HCHS withstands 13 Panther treys, rallies to win

 HARLAN (Feb. 14) -- The Creston boys basketball team has hit 24 threes and scored 133 points in two games against Harlan Community this season, but a Panther ‘W’ hasn’t been attached to either night of gaudy statistics.
 Trailing for nearly three and a half quarters Friday, the Cyclones finally took their first lead with 3:16 left in the game and were able to grind out a 76-73 home win to cap a sweep of the Panthers.
 Creston, a team loaded with junior guards who can shoot and slash, finished 13-of-23 from beyond the arc and shot 57.4 percent overall, but couldn’t get enough late stops to hold off HCHS. The Cyclones made 9-of-16 treys and also hit 25-of-31 free throws to outscore the Panthers (6-of-12) by 19 at the line.
 Harlan improved to 14-5 overall and remained 8-1 in the Hawkeye Ten.
 “I think the biggest takeaway is our guys won’t quit. We’re going to keep fighting,” said HCHS coach Mitch Osborn, who received a plaque and also spoke to the crowd during an emotional pregame ceremony in recognition of his 700th career win January 31 at Creston.
 Creston’s seven first-half threes included three each by Brance Baker and Evan Bruce and the Panthers also outworked the Cyclones to some rebounds and loose balls. They led by nine on four occasions in the first half and that was also the halftime margin (40-31). Baker scored 16 of his team-high 20 points before halftime.
 The Cyclones trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but started to get some steals and converted three of them directly into points. Connor Bruck hit two treys in the period and Brad Curren’s free throws with less than a second left cut the gap to 52-49.
 Cael Kralik’s second three of the half restored Creston’s lead to eight early in the fourth, but HCHS just kept fighting back. Three-pointers by Michael Erlemeier and Frame highlighted a quick 8-0 spurt and created the game’s first tie with 5:09 remaining.
 Threes by Bruce and Colby Burg gave Creston the lead two more times, but the Cyclones got three free throws from Frame and an old-fashioned three-point play by Bruck before Johnathan Monson’s three finally gave Harlan a lead it would not relinquish despite Bruce’s fifth and sixth treys keeping things very tense to the end.
 Monson led the Cyclones with 21 points, Bruck scored 14 and Frame had 11 off the bench. Erlemeier and Heithoff both scored nine while Will McLaughlin and Curren added six apiece.
 In addition to Baker’s 20-point night for Creston (12-9, 6-4 H-10), Bruce tallied 18 points (all on threes), Kralik had 15 and Burg finished with nine.