HARLAN -- The Harlan Community boys basketball team moved into a tie for third place in the final Hawkeye 10 standings on Tuesday night, outlasting Creston 70-66 in a wild overtime home finale. It was the second time this season that the Cyclones and Panthers needed O.T. to reach a decision. On December 13, Creston prevailed 61-60 on Kylan Smallwood’s last-second 3-pointer.

 ATLANTIC -- Parity is the name of the game this season in the Class 3-A, Substate 8 boys basketball bracket. While top seeds Atlantic and Glenwood both stood at 15-5 going into Thursday night’s final games of the regular season, four other squads - Harlan Community, A-D-M, Carroll and Creston - all had identical win totals of 11. Postseason tournament play begins Monday night as the substate is split into two district sites.

 LOGAN -- In a game that looked and felt much more like a regional final than the quarterfinal round that it was, IKM-Manning and Logan-Magnolia needed four extra minutes to decide Tuesday’s win-or-go-home rubber match between Western Iowa Conference rivals. In the end - following six ties, three lead changes and a wild finish to regulation - Lo-Ma scored first and led throughout overtime despite the lack of a made field goal, hitting 9-of-15

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton cruised into the Class 1-A regional semifinals here Tuesday night, blowing out Woodbine 73-15 in a Region 1 girls’ quarterfinal. The third-ranked Spartans led 25-11 after one quarter and allowed just four points the rest of the way. They outscored the Tigers 22-1 in the second quarter and played the entire second half with a running clock. 

 GREENFIELD -- The AHSTW girls battled gamely but came out on the short end of a 41-36 score in Tuesday’s Class 2-A regional quarterfinal game at Nodaway Valley.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- The Harlan Community girls bowling team saved its best team score of the season for the final dual meet last Tuesday (February 7), knocking down 2,192 total pins to beat both Lewis Central (1,910) and St. Albert (1,664) at Thunderbowl. HCHS finished with a dual record of 5-6. The Cyclone boys, meanwhile, went 1-1 on the day to finish 8-3 for the season.

 DES MOINES -- Six local state qualifiers will face tough early draws when competition begins Thursday at the 2017 State Wrestling Tournament inside Wells Fargo Arena.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community wrestling team will be represented by three individuals at this week’s state tournament after Lucas Carter, Jacob Wingert and Nick Foss all placed second in Saturday’s Class 2-A District Tournament. Wingert, a senior 170-pounder, will return to Des Moines for the second straight year while juniors Carter (126) and Foss (182) are first-time state qualifiers.

 AVOCA -- Leading by just four points at the break on Saturday night, the AHSTW girls used a 12-0 run to take control and dominated the second half to beat Griswold, 56-32, in a Class 2-A, Region 3 first-round game. The Lady Vikes outscored Griswold 33-13 in the final two quarters, beating the Tigers for the third time this year and claiming their first regional win since 2012. AHSTW (8-14) will now travel to Greenfield Tuesday for a 7 p.m.

IKM-Manning defeated Tri-Center 63-28 in a Class 2-A girls regional game on Saturday night, setting up a showdown of ranked teams at Logan-Magnolia in Tuesday’s regional quarterfinals. Above,

 HARLAN -- The Lewis Central boys basketball team is blessed with a 6-foot-10 center in Kyle Arrington, a 6-4 all-conference guard in Chad Moran and several other solid athletes.

 MANNING -- Jon Brandt and Ben Wegner scored 22 points each and Jared Johnson added 12 here Thursday night as the IKM-Manning boys wrapped up regular-season play with a one-sided 77-34 win over Griswold. IKM-M has won 13 of 15 games since the holiday break and will take a 15-6 record into Thursday night’s Class 2-A district semifinal game vs. South Central Calhoun or ACGC (at Kuemper Catholic).

 UNDERWOOD -- Area wrestlers Gabe Pauley and Joel Becerra of AHSTW and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s Cole Bruns all qualified for the state tournament on Saturday by placing first or second at the Class 1-A District Tournament in Underwood. Pauley, a sophomore 160-pounder won his four-man bracket while Becerra and Bruns, both seniors, placed second at 145 and 170, respectively. The local trio will begin state competition Thursday afternoon (1:30

 HARLAN -- All this time, perhaps the Harlan Community girls basketball team simply needed to play a game every day. Whatever the cause, the Cyclones appear to be heating up at just the right time. Winning its fifth straight game on Tuesday - all in a span of eight nights - HCHS outlasted a banged up Council Bluffs St.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- It only took a quarter Tuesday night for the momentum of the Harlan Community and St. Albert boys basketball teams to rotate 180 degrees. HCHS was trying to bounce back from a rough week following losses by 23 and 14 points, respectively, at Atlantic and Glenwood. St.