Moral victories aren’t exactly Turkey Valley coach John Izer’s cup of tea, but he’ll take them this season.
The Trojans found a way to bounce back from a disastrous 93-26 loss to Wapsie Valley and come up with two inspired performances in Upper Iowa Conference games last week, as they rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Central Elkader 66-61 Tuesday night and then gave UIC leader North Fayette Valley a real tussle for three quarters before falling 73-52.
“They’re playing hard, and they’re playing with heart,” Izer said Friday night after the Trojans played North Fayette Valley to a near standstill for the first three quarters. “NFV has more horsepower than we do, but our horsepower is getting bigger. It’s growing up. We’ve very proud of them, and we told that to them in [the locker room].”
In short, on a team loaded with underclassmen, Izer may not love his team’s 7-10 overall record and 4-8 UIC mark, but he sees the potential.
After matches like the game in Elkader last Tuesday.
The Trojans came out, in a word, sluggish and found themselves down 47-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Turkey Valley mounted a furious comeback, outscoring the host Warriors 24-11 and then winning the overtime period 8-3.
Logan Busta had a huge game offensively as the junior hit 11-of-22 shots from 3-point range and scored 30 points while classmate J.D. Kruse had a double-double with 13 points and season-high 17 rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Kriener added 16 points.
But it might have been Friday’s game that showed just how much potential the Trojans have.
A TigerHawk half-court shot gave them a 21-14 lead after the first quarter, but the Trojans battled. A Kriener bucket off an assist from Kruse capped an 11-5 run that pulled the Trojans to within 26-25 with 3:45 left in the half, and three more times in the period Turkey Valley cut the deficit to one, but another buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the TigerHawks a 37-33 halftime lead.
A Busta jumper tied the game at 37 early in the third quarter, and North Fayette Valley led only 51-45 heading into the fourth quarter before the Trojans finally ran out of gas.
In the end, they had no answer for Reichter, who finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds, but Izer said the growth he saw on Friday was enough.
And the goal might be a modest one, but the coach indicated it’s reachable. Izer said he knows the UIC’s “Big Four” — NFV, MFL MarMac, Kee High and South Winneshiek — may be uncatchable, but Turkey Valley entered this week just one game out of fifth place in the UIC.
Turkey Valley 10 12 12 24 8 66
Central 12 13 22 11 3 51
Scoring – Logan Busta 30; Jordan Kriener 16; JD Kruse 13; Cale Langreck 5; Treyton Franzen 2
Rebounds – Kruse 17; Busta 3; Jayden Rausch 3; Kaden Schmidt 3; Franzen 3; Langreck 2; Assists – Busta 4; Kruse 4; Langreck 4; Rausch 3; Franzen 1; Steals – Kruse 3; Busta 2; Rausch 2; Langreck 1; Schmidt 1; Franzen 1
NFV 21 16 14 22 73
Turkey Valley 14 19 12 7 52
Scoring – Busta 22; Kriener 13; Kruse 9; Langreck 5; Franzen 3
Rebounds – Busta 4; Franzen 3; Schmidt 2; Assists – Schmidt 3; Busta 2; Franzen 1; Steals – Busta 4; Franzen 2
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