Sophomore Corvon Seales goes up for a jump shot in a game against Bettendorf
As the final seconds of the 2015 class 4A state championship ticked off the clock, North Scott’s sideline was all smiles and hugs. The players on the court tried to contain their excitement as they finished off the game to put this team into the history books. As exciting as the championship last year was, the Lancers have been focused on their encore and defending their state title this year.2015 was a special year for the Lancer basketball team as it captured the 4A state championship. The Lancers went 23-3 with a team that featured two all state players and Division I recruits, Cortez Seales and Marlon Stewart. The Lancers beat undefeated and three time defending state champs, Iowa City West in the semi-final game to advance to the championship game. North Scott met Pleasant Valley in the championship game, for a MAC showdown.
In a game that showed the talent that the underrated, eastern side of Iowa had, North Scott prevailed with a 44-36 win over it’s MAC rival. The win capped off the most successful season in North Scott basketball history.Coming off the state title win, the Lancers came into the 2015-2016 season with a target on their jerseys. The level of experience was the exact opposite of the previous year. The 2014-2015 Lancer basketball team had two four year starters, one three year starter, and two two year starters. Coming into this year, the Lancers returned no starters.
The players who returned from last year’s team accounted for only 60 points a year ago, a stat not attributed to lack of talent but to the talent and experience of players in front of them. A year of five senior starters is followed by a year of no senior starters and only one senior on the team. Regardless, the North Scott coaching staff has been able to assemble a team that has posted an 11-5 record at this point in the season. With no returning starters from last year’s team, there is still experience with Moline transfer, Bailey Basala. Basala started as a sophomore a year ago for Moline and his experience has been valuable so far this year, as he is averaging 18.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per Game. “I’ve been focusing on shooting less and scoring more this year and being the teammate that I want to have,” Basala said.
The Lancers are just three games removed from a defeat from Pleasant Valley, a team that returned two players from the all tournament team and is currently ranked number one in class 4A. That was the fourth defeat of the season, with the other losses coming from Dubuque Wahlert, Dubuque Senior, and Davenport North, respectively. After winning the next two games the Lancers fell to Bettendorf 70-57. The Lancers will look to finish out the year strong and get a high seed in their sub-state. The Lancers next game will be on February 5th at home against Clinton.
