Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Game of the Week

4A No. 1 West High vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie

West High and Prairie close out the final day of the Wells Fargo Advisors Classic at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids with a rematch of Mississippi Valley Conference rivals.

Top-ranked West High has been largely unchallenged during it 10-0 start, with all but one win coming by at least 13 points.

Prairie is the last in-state team to knock off West High, downing the Trojans 80-71 on December 20 of 2016.

The Hawks have won four of five since a 70-57 loss to West High in the first meeting this season back on December 19 and are led by 6-foot-4 junior guards Kris Murray (18 ppg) and Keegan Murray (14.3 ppg).

Other Games to Watch

Western Dubuque at Solon: WAMAC East Division leading Western Dubuque comes to Solon on Friday with a two-game lead on the Spartans in the division standings.  

Liberty High at North Linn: The second of three straight road games for the Lightning comes on Tuesday against the Class 1A top-ranked Lynx.

West Branch at Tipton: The Bears get a shot a revenge against its County rival after Tipton won the first meeting this season 59-57 in West Branch.

Player to Watch

Jake Hilmer, Jr., North Linn

If Liberty High is going to slow down a North Linn squad that leads the state averaging 93.3 points per game it starts with finding a way to control junior point guard Jake Hilmer.

The 5-foot-11 Hilmer ranks 11th in the state averaging 25.1 points per game but that’s only a small part of what he brings to the high-scoring Lynx.

Hilmer leads the state in both assists and steals, averaging 12.6 assists and 7.2 steals per game.

Thanks in large part to Hilmer, North Linn has scored triple digits four times this season.

Who’s Hot

Masen Miller, Soph., Regina

Miller has been a different player since the calendar flipped to 2018.

The sophomore point guard has scored in double figures in five straight January games including a career-high 29 points in a win over Bellevue.

Miller is averaging 16 points per game in January to push his season average to 11.1 points per game.

Last week Miller scored 14 in a win over Durant and was the lone Regal in double figures in a loss to Solon, finishing with 12 points.

Schedule

Tuesday

4A No. 1 West High (10-0) at Cedar Falls (8-3)

Liberty High (5-8) at 1A No. 1 North Linn (15-0)

Solon (8-4) at Central DeWitt (3-8)

Benton Community (7-4) at Clear Creek Amana (2-9)

West Branch (7-6) at Tipton (10-5)

Regina (8-3) at Mid-Prairie (2-11)

Friday

City High (3-8) at Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-7)

Western Dubuque (9-2) at Solon (8-4)

Clear Creek Amana (2-9) at Center Point-Urbana (7-5)

Bellevue (5-8) at West Branch (7-6)

North Cedar (4-7) at Regina (8-3)

Saturday

4A No. 1 West High (10-0) vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-4) at US Cellular Center

Solon (8-4) vs. 3A No. 6 Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-3) at US Cellular Center

Liberty High (5-8) at Dubuque Wahlert (5-6)