Games of the Week (Week 4)

MONDAY (Dec. 18) Game of the night: 3A No. 6 Mount Pleasant at 4A No. 9 Linn-Mar Mount Pleasant really beefed up their non-conference schedule this year, and this trip is another one of those difficult games that will come back to benefit them come postseason time. Brady Sartorius (20.8) and Jordan Magnani (15.5) lead a Panthers team that is averaging just under 64 points a game, but will have their hands full with a Linn-Mar team that has the length on the perimeter to give them issues. And at the end of the night, the Panthers probably won't have an answer for Linn-Mar's star wing Trey Hutcheson (15.2), who is one of the best shooters in the state at 6-6. It'll be interesting to see how the Panthers try to defend him. Our pick: Linn-Mar 69, Mount Pleasant 61 Others to monitor Western Dubuque at Dyersville Beckman West Branch at Camanche Northeast, Goose Lake at Iowa City Liberty Atlantic at Kuemper Catholic   TUESDAY (Dec. 19) Game of the night: 2A No. 7 East Marshall at 1A No. 9 Gladbrook-Reinbeck There are a number of big games this evening, but only two have major streaks attached to them. One is Iowa City West's home winning streak (76 straight), the other comes in this game. Gladbrook-Reinbeck has won 51 straight games in the NICL West, but that streak is going to come in serious jeopardy on Tuesday night against the Mustangs. East Marshall had a tough week last week, dealing with the death of a teacher at the school, and it showed with their slow start against BCLUW on Friday night. But they turned in on in the second half en route to a 19-point win. Their "Big Three" is going to be really tough for Gladbrook-Reinbeck to slow down. We're not sure the Rebels have the player to slow down Zane Johnson (16.4) and Zaine Leedom (15.8), a pair of versatile, athletic wings who can score from anywhere. The Rebels will need to get a big-time game out of senior wing Caden Kickbush (23.8) if they want to keep the streak alive. Our pick: East Marshall 68, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 61 Others to monitor Lisbon at Alburnett Iowa City Regina at 2A No. 2 Cascade West Des Moines Valley at West Des Moines Dowling Cedar Rapids Prairie at 4A No. 1 Iowa City West 3A No. 7 Spirit Lake at 3A No. 10 LeMars Des Moines Christian at Madrid 3A No. 4 Oskaloosa at Newton Pella at 3A No. 5 Norwalk West Fork at Osage Davenport North at 4A No. 10 Pleasant Valley 1A No. 7 George-Little Rock at 2A No. 4 Sheldon Dike-New Hartford at 1A No. 4 Wapsie Valley 4A No. 2 Dubuque Senior at Waterloo West   THURSDAY (Dec. 21) Game of the night: 3A No. 2 Sioux City Bishop Heelan at 3A No. 10 LeMars This is a big game in establishing power in the western side of the state. Heelan recently rose up to No. 2 in our 3A rankings after a win over Sioux City East, while LeMars is a newly ranked team and a pleasant surprise at 5-1. It'll be an interesting contrast, as Heelan's top player, Elijah Hazekamp, is a dominant interior player, while LeMars' top player is Will Pottebaum (19.5), a talented scoring guard. At the end of the day, we trust Heelan's role players more than those of LeMars, and a huge game from Hazekamp should carry them to another win. These two teams could see each other again come playoff time. Our pick: Sioux City Bishop Heelan 72, LeMars 62 Others to monitor 1A No. 6 Council Bluffs, St. Albert at Atlantic Waverly-Shell Rock at Mount Vernon Western Dubuque at Cedar Rapids Prairie Sergeant Bluff-Luton at 2A No. 5 Western Christian   FRIDAY (Dec. 22) Game of the night: 2A No. 10 West Lyon at 2A No. 3 Sioux Center This is a big early game in the Siouxland Conference. Sioux Center enters the week with a 6-0 mark in the league, while West Lyon is 5-1. A win by the Warriors would put them in a great spot to take home the conference crown. They'll be looking to avenge a pair of losses to the Wildcats from last season. Led by a quartet of double figure scorers, the big difference between this year and last for Sioux Center has actually been on the defensive end, where they're allowing just 45 points a game. They have the firepower to win in a shootout, and the defensive abilities to slow down the West Lyon attack. This should be a great game, but we'll give the Warriors the edge, playing at home. Our pick: Sioux Center 64, West Lyon 60 Others to monitor Davenport North at Davenport West Waterloo East at 4A No. 1 Iowa City West Iowa City Liberty at Charles City 1A No. 2 North Linn at Lisbon Osage at Rockford