Cold shooting dooms Danville boys basketball in Class 1A state quarterfinal loss to Lake Mills

DES MOINES — Offense hasn't been the strong suit of the Danville High School boys basketball team this season.

The Bears averaged 55.8 points per game this season, scoring mostly on shots in the paint, then relying on their defense to shut teams down.

So when the Bears fell behind Lake Mills in the third quarter of Monday's Class 1A state quarterfinal game at Wells Fargo Arena, Danville co-head coach Steven Soukup knew his team was in trouble.

Danville shot an ice-cold 21.1 percent from the field — 0-of-17 from 3-point range — which added up to a 39-22 loss to Lake Mills.

Lake Mills (25-1) advances to the semifinals to play top-ranked Grand View Christian (25-0) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Danville bows out with a 23-3 record after making its first appearance in the state tournament since 2016.

For a team that has struggled to score the basketball, there just seemed to be a lid on the basket for the Bears in this one.

“We struggled from the 3-point line, for sure," Soukup said. "Our defense has really carried us the entire season, so I kind of expected that again today. We did a really good job that first half of holding them to an 11-11 halftime score. We gave them a couple tough baskets there in the third quarter that helped separate the score a little bit. With our offensive struggles and putting the ball in the basket, it was kind of tough to regroup and get ourselves back in the game from there.”

It was apparent early on that Danville's shots were off. The Bears missed their first 10 shots from the field and shot 9 percent from the field in the first eight minutes.

“Shots go in and out. You’re not always going to get your shots to fall. That’s why defense and hustle have been the best things to do," said Danville senior Drake Johnson, who scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting. “We’re pretty much used to it. Some games you just can’t get a shot to fall. You just have to keep powering through it and trust yourself enough to know when to take a shot and when to take a shot. When to drive and when not to drive.”

“It was very frustrating when you think you can make the shots and they don’t go in after shooting plenty of shots every day in practice," said Danville junior Caiden Gourley, who led the Bears with 10 points, but was 0-of-9 from 3-point range. "You know you can make them and they don’t go in. It’s just hard feelings.”

Danville clawed its way back in the second quarter, limiting Lake Mills to just four points.

Back-to-back layups by Gourley off passes from Carr, along with a free throw by Carr, knotted the game at 11 by halftime.

“Offensively we weren’t happy with how we played in the first half," Lake Mills coach Kyle Menke said,. "We talked about it. It doesn’t matter if it’s 35-35 or 11-11. You have to come out and win the next 16 minutes, no matter what the score is. We have to come out and execute and regroup and the kids really did that. We played a real good, sound, fundamental second half. That’s what it takes to move on.”

“We struggled from the 3-point line, for sure," Soukup said. "Our defense has really carried us the entire season, so I kind of expected that again today. We did a really good job that first half of holding them to an 11-11 halftime score."

Lake Mills opened the second half with a 10-1 run to put the Bears behind the eight-ball. Two baskets by Wyatt Helming, sandwiched around a 15-foot jumper by Bennett Berger, gave the Bulldogs some separation.

“I didn’t think we were as aggressive in the first half as we needed to be," Menke said. "In the second half I think we got Wyatt on a layup on the first play and I think Bennett hit a little side jump shot to make it 15-11. I think that set the tone. We were able to get some stops early in the third quarter.”

Trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Bears were forced to shoot 3-pointers and score in bunches, things they have not done all season.

“I’m not sure it was much different than what we’ve seen the last couple games," Soukup said. "I’m not sure we were any more nervous. Our 3-point shooting really hasn’t been our M.O. this season. It’s attacking the paint and getting baskets there. They limited us to one shot and Sawyer getting two fouls early int eh first half, it really didn’t transpire for us. Cold shooting never helps at this point in the season.”

Matt Levins is sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.

DANVILLE (22)

Ty Carr 0-6 1-2 1, Caiden Gourley 3-16 4-5 10, Cadence Wiliams 1-5 1-2 3, Drake Johnson 3-8 0-1 6, Sawyer Nelson 1-3 0-0 2, Brody Christensen 0-0 0-0 0, Jaden Bauer 0-0 0-0 0, Titus Svoboda 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Buck 0-0 0-0 0, Ashton McCane 0-0 0-0 0, Talan Whaley 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper Kleinkopf 0-0 0-0 0, Carson Ourth 0-0 0-0 0, Landin Seibert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-38 6-10 22.

LAKE MILLS (39)

AJ Ramaker 1-2 3-5 2, Bennett Berger 3-8 7-10 13, Kadin Abele 0-0 0-0 0, Wyatt Helming 3-10 0-0 6, Denton Kingland 0-1 0-0 0, Eli Menke 1-4 0-0 3, Davis Hugo 0-0 0-0 0, Cameon Stellpflug 0-0 0-0 0, Seth Hermanson 4-6 2-2 10, Lance Helming 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 13-32 12-17 39.

Score by quarters

Danville. 2. 9. 5 6. — 22

Lake Mills. 7. 4. 14. 14. — 39

Fouls: Danville 14, Lake Mills 12. Fouled out: Nelson. Technicals: None. 3-point goals: Danville 0-17 (Johnson 0-1,, Williams 0-3, Carr 0-4, Goruley 0-9), Lake Mills 1-11 (Menke 1-4, Kingland 0-1, W. Helming 0-2, Berger 0-4).

Records: Danville 23-3, Lake Mills 25-1.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Danville boys basketball falls in Iowa high school 1A quarterfinal