Cyclones finish with 33-10 flourish to rout Denison

 HARLAN -- It took nearly three quarters, but Harlan Community eventually delivered the knockout punch Tuesday night in a 74-43 boys basketball win over Denison-Schleswig.
 After the Monarchs pulled within 41-33 at the 2:30 mark of the third period, Cyclone coach Mitch Osborn called a timeout and the team responded with a 33-10 closing run to sweep the season series.
 HCHS point guard Caleb Rasmussen ignited the final push with two impressive left-handed drives and finishes - both resulting in three-point plays - and Ethan Knudson (three) and Logan Peters (two) combined to knock down five consecutive 3-pointers during a fourth quarter owned by the Cyclones, 25-6.
 HCHS, ranked fourth in Class 3-A, was led by Will Lansman’s career-high 26 points (on 12-of-15 shooting) and Rasmussen’s 16 points, seven assists and four steals.
 The Cyclones employed two full court presses in the second half - first a 1-2-1-1 diamond press, then man-to-man - which helped produce about a dozen of Denison’s 19 total turnovers.
 HCHS improved to 12-2 overall while D-S dropped to 2-12. Their Hawkeye Ten records remained the same (Cyclones 8-1, Monarchs 1-7) as the game did not count toward the conference standings.