Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The break in the boys basketball schedule around the holiday offers an opportunity for teams to rest and reset after the opening month of the season.

For most teams the regular season is a little less than halfway over but the holiday break still gives teams a chance to reflect on what has gone right or wrong through the first few games.

In the instance of many Your Prep Sports area teams more has gone right than wrong over the first month of the season.

Solon (7-0), West High (6-1), Regina (7-2) and West Branch (6-3) are all off to strong starts.

Before play resumes for Your Prep Sports area teams in January we take a look back at the start of the season and give out some midseason awards.

Team With the Best Resume

Solon

The Spartans enter 2024 one of only 18 remaining unbeaten teams in the state and one of just three undefeated teams in Class 3A.

Solon (7-0) has four wins against teams with winning records or at .500, has an average margin of victory of 14.9 and has won five games by nine points or more.

The best wins for the Spartans are both at home, a 73-64 win over Grinnell who has a win over 3A No. 10 Williamsburg and a 62-53 victory over West Branch.

Best Win

Regina over West Branch

No area teams has a standout signature to win on its resume just yet but there are several victories that could fit into this category.

A 58-50 win for Regina over West Branch on December 12 gets the nod for several reasons most notably the fact the win in the first of two regular season meetings with the Bears puts Regina in the drivers’ seat in the River Valley Conference South Division race entering January.

Honorable mention wins are Solon’s victory over Grinnell, West High’s win over Davenport West (5-3) and West Branch’s victory at Keokuk (5-2).

Best Game

West High over City High

What else would anyone expect between these two rivals than a doozy of a matchup to close out 2023.

City High (3-5) played its best game of the season in pushing 4A No. 10 West High (6-1) to the limit before the Trojans prevailed 68-57 at West High.

While West High has historically dominated the cross-town series City High has won two of the past six meetings with all but one of those matchups competitive into the final few minutes.

The December 22 meeting was another close game as West High needed an 11-0 fourth-quarter run to erase a late deficit.

Best Start

Regina

It was actually a less than ideal start to the season for the Regals who dropped back-to-back games to 3A teams Maquoketa (6-1) and Benton Community (4-4).

Since the consecutive losses to larger class competition to open the season the Regals rattled off seven consecutive wins to close 2023 outscoring opponents by an average of 16.4 points per game to come within a pair of wins of matching their win total from a year ago.

Regina (7-2) brings a seven-game winning streak into the 2024 portion of its schedule and sits atop the RVC South Division standings at 5-0.

Best Individual Game

Michael Martin against Wilton

Martin has been excellent this season leading Regina in scoring at 16 points per game and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range while helping the Regals to a strong start.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard was never better than he was in a 73-62 win over Wilton.

Martin poured in 35 points on 9-of-11 3-point shooting, grabbed seven rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.

Player That Has Put Themselves on Opponent’s Radar

Liberty High freshman Jerimiah Washpun

The speedy freshman point guard has made an immediate impact in the opening seven games of his career and has certainly caught the attention of opposing coaches with his strong start.

Washpun is averaging 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 52 percent from the field including an impressive 50 percent (8-of-16) from 3-point range.

A combination of speed and ability to get into the lane and perimeter jump shooting make Washpun an exciting offensive talent.

Player that Has Stepped Up

West High senior Jacob Koch

A three-year starter Koch has played plenty of good basketball for the Trojans the past several season.

As a senior the 6-foot guard has simply taken his game to another level.

Koch is averaging career-bests in points, rebounds, assists and steals while raising his shooting percentage from the field and from 3-point range.

Through seven games Koch is averaging 16.4 points, four rebounds, 3 assists and 2.4 steals per game and is shooting 52 percent from the floor including 49 percent (20-41) from 3-point range.

Player We Aren’t Talking Enough About

Clear Creek Amana senior Haiden Hardy

Hardy has emerged as a major stat sheet filler for the Clippers in his first full season on the lineup leading the team in rebounds and assists from his point guard spot.

The 6-foot-2 Hardy is averaging 13.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while helping Clear Creek Amana to 3-4 start to the season.

Biggest Individual Surprise

Solon senior Rylen Stiegelmeyer

The Spartans needed another scorer to step up this season alongside senior standout Jake Benzing and emerging guard Vince Steinbrech.

That player has been Stiegelmeyer who ranks third on the team in scoring averaging a career-high 12.6 points per game.

A 7.7 point per game scorer last season, Stiegelmeyer is shooting 48 percent from the field including 41 percent from 3-point range and has rounded out his all-around game leading the Spartans with 3 assists per game to go with 1.1 steals.

Mid-Season Freshman of the Year

Tate Wallace

There are plenty of reasons for Regina’s strong start this season including the play of seniors Michael Martin, Eddie Petersen and Drew Streb.
The immediate impact from Wallace has certainly been a key for Regina in its 7-2 start.

Wallace ranks second on the team in points, rebounds and assists and is third on the team in steals.

The 6-foot-2 Wallace is averaging 12.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 59 percent from the floor and 61 percent from the free throw line.

Mid-Season MVP

West Branch senior Holden Arnaman

Arnaman elevated his game to an all-state level a year ago averaging 21.8 points and 5.7 assists per game in a breakthrough junior season.
The 6-foot-3 senior point guard has been even better this season.

Arnaman is averaging a career-best 23.7 points per game to go with 6.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game to help West Branch to a 6-3 start.

Arnaman is shooting a career-best 52 percent from the field including an astonishing 56 percent (41-73) from 3-point range.

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