MANNING – The growth of a basketball program was on full display Tuesday night as the AHSTW boys outlasted IKM-Manning on the road, 63-55, in Western Iowa Conference action. The Vikings scored the first 14 points of the game and stormed ahead 18-2 in the opening five minutes, then recovered and eventually pulled away after IKM-M rallied back to take a brief 36-34 lead early in the third quarter. To do both of those things in one night – lead

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Falling behind 22-4 against the fourth-ranked team in Class 4-A, Harlan Community fought back to make it a game but couldn’t get over the hump in a 60-49 boys basketball loss at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln Tuesday night. HCHS closed within 37-27 at halftime and made it 53-46 with three minutes left before the unbeaten Lynx closed out their sixth win of the season. The Cyclones, who outrebounded A.L.

 ELK HORN -- Cole Burmeister led four Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton players in double figures with 15 points Tuesday night as the Spartan boys doubled up West Harrison 66-33 in Rolling Valley Conference action. Drew Buckholdt made 10-of-14 free throws and scored 14 points for Exira-EHK while Dakota Rold and Noah Pettepier both scored 11.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- The Harlan Community girls basketball team will have two full weeks to digest and relive Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss at Abraham Lincoln. Up by 12 points in the third quarter, the Cyclones watched their lead slowly dwindle away down the stretch before A.L.’s Hope Riche made a three-pointer at the final horn to give the Lynx a 58-57 non-conference victory. Just one week after the HCHS boys lost on a last-second overtime three

 MANNING -- After watching his team fall behind 7-2 in the opening moments Tuesday night, IKM-Manning girls basketball coach Gene Rasmussen decided it was time for a quick change. So less than two minutes into the game against AHSTW, Rasmussen swapped out all five starters without thinking twice.

 ELK HORN -- The third-ranked Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team improved to 8-0 Tuesday night with a dominating 71-15 home win over West Harrison. The Spartans led 25-5 after one quarter and 52-9 at the half before outscoring the Hawkeyes 17-0 in the third quarter.

 HARLAN -- Battling through some typical ups and downs with an inexperienced varsity lineup, the Harlan Community boys basketball team will take a 3-3 record into Friday’s final December game vs.

 HARLAN -- With back-to-back wins against a state-ranked Denison team and Creston under its belt, the Harlan Community girls took momentum and positive vibes into Friday’s home showdown vs.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- The Harlan Community boys basketball team suffered its second straight road defeat on Friday night, falling behind 34-17 at halftime and losing to ninth-ranked (4-A) Lewis Central, 62-42. HCHS shot just 32.6 percent from the field, including 8-of-29 from three-point range, and only had three players score more than three points in the game. Lewis Central, which improved to 6-0 overall (5-0 in the Hawkeye Ten) shot 57 percent

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW boys basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the year in a big way Friday night, blowing out Missouri Valley 79-29 in a Western Iowa Conference game. Three nights after losing 61-59 at Logan-Magnolia, the Vikings stormed out to a 29-5 lead after one quarter and went to halftime up 53-8.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community bowling teams were both defeated by Denison-Schleswig on Thursday at Cyclone Lanes. Denison won the girls dual by 388 pins (2,324 to 1,936) and edged the Cyclone boys by just 27 pins (2,666 to 2,639). In the boys half of the meet, HCHS led by 26 pins following the individual round but was outscored 880-827 in the Baker Games.

 CLARINDA -- Harlan Community picked up two Hawkeye Ten Conference wrestling wins Thursday night, defeating Shenandoah 37-27 before rallying past Clarinda 46-31.

 CRESTON -- All three starting guards executed their roles to perfection Tuesday night as Harlan Community rolled to 58-43 girls basketball win at Creston. Senior Bailey Hansen, with an assist from younger sister Chloe at times, took on the responsibility of playing lock-down defense on Creston’s top scorer, Brielle Baker, who was held to three points until hitting a late trey. Junior Lexi Larsen, playing point guard for the second straight ga

 CRESTON – For a minute, the Harlan Community boys basketball team was again on the verge of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on Tuesday night at Creston. Panther sophomore Kylan Smallwood had other ideas. Smallwood’s step-back three-pointer from the top of the key – his first long-range shot of the game – fell through the net just as the final buzzer sounded, giving Creston a 61-60 overtime victory over the previously unbeaten Cyclon

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Lucas Schmitz provided the highlight with a school record game score of 276 on Tuesday as the Harlan Community boys bowling team improved to 2-0 with a 213-pin victory over Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 2,745 to 2,532, at Thunderbowl. The HCHS girls (1-1) also secured a win, edging the Lynx by 28 pins, 1,977 to 1,949.