As Wolverine Rider Kupka (13) attempts to stop him, North Tama senior Kayler Morris (5) goes for the layup Thursday evening in Traer. Morris led his team to victory over GMG, racking up 24 points, seven rebounds, and five of North Tama’s six total steals. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Senior Kayler Morris’s two dozen points and junior Brayton Cibula’s nine rebounds helped lead the North Tama Redhawks boys’ basketball team to a 54-36 win over the GMG Wolverines here on Thursday, Jan. 8, in what ended up being a physical, gritty night on the hardwood between the Iowa Star-South rivals.

North Tama’s gymnasium was practically gleaming Thursday evening after receiving its facility improvements “facelift” over winter break, including a new North Tama-branded wall mat and new black bleachers made of molded plastic to replace the previous ones which were made of wood. Both sets of spectator seating were fairly packed – particularly the GMG side – for the conference match-up.

The game ran hot from tipoff which 6-foot-5 Cibula won for the Redhawks. North Tama got out to an 11-0 lead after roughly three-and-a-half minutes of play before Wolverine sophomore Easton Sash managed a pump fake for the first GMG points. Senior Rider Kupka followed that up a few possessions later with a layup before Sash managed another two-pointer to bring the score to 11-6 with under two minutes to go. Following a timeout, junior Kayvin Morris sank a beautiful, long three-pointer to keep North Tama up 14-8 heading into the first break.

The final 90 seconds of play in the second quarter seemed to run at the speed of lightning as GMG came within one point of tying North Tama – reaching 20-19 with under a minute to go, but due to a couple of fouls, the Wolverines couldn’t quite convert the momentum and North Tama retained the lead, 22-19, heading into the second half.

In the third quarter, North Tama scored 17 points to GMG’s 11; as they had all game, the Redhawks retained the lead heading into the final quarter, 39-30.

North Tama's Brayton Cibula reaches for the tipoff against the GMG Wolverines. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The Wolverine foul count ticked up considerably in the fourth – many of which were loudly contested by GMG’s spectators. All told, the Wolverines tallied 19 total fouls to the Redhawks’ six.

GMG’s shot attempts were also numerous in the final quarter but, try as they might, they just couldn’t seem to hit the mark. North Tama outscored GMG 15-6 in the fourth quarter to nail down the 54-36 conference win.

“Unfortunately, the calls definitely didn’t go our way on Thursday, but as a coach and an athlete we play not to leave the call in the officials hands,” GMG head coach Tammy Woodbury told the newspaper in a follow-up email. “We had a long week and Thursday just didn’t seem to be our night in terms of scoring or playing our defensive game we wanted to bring.”

Kayler Morris led his team to victory over GMG, racking up 24 points, including four 3-pointers. He also tallied seven rebounds and five of North Tama’s six total steals.

Cibula added another eight points for the Redhawks plus four assists, while also leading the defense with nine rebounds.

North Tama junior Kayvin Morris (1) follows-through as he sinks a long three-pointer to end the first quarter of the Redhawks’ eventual 54-36 Iowa Star-South conference win over GMG on Thursday, Jan. 8, in Traer. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Off the bench, senior Clayton Williams had eight points and four rebounds. Kayvin Morris had six points and six rebounds plus a pair of assists and a pair of blocks.

Kupka led the Wolverines with his electric energy, notching a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also managed three steals. Sash was right in there with nine points, five rebounds, and a team-high six steals.

Junior Ethan Klemesrud added six points and five rebounds for GMG. Jacoby Woodbury tallied six rebounds and one of the team’s two blocks.

On paper – and also in terms of raw skillset – the teams appeared much more evenly matched heading into the evening than what eventually played out in the final period. North Tama turned the ball over 18 times (to GMG’s 15) due mostly to the Wolverines’ impressive 14 steals, but the Redhawks achieved much more offensive success – sinking 20 field goals out of 51 attempts to GMG’s 15 out of 65.

“I would agree, the score did not reflect how even the match-up between our two teams are, but we definitely will be ready for the next time we see them and hopefully we can get momentum to swing our way that night,” Woodbury added.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The two teams will face off again later this month on Friday, Jan. 23, in Garwin.

Heading into the week, North Tama was 7-3 (5-1) on the season, while the Wolverines were 5-4 (4-3).

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Redhawk junior Brayton Cibula (40) goes up for the shot after pulling down a rebound against GMG on Thursday, Jan. 8, in Traer. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Redhawk junior Brayton Cibula (40) looks to pass against the GMG Wolverines on Thursday, Jan. 8, in Traer. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER