The 101st IHSAA Boys State Basketball Tournament opens today in Des Moines, with Class 1A leading things off. The Lake Mills Bulldogs are back in the tournament for the fourth time in five years.
This is an inexperienced Bulldogs team when talking about the state tournament despite missing one year in the past half-decade. Two years ago when Lake Mills loss in the semifinals to Grand View Christian only two current Bulldogs saw the floor, Eli Menke and Lance Helming. Aiden Stensrud, Logan Bacon, Alex Mannes, and Chace Gaetzke were on the team but didn’t play.
That’s Lake Mills coach Kyle Menke.
#4 (3rd-seeded) Lake Mills will be playing a team with less experience on the big stage, as conference opponent #8 (6th-seeded) North Union is the Bulldogs’ competition this afternoon. After beating North Union for the conference title in Febuary, Lake Mills coach Kyle Menke told KIOW that he and coach Alex Fisher didn’t want to meet again until they reached Des Moines and they get that wish today.
North Union is 22-3 on the season and beat South O’Brien in the substate final to reach the tournament. Led by Kody Irmiter, the Warriors are averaging 12 points and eight and a half rebounds pre-game, but they rely on balance. Preston Guerdet averages 11.5, while Aiden Loftstrom also averages 11.5 points per game.
Lake Mills took down Remsen St. Mary’s to reach the tournament, A Hawks team that had qualified for the state tournament for seven consecutive years.
Lake Mills is led by Lance Helming, who averages 19 points per game, while Eli Menke and Aiden Stensrud both average about 16.
Josiah Kleveland and Zarren Egesdal will have the call around 3:30 this afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:45 PM on KIOW 107.3 FM, and you can also listen with a scoreboard on KIOW.com, where you usually find the video stream. There will be no video, but you can listen to the game with a scoreboard at that link.
