Friday’s Top Games

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Glenwood (8-2) at 2A #10 Kuemper Catholic (10-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kuemper is the lone team in the Hawkeye Ten that is undefeated in league play, which makes this a huge game for Glenwood. If the Rams suffer a third league defeat, they would essentially be eliminated from serious conference title contention already. The Rams have won six straight games behind their trio of double-figure scorers - seniors Risto Lappala (13.4), Logyn Eckheart (13.0), and [player_tooltip player_id='1240101' first='Caden' last='Johnson'] (11.7). Johnson was the team's leading scorer last year but has turned into more of a facilitator this year and the Rams offense has exploded as a result of that change in style. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kuemper has won 10 straight games since a season-opening loss to Carroll. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1288927' first='Michael' last='Kasperbauer'] (13.0) and senior off-ball guard [player_tooltip player_id='1288884' first='Dawson' last='Gifford'] (13.0) lead a balanced and deep rotation on a team that shares the ball really well, dishing out more than 17 assists a game. The Knights shoot it well from the arc (37.0 3P%), and that could be the difference-maker here.<br><strong>Our pick: Kuemper Catholic 66, Glenwood 59</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2A #5 AHSTW (11-0) at Underwood (7-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings have somewhat quietly gotten off to another impressive start to the season, jumping out to a 10-0 start by an average of 21.5 points a game, and their resume includes a very impressive road win at 3A Ballard. They're led by the veteran tandem of seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1167687' first='Brayden' last='Lund'] (20.5) and [player_tooltip player_id='1167692' first='Kyle' last='Sternberg'] (16.5), a pair of dynamic three-level scorers. Sternberg isn't shooting it well from deep this season, but he's a good shooter who will get it going soon. This team has been outstanding on the defensive end of the floor so far this season, and a win here would hand Underwood a third league loss and essentially eliminate them from title contention. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Underwood bounced back from a tough loss to Treynor with a solid win over IKM-Manning their last time out. Junior forward Jack Vanfossan (14.6, 11.2 rebounds) has been a dominant force in the painted area on both ends of the floor for the Eagles, and they'll need him to have a huge game if they want to pull off the upset. Underwood shoots it better from the arc than AHSTW has this season, and they'll need to knock down plenty of 3s if they want to keep pace.<br><strong>Our pick: AHSTW 64, Underwood 54</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Grundy Center (9-2) at 1A #5 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (11-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gladbrook-Reinbeck has been dominant through their first 11 games, winning by an average of 30.5 points a night. Senior lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='1167671' first='William' last='Kiburis'] (24.7, 9.2 rebounds, 7.2 assists) has once again been sensational for the Rebels, posting 69-48-73 shooting splits and leading the team in every major category. [player_tooltip player_id='1469783' first='Caleb' last='Egesdal'] (14.4) provides some additional shooting, and they've gotten really good production out of their role players this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grundy Center is always filled with athletes who are tough and physical, and they'll battle with a Rebels team that likes to play up-tempo. A young Spartans team has suffered just two losses this year, to Aplington-Parkersburg and Jesup, by a combined three points. Their top three scorers are all sophomores - [player_tooltip player_id='1478357' first='Jalen' last='Kirkpatrick'] (16.2), Tiernan Vokes (11.8), and Brayden Wallis (9.8) - followed by a pair of juniors, so this is a group that is not only good right now, they're going to be really good for the next few years. If Grundy Center is able to make it more of a half-court game, allowing them to take advantage of their size, physicality, and athleticism, they could pull off the minor upset here.<br><strong>Our pick: Gladbrook-Reinbeck 67, Grundy Center 66</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>3A #4 Clear Lake (7-0) at Humboldt (6-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a huge game in the North Central Conference, where Humboldt has already suffered a league loss to Webster City. Behind the sensational play of senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1167712' first='Travaughn' last='Luyobya'] (17.4, 10.4 assists), Clear Lake has been one of the most dynamic offensive teams in the state early this season, averaging just under 74 points a game. [player_tooltip player_id='1381416' first='Thomas' last='Meyer'] (16.5), a skilled sophomore forward has provided efficient interior scoring, while Titan Schmitt (12.5, 37.8 3P%) and [player_tooltip player_id='2325311' first='Cael' last='Stephany'] (12.4, 44.3 3P%) give the Lions a ton of perimeter shooting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Few teams in the state will launch it from deep as frequently as Humboldt does, averaging 33 3-point attempts a game as a team. They've shot it fairly well (36.7 3P%) considering the massive volume of attempts, and all five players that see the majority of the playing time are real threats from deep, making them incredibly dangerous. [player_tooltip player_id='1469745' first='Joshua' last='Thurm'] (16.6) leads the team in scoring, while [player_tooltip player_id='1240078' first='Will' last='Orness'] (14.5, 3.9 assists) and Evan Hatcher (12.3, 4.0 assists) do the majority of the ball-handling for this group. There probably won't be any shot clock violations in this one, as both of these teams love to get up and down. <br><strong>Our pick: Humboldt 78, Clear Lake 75</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Other notable games<br></span>4A #8 Iowa City West (6-3) at Cedar Falls (4-3)<br>Wahlert Catholic (5-5) at 4A #3 Kennedy (9-0)<br>3A #2 Bondurant-Farrar (9-0) at Winterset (7-5)<br>Madrid (7-2) at Des Moines Christian (8-3)<br>Pella Christian (6-3) at 4A #4 Indianola (9-0)<br>Monticello (8-2) at Maquoketa (8-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->