A-P boys strike back after 1st loss

Aplington-Parkersburg boys basketball cleaned up after their first loss of the season against highly-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck last Tuesday with an 80-64 win against another ranked 1A team in Wapsie Valley on Friday night, followed by a 78-50 win over Jesup on Monday, Jan. 30.

The Falcons never led the Rebels until early in  the second half, but G-R answered with an 11-3 run to end the third quarter and retake the lead.

“They killed us with their offensive rebounding, and we fouled way too much,” A-P head coach Aaron Thomas said. “We had effort on the defensive end, but if we score 80 points we shouldn’t lose. We just didn’t do a good job of coming up with those loose balls on the floor.”

G-R led most of the fourth quarter as well, able to secure the game behind free throws and the final touches on a 35-point masterpiece from Rebel star senior William Kiburis.

Kiburis was 11-of-20 from the field, 11-of-15 from the free throw line and added nine rebounds and eight assists.

“He’s a good player and the last thing we wanted to do was send him to the line,” Thomas said. “Just a heck of a player all around, tip your cap to him.”

Garrett Hempen, Martez Wiggley and Gavin Thomas all finished in double digits with 25, 20 and 16 points, respectively. Wiggley grabbed seven rebounds with three steals and Thomas has five assists.

“I thought we did execute well, but we let them get away by nine or 10 points down the stretch and it was just too much to overcome,” Thomas said. 

Hempen and Wiggley dumped in 27 and 24 points, respectively, for the Falcons in the win against Wapsie. Hempen added seven rebounds and four assists. Nick Neuroth had five points, five rebounds and 10 assists and Gavin Thomas put in 15 points.

A-P (16-1) fell to fourth in 2A in the IHSAA rankings released on Monday. The Falcons faced Hudson on Tuesday for Senior Night and then welcome Dike-New Hartford on Friday. Next Tuesday, Feb. 7 is A-P’s final home game of the regular season, taking on Grand View Christian.

G-R 83, A-P 80. Will Hodges 3-8 1-2 7, Gavin Thomas 6-11 0-1 16, Garrett Hempen 8-16 8-8 25, Martez Wiggley 10-15 0-3 20, Nick Neuroth 2-4 1-1 6, Cooper Hoff 1-3 0-0 2, Aidan Junker 0-0 0-0 0, Kye Rottinghaus 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Eddy 2-2 0-0 4, Team 32-59 10-15 80.

A-P 80, WV 64. Cooper Hoff 0-2 0-0 0, Gavin Thomas 5-11 3-5 15, Garrett Hempen 9-11 5-6 27, Martez Wiggley 11-18 1-1 24, Nick Neuroth 1-3 2-2 5, Will Hodges 2-7 0-0 6, Caleb Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Schipper 0-0 0-0 0, Will Steege 1-3 0-0 3, Kye Rottinghaus 0-0 0-0 0, Tate Neymeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Eddy 0-1 0-0 0, Team 29-56 11-14 80.