North Linn was headed to the state tournament for the seventh year in a row. They had been in the finals the past five years and were looking to add another title game run to their resume. However, the Lynx faced a tough draw in the first round of the Class 1A quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Lynx laced them up against a very tough Madrid Tiger team on Monday in Des Moines. The Tigers were riding a 19-game winning streak and the Lynx had rattled off 43 wins in a row dating back to last season. Something had to give, and this would be no ordinary first round match-up.
Watching Madrid on film, coach Hilmer felt the game went as they expected. “We always look for ways to exploit their weaknesses in the other team’s line-up, but could not find any, so we knew it was going to be a tough opening round game.”
Sophomore guard Mason Bechen shot lights out in the first, connecting on four three-pointers. The Lynx scored the final seven points of the quarter to take a 19-11 lead after one.
“I was nervous coming out here as a sophomore and never starting down here, but we were able to get the job done,” said Bechen. “I felt confident shooting it in the first quarter, my shots were falling, and it felt great.”
Senior Tate Haughenbury banked in a two off the glass to begin the second and Bechen followed up on the next possession with his fifth trey of the game.
Tate had nine second quarter points, helping North Linn to a 34-25 lead at the half. The entire first half was a Bechen and Haughenbury highlight reel as they would go on to score the team’s final 32 points.
Haughenbury continued his torrid attacks to the rim and everyone else on the team was hitting as well, building off Tate’s game.
“It’s kind of incredible to see these guys step into the roles we had last season,” Haughenbury said. “Coach Hilmer runs a great program, all these JV guys run the same program, so when they step up into the varsity line-up, they are ready to go.”
With just under a minute to go in the third quarter, Jake Van Etten came in and provided a huge spark for the Lynx. After making one of two free throws, Jake collected a huge defensive rebound, then ran the court and had an offensive rebound and put back for two off a Breckyn Betenbender missed triple that ignited the crowd and gave the Lynx a 13-point lead.
After knocking down 1 of 2 from the free throw line, Van Etten made a tremendous steal and finished at the rim, giving the Lynx a 10-point cushion.
A short time later, with the score narrowed 65 to 60, North Linn was running out of time on the shot clock. The ball bounced around before arriving in the hands of Bechen, who instinctively threw up a desperation three pointer. It somehow had eyes for the basket, helping the Lynx move on to the state semi-finals.
“I was pleased with how the boys responded after Madrid went on a couple runs, we had a sophomore point guard who stepped up and played outstanding in Mason Bechen,” said Hilmer.
