plus points this season. AHSTW head coach Tyler Morris’ long post-game discussion centered mostly on what lies ahead for the program, and what needs to happen over the next nine month

 ROCKWELL CITY -- The AHSTW boys basketball team opened Class 2-A district play Monday night with a 54-38 win over East Sac County in a first-round game played at Rockwell City. The Vikings trailed 13-11 after one quarter before outscoring the Raiders 43-25 the rest of the way. The victory improved AHSTW to 10-10 overall and set up a District 16 semifinal vs. Ridge View (17-2) on Thursday night at Carroll Kuemper High School (6:30 p.m.).

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Lewis Central outscored the Harlan Community boys by 17 points during the final three quarters last Friday to upset the 3rd-ranked (3-A) Cyclones, 64-51, in a non-conference matchup. The Titans (9-9 overall, 6-4 Hawkeye Ten) trailed 16-12 after the opening stanza but countered with a 19-6 run in the second quarter and extended their lead after the break.

 HARLAN -- The pairings are officially set for Harlan Community to make another run at the Girls State Basketball Tournament in Des Moines. Bishop Heelan’s 66-40 win over Denison-Schleswig Wednesday night moves the Crusaders (12-10) into Saturday night’s Class 4-A, Region 1 semifinal at 3rd-ranked HCHS (18-2) in Harlan.

 DES MOINES -- Six area wrestlers will begin competition Thursday at the 2016 State Wrestling Tournament inside Wells Fargo Arena. The state meet will continue Friday and Saturday and conclude with the championship finals on Saturday night. This year’s local qualifiers include three from AHSTW, two from Harlan Community and one from Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton.

 ATLANTIC -- What a difference a year can make. To be sure, the final results could have been even better for the Harlan Community wrestling team Saturday, but compared to the same meet a year ago the Cyclones left Atlantic feeling pretty good about their Class 2-A District Tournament outcome. Led by state tournament qualifiers Elias Shaeffer and Jacob Wingert, who both won exciting wrestle-back matches for second place, five HCHS wrestlers co