IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 22 Iowa can unofficially declare itself state champion after bulldozing Iowa State and Northern Iowa. In likely the last matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Panthers for the foreseeable future, Iowa showed how good it can be when it plays to its full potential.
Tyler Cook had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Luka Garza scored 17 and Iowa cruised past Northern Iowa 77-54 on Saturday for its second straight win. Freshman Joe Wieskamp added 10 points for the Hawkeyes (8-2), who opened the game with a 25-7 run and never looked back.

It was the last scheduled game between these two long-time rivals, with Iowa citing the Big Ten’s 20-game season as the reason. They had split the last 14 meetings — but the bigger and more athletic Hawkeyes ran roughshod over the scuffling Panthers (4-6) from the opening tip. Northern Iowa missed 20 of its first 23 shots, and by then Iowa was up 29-10 in the nightcap of a doubleheader that saw Iowa State beat Drake 77-68 in the early game.

The Hawkeyes pushed their lead to 58-30 early in the second half and rolled to their second consecutive in-state win. Iowa beat the Cyclones 98-84 at home in its last outing on Dec 6th.

POLL IMPLICATIONS
Iowa might move up a spot or two after dominating its only game of the week. They’ll host Western Carolina on Tuesday. Northern Iowa hosts Grand Canyon on Wednesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With an ugly defeat staring them in the face, the Cyclones finally found their defense and put away pesky Drake. Michael Jacobson scored 22 points, Marial Shayok had 16 of his 18 in the second half and Iowa State rallied to beat Drake 77-68 on Saturday for its sixth win in seven games.
Freshman Talen Horton scored 15 points with nine rebounds and four assists for the Cyclones, who used a late 12-0 run — keyed by a much stronger effort on the defensive end — to avoid the upset.
Jacobson had seven straight points during Iowa State’s crucial spurt, following a corner 3 with an underneath bucket to give the Cyclones a 65-63 lead. Shayok then buried a 3 with 3:07 left to make it 70-63.

Nick Weiler-Babb scored 13 points with six assists for the Cyclones (9-2), who beat the in-state rival Bulldogs for the fourth time in a row. But it was perhaps for the last time in a while since the annual doubleheader in Des Moines between the schools and Iowa and Northern Iowa is coming to an end.
Nick McGlynn had 19 points to lead Drake (6-2), whose win streak was snapped at five games.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has said in the past that the resumption of the rivalry would likely depend on Drake’s willingness to play in Ames. Saturday’s meeting was the 175th between the schools, which are located about 30 miles apart in central Iowa.  The Bulldogs look like they might do some damage in the Missouri Valley this season. Drake wasn’t fazed playing the most talented team it’ll face all season, and the Bulldogs made things tough on the Cyclones with crisp actions on offense and a defense that, at times, got Iowa State out of its comfort zone.

Iowa State had just seven turnovers, and it lost the ball just twice in the second half. … Nick Norton had 11 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Drake. … Iowa State sophomore Cam Lard has been severely foul-prone in his three games back from suspension. Lard fouled out against Iowa, had four in just seven minutes in a win over Southern and three in three minutes against Drake. … Tremell Murphy scored 12 points with eight rebounds in his return from an elbow injury for the Bulldogs.

UP NEXT: Iowa State hosts Eastern Illinois on Friday. Drake hosts SIU-Edwardsville on Monday.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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The Western Iowa Conference Wrestling Championships were held Friday night, and will be held again today (Saturday) in Avoca. Friday will be a dual tournament with teams seeded and bracketed. Today will be a traditional tournament with matches starting at 10:00am.

In Friday’s match-ups:
Logan-Magnolia 46, Missouri Valley 33
Logan-Magnolia 60, Tri-Center 17
Logan-Magnolia 40, Underwood 36
Missouri Valley 66, Audubon 17
Riverside 60, Audubon 24
Tri-Center 42, Audubon 27

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — Morningside quarterback Trent Solsma, who has guided his team to the national championship game, leads the Associated Press NAIA All-America team. The team was announced the day before Solsma and Morningside (Iowa) face Benedictine (Kan.) in the NAIA national championship game in Daytona Beach, Florida. Solsma passed for 5,097 yards and an NAIA record 68 touchdowns this season.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Mitch Ballock scored 19 with five 3-pointers and seven rebounds to help Creighton beat Green Bay 86-65. The Bluejays (7-3) pulled away with a 14-2 run that ended at 72-56 on Ty-Shon Alexander’s layup with seven minutes to go. The Phoenix (6-5) got the deficit no closer than 12 from there.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs blew a big fourth-quarter lead against the Chargers on Thursday night, leaving them to stew about a missed opportunity. They could have clinched the AFC West and a first-round playoff bye. Instead, the teams are tied atop the division and the Chiefs could still hit the road when the postseason rolls around.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers can no longer be overlooked, whether it is on the list of Super Bowl contenders or as a headline attraction in their own town. LA’s 29-28 come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Chiefs moved the 11-3 Chargers into a tie atop the AFC West with two games remaining and clinched them their first postseason berth since 2013.

NEW YORK (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals first-round draft pick Griffin Roberts has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a drug of abuse. Roberts is a right-handed reliever who was selected 43rd overall from Wake Forest this year. He pitched for Class A Palm Beach after signing for $1,664,200 and had been expected to move quickly through the minor leagues. This was Roberts’ second violation for a drug of abuse, and he will not be paid during the suspension.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Atlantic 57, Shenandoah 32 (Tyler Moen led all scorers with 24 points for the Trojans)
Bishop Neumann 37, St. Albert 34
Clarinda 61, Red Oak 47
Glenwood 68, Denison-Schleswig 45
Kuemper Catholic 64, Creston 55
Lewis Central 66, Harlan 58

Western Iowa Conference

AHSTW 53, Missouri Valley 31
Audubon 83, Tri-Center 66
Logan-Magnolia 46, Riverside, Oakland 39
Treynor 50, IKM-Manning 36
West Monona 60, Underwood 57

Rolling Valley Conference

Ar-We-Va 66, Woodbine 46
Coon Rapids-Bayard 49, Glidden-Ralston 43
West Harrison 55, Boyer Valley 47
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 93, Paton-Churdan 32

Corner Conference

Clarinda Academy 77, Heartland Christian 43
East Mills 50, Griswold 27
Sidney 76, Essex/South Page 36
Stanton 74, Fremont-Mills 49

Pride of Iowa Conference

Bedford 70, Central Decatur 61
East Union 31, Lenox 29
Martensdale-St. Marys 71, Nodaway Valley 58
Mount Ayr 68, Wayne 35
Southwest Valley 54, Southeast Warren 26

Other Scores

CB Abraham Lincoln 48, Lafayette 42
Bishop Heelan Catholic 46, CB Thomas Jefferson 41
Lamoni 63, Diagonal 42
Murray 75, Moulton-Udell 52

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Shenandoah 70, Atlantic 47
Creston 61, Kuemper Catholic 54
Denison-Schleswig 70, Glenwood 58
Lewis Central 42, Harlan 32
Red Oak 61, Clarinda 16

Western Iowa Conference

AHSTW 53, Missouri Valley 33
Audubon 54, Tri-Center 45
Logan-Magnolia 57, Riverside 27
Treynor 60, IKM-Manning 48
West Monona 59, Underwood 39

Rolling Valley Conference

Ar-We-Va 52, Woodbine 31
Boyer Valley 69, West Harrison 55
Glidden-Ralston 56, Coon Rapids-Bayard 31
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 52, Paton-Churdan 35

Corner Conference

Griswold 33, East Mills 24
Fremont-Mills 42, Stanton 24
Sidney 59, Essex 12
South Page 51 Heartland Christian 46

Pride of Iowa Conference

Central Decatur 76, Bedford 39
Lenox 56, East Union 30
Martensdale-St. Marys 43, Nodaway Valley 42
Mount Ayr 64, Wayne 51
Southwest Valley 50, Southeast Warren 31

Other Scores

CB Thomas Jefferson 61, Bishop Heelan Catholic 44
Lamoni 46, Diagonal 43
Murray 57, Moulton-Udell 29

The Audubon Wheelers boys basketball team notched a road win on Friday night with a 83-66 decision over Tri-Center. Audubon raced out to an early 13 points lead at the end of the first quarter and led by 12 at the half 44-32. Tri-Center didn’t go away quietly and made the Wheelers work for the win down the stretch. The Trojans pulled within 5 a couple of times in the fourth quarter but Audubon always seemed to have a response. The Wheelers poured in six 3’s in the final period to stave off the Trojans and pull away at the end.

Audubon had two players hit the 25-point plateau on the night, Tate Killeen had 28 and Lane Lawson finished with 25 to give Audubon their fifth win on the season. The Wheelers will host Underwood next Tuesday night.

Tri-Center had two players reach double figures in scoring during the loss. Brady Huebner led the Trojans with 19 and Jackson Raone finished with 14. The Trojans will travel to face IKM-Manning next Tuesday.

Listen to a postgame interview with the Wheelers’ Lane Lawson below.

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The Audubon Wheelers girls basketball team picked up a Western Iowa Conference road win on Friday night over Tri-Center 54-45. The Wheelers led most of the game but had to respond from a late rally from the Trojans to secure the win. Audubon led by just a point at the end of the first quarter and at halftime. They were then able to push the lead to as large as 12 in the third quarter and took a 39-32 advantage into the final quarter. Tri-Center then rallied to begin the fourth by going on a 10-2 run to take a one point lead at 42-41. The Wheelers responded with a late 7 point run to grab the victory.

Audubon was led by 20 points from freshman Aleah Hermansen, while Leah Subbert and Jaci Christensen each poured in 10 for the Wheelers. Audubon improves to 3-5 on the season and will next host Underwood next Tuesday.

Tri-Center got 16 points from Lilly Dahir and 7 from Madison Ausdemore in the loss. The Trojans fall to 3-3 and will prepare for a trip to IKM-Manning next Tuesday.

Listen to a postgame interview with Audubon’s Grayce Albertsen below.

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The Western Iowa Conference Wrestling Championships will be contested tonight and Saturday in Avoca. The format for this year has changed a bit. Friday will be a dual tournament with teams seeded and bracketed. Each school will get three duals with action starting at 5:00pm.

Saturday will be a traditional tournament with matches starting at 10:00am. Two champions will be crowned team wise for the weekend. The Dual Team Champion on Friday and a traditional Team Champion on Saturday.

Individual champions on Saturday at each weight class will be considered All-WIC wrestlers.

The Audubon Wheelers will travel to fave the Tri-Center Trojans in a Western Iowa Conference doubleheader tonight and we’ll have coverage on KJAN.

The girls game will feature the 2-5 Wheelers against the 3-2 Trojans. Audubon has been led by 10 points per game from Aleah Hermensen and are averaging 43 points per game as a team. The Trojans’ scoring leader is Marissa Anderson who has dropped in 14 points per game. The Trojans have dropped in 49 points per game so far this season.

The boys match-up will pair two 4-2 squads. The Wheelers’ Tate Killeen is averaging 24 points per game and two others have averaged in double figures: Lane Lawson (16ppg) and Kaiden Smith (10ppg). Tri-Center has two players averaging in double-digits with Leyton Nelson at 14 and Ethan Alfers at 11 points per game.

Tune in to KJAN for both games tonight as Chris Parks has the call from Neola. Pregame will begin at 5:50pm prior to the girls game at 6:00pm. The boys will follow at about 7:30pm. You can catch the broadcast on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the web app.