ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton held the lead exactly three times during Saturday’s Rolling Valley Conference girls basketball clash with Glidden-Ralston. The Spartans scored the first basket of the game, led 30-28 at halftime and surged ahead for good with just :10.7 left in overtime. Every moment in between was an absolute battle, but the third-ranked (1-A) Spartans kept their unbeaten season alive with a hard-fought 57-54 overtime wi

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls basketball team evened its Hawkeye Ten Conference record at 3-3 Friday night with a commanding 76-42 home win over Clarinda. HCHS started fast, taking a 28-8 lead after one quarter, and cruised to its most lopsided victory of the season. Six Cyclones knocked down at least one 3-pointer in the game as the team shot 9-of-29 from long range and 47.4 percent overall.

 MANNING -- Second-ranked Treynor used a 20-5 second-half run to pull away from the IKM-Manning girls Friday night, completing a season sweep with a 61-51 win over the Wolves.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW girls basketball team improved to 4-0 in January Friday night, holding off Riverside 47-43 in Western Iowa Conference play. The Lady Vikes, now 5-8 overall and 4-6 in the WIC, trailed 27-26 at the half before outscoring the Bulldogs 12-5 in the third quarter and finishing off the victory.

 MANNING -- The month of January has been very good to the IKM-Manning boys basketball team thus far. The Wolves won their fourth straight game of 2017 on Friday night, avenging an earlier loss at Treynor by defeating the Cardinals 49-39 in Manning. Senior Jon Brandt showcased an outstanding mid-range game - leading IKM-M with 19 points - and the Wolves’ 3-2 zone defense stymied the Cardinals for most of the game. IKM-Manning also beat Missour

 CLARINDA -- Shane Chamberlain led the way with a career-high 28 points and seven rebounds Friday night as the Harlan Community boys basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 79-42 victory at Clarinda. Chamberlain hit 4-of-6 three-pointers and shot 9-of-13 overall, pacing a list of 11 Cyclones in the scoring column in their most lopsided win of the season. Up 28-19 at the half, HCHS outscored the Cardinals 29-10 in the third quarter

 GRISWOLD -- The AHSTW boys basketball team simply continues to roll along as the sole leader of the Western Iowa Conference. With nine regular-season games still remaining, the Vikings surpassed last year’s win total Tuesday night with a one-sided 75-27 victory at Griswold, improving to 11-1 overall and 8-1 in the WIC. They hold a one-game lead over Underwood (7-2) going into Friday’s home game vs.

 CRESTON -- All six Harlan Community varsity bowlers averaged at least 150 during the individual round as the Cyclone boys improved to 3-1 last Saturday with a 2,455-2,118 dual win at Creston. The Cyclone girls, meanwhile, tallied their best team score of the season but dropped to 1-3 overall with a 2,189-2,032 loss to the Panthers. Senior Mitchell Leinen led the HCHS boys with a high game of 210 and a two-game series of 371.

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning boys pulled away during the second and third quarters Monday night, routing Riverside 85-42 for its third straight January win. Leading 14-11 after the opening period, the Wolves outscored the Bulldogs 28-11 in the second and 24-10 in the third. They improved to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the Western Iowa Conference as 11 players broke into the scoring column.

 GRISWOLD -- When talking about his basketball team Tuesday night, AHSTW girls head coach Tyler Morris referenced “2017” about four times during the process of answering four questions. And why not? Since flipping the calendar less than two weeks ago, the Lady Vikes are 3-0 in the new year following Tuesday night’s 46-23 win at Griswold.

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior Cole Bruns notched career win number 100 in the final dual Monday night as the Spartans finished 0-3 in a home quad vs.

 MANNING -- Sparked by a big first quarter, the IKM-Manning girls basketball team cruised past Riverside 76-40 on Monday night, improving to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Western Iowa Conference. The Wolves outscored the visiting Bulldogs 21-6 in the opening stanza and continued to pull away throughout the night, shooting 48 percent from the field and making 9-of-21 three-pointers.

 HARLAN -- A strong fourth quarter erased a somewhat forgettable first three Friday night as the Harlan Community boys basketball team rallied for a 54-45 home win over St.

 NEOLA -- Ethan Lemon and Brandon Trevino each won individual championships on Saturday, leading the Harlan Community wrestling team to second place out of 14 schools at the Tri-Center Invitational. Eleven out of 13 HCHS wrestlers placed in the top six as the Cyclones scored 191 points and came in second to Missouri Valley (204), which is ranked second in Class 1-A by The Predicament with six Top 10 individuals.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Down one starter and facing the Hawkeye Ten front runner, Harlan Community hung around for a half Friday night before St. Albert’s three-point shooting and pressure defense proved to be too much. Trailing 32-24 at the break, the Cyclone girls were outscored 31-5 during the first 11 minutes of the second half and suffered a 67-37 loss at the hands of the surging Saintes. St.