ANAMOSA — As physical a game as it was on the court, it was the action off it that drew plenty of attention during the Raider girls basketball 48-40 setback hosting North Linn Tuesday, January 24.

Feeling his team wasn’t getting their fair share of the close calls, Lynx girls basketball head coach Brian Wheatley received two technical fouls in the third quarter and the spark ignited his club to the eight-point triumph.

“North Linn is a very experienced team and they used that energy from their coach being ejected to their benefit and pulled away to win,” said Raider girls basketball coach Jack Leighty.

“You have to give credit to North Linn’s players. They held it all together and kept their composure when they felt things weren’t going their way and rallied to beat us in the second half.”

Anamosa (3-14, 3-9) struggled mightily at the free throw line in the contest connecting on just 11-of-27 from the charity stripe, but led through most of the first 16 minutes of play in a low scoring contest.

“That was the difference,” said Leighty. “If we make our free throws, or at least a good percentage of them, we win. We got to the line but couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity once we got there.”

The Raiders led 9-7 after one quarter of play but the Lynx went on a 13-8 spurt in the second stanza to take a 19-17 halftime advantage.

Hitting the floor
Anamosa junior Traci Dirks (above) and senior Kelsi Dearborn (below) hustle after loose balls against North Linn’s Christina Thompson during second and first half action, respectively, in the Raiders’ 48-40 setback hosting the Lynx Tuesday, January 24. The very physical game that saw both teams use spurts to take leads, saw the visitors, after their coach was ejected from the contest, go on a game-ending 12-7 run to secure the eight-point victory. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski)

ANAMOSA — Once in a long while a game comes along that absolutely just takes your breath away as a player, fan and coach.

Tuesday, January 23, was one of those nights as the Anamosa boys basketball team took the air right out of visiting North Linn and their rabid fans and sent the Raider student section into convulsions and erupting onto the floor after a heart-stopping 53-52 victory.

“I’m just thrilled for our kids,” said Anamosa boys basketball coach Kevin Barnes after his young and gradually gaining experience club rallied from a two-point deficit with just 5.2 seconds remaining in overtime to win. “I’m not sure what it is, but North Linn and us have started a nice little rivalry. This is the third time we’ve played them since joining the Tri-Rivers Conference and the games have been decided by three points, two points and one point. We seem to bring out the best in each other. That makes games like tonight fun, really fun when you are the team that comes out on top.”

Anamosa (4-8, 4-6) came from behind to force an overtime against the Lynx and then did it again in the extra session, coming from behind to win as Derek Hart drilled the game-winning 3-point shot at the buzzer erasing a 52-50 deficit.

North Linn’s Justin Waring appeared to put the visitors up for good drilling a short jumper with just 5.2 seconds remaining breaking a 50-50 tie and thus forcing Barnes to call a time-out where he drew up the game-winning play.

“That was the question of the night,” said Barnes. “Was that the play I really drew up? The answer is, it worked so it must have been.”

Tom Engelbart tossed the in-bounds pass to a streaking Colten Kelly who found Tony Lueken running at full speed up the middle of the court.

“Tommy made a good read getting the ball to Colten who in turn, hesitated, which drove everyone in the gym crazy,” said Barnes.
“But it was the correct read. It allowed Colten to get the ball to Tony at full speed coming up the court.”

With precious seconds ticking away, Lueken saw an open Hart in the left corner, made the pass and watched as the senior’s shot found nothing but the bottom of the net.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to take the final shot,” said Lueken. “I was running too fast and it would have hit too hard to have a good chance to go in. I saw Derek in the corner and thought that would be our best shot. It turned out pretty good.”

The opportunity was a dream come true for Hart.

“That’s the kind of stuff you think about a lot as a kid,” said Hart who drilled his first two 3-pointers ever at the varsity level in the contest. “Taking the game-winning shot and having it swish to win.

After Tony passed me the basketball and I shot it, everything just became a blur. It was a great atmosphere having the students rush the floor too. Something I know I’ll never forget.”

Hart started the scoring for the Raiders in the contest with a trey from the top of the key early in the first quarter and then ended the epic battle with another in overtime.

Dribble drive
Anamosa junior Andrew Peters attacks the rim for the Raiders during their thrilling 53-52 overtime triumph hosting North Linn. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski)