Storm Lake Times Pilot

Cherokee 3-point barrage too much for Alta-Aurelia


Alta-Aurelia’s Cameron Stites attempts a shot while being guarded by Cherokee’s Joe Benson during Monday’s district game. TIMES photo by JAMIE KNAPP

Four days later, it was just about the same result.

Alta-Aurelia and Cherokee played each other last Thursday in the regular season finale and the Braves won by 42 points.

The same two teams met again in the first round of the Class 2A district tournament on Monday night in Cherokee, and while it was another lopsided win for the Braves, the way in which it happened was totally different.

Joe Benson made a career-high and unexpected eight 3-pointers and Cherokee made 11 as a team to defeat the Warriors 77-41.

Cherokee jumped out to a 22-6 lead after the first quarter. The Braves extended it to 43-22 by halftime. It was 55-35 going into the fourth quarter of play.

Cherokee was 11 of 26 from behind the arc and 30 of 58 overall from the field for 52 percent.

Benson, who came into the game averaging 8.9 points an outing, finished with 28 points. Wil Lugar added 23, including six dunks.

“Basically, it was a repeat of what happened in the first game against Cherokee,” Alta-Aurelia coach Scott Randall said. “We wanted to cut into the halftime lead during the third quarter to give ourselves a chance in the fourth. We were able to get the defensive stops we needed as we stopped them on 10 possessions and outscored them 13-12. However, we didn’t convert our offensive opportunities and missed on nine of our possessions, so we weren’t able to close the gap enough going into the last quarter.

“Cherokee hit 11 threes in the game, and anytime you have a team go off from behind the arc, it’s going to be hard to beat them,” Randall added. “Their 3-pointers were almost half of their point production.”

Tanner Randall scored 13 points to lead Alta-Aurelia, which finished 5-17. Braden Sonksen added 12, Jack Bloom seven and Cameron Stites six. Gavin Sleezer chipped in with two points and Carson Reinert contributed one.

Reinert led in rebounding with six. Sleezer added three. Reinert charted three assists and Stites two. Randall tallied three steals while Reinert had two.

Alta-Aurelia made 13 of 40 field goals for 33 percent, including 5 of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“This past season was a retooling year … new coach, new offense and defense, all new faces to the varsity scene except one (Tanner Randall), and it was a big learning experience for us,” Randall said. “I told the team next year starts March 1 … weight room, individual workouts and team participation at Top64 in Carroll this summer will all go a long way in making a jump up in our performance next season. I told the kids they’ll have all of the opportunities they need to get better. They need to put in the work to make it a reality.

“I want to thank the seniors — Tanner Randall, Lane Kraemer and Zander Dowdy — for all of their efforts this past season and wish them well in their future endeavors,” Randall added. “I told them to visit us next year at some home games and provide a motivational pre-game speech.”