The Norwalk boys basketball team fell short in their upset bid at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln on Friday night, losing to the Lynx, 47-40, in a Class 4A substate semifinal heard live on 94.3 KNIA and the KNIA3 stream.
The Warriors used an early 8-0 run to lead 8-4, but trailed for the final three-plus quarters and finished the season with a record of 11-12. All but one of their losses came against teams that will be playing in next week’s substate finals. Norwalk coach Aaron Pelzer tells KNIA Sports that he appreciated the fight in his team on a night when Abraham Lincoln grabbed at least 20 offensive rebounds and shot more than twice as many free throws as the Warriors.
“The fact that we were able to keep it to a seven-point game, giving up over 20 offensive rebounds, shows how hard we did fight,” Pelzer said. “[We were a] couple open shots away from being right there. I think they banked in a three. They got a three off a moving screen that the official said he missed… but that’s basketball. That’s how it works. I could not be prouder of the fight of that group that was out there tonight, and just our whole group in general. That’s something that our program has always prided ourselves on is… we fight harder than anybody. That’s kind of what we try to do and we certainly did that tonight.”
Norwalk executed their defensive game plan, holding AL’s 6-foot-7 senior Creighton Bracker to only eight points – less than half his average – and one two-point field goal. However, the Warriors could not create enough offense against the Lynx’s physical style. They scored only five second-quarter points and trailed 21-18 at halftime. They cut the margin to 29-28 in the third quarter before Abraham Lincoln surged ahead by a dozen in the fourth.
Norwalk senior Grady Sigrist made several tough shots and scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. Audric Pelzer and Kaleb Foltz both added six. The Warriors will graduate a quality group of seven seniors off this year’s roster.
The Lynx improved to 19-2 overall and will travel to Waukee for Tuesday’s Substate 1 final.