The #7 (2A) Grundy Center boys basketball team will begin its postseason Thursday by hosting West Branch in a 2A District 7 semifinal. The top seed in the district, the Spartans had a first round bye.
Grundy Center (19-2) will enter the playoffs on a two-game losing streak, having been tested by #5 (2A) Grand View Christian and #6 (3A) Waverly-Shell Rock in the final two regular season games. With the recent return from injury by Jalen Kirkpatrick, Head Coach Brent Thoren says his absence allowed extra development by those stepping into larger roles.
“It’s just been really gratifying to watch us continue to grow,” Thoren says. “I say it a lot and it’s true. They don’t care who gets the credit, because they know that somebody or a couple of guys are going to have big nights every night, just depending on how other teams want to guard us, and they just want to win. That’s all they care about is winning. And so it’s just a really neat group of kids. They really like to compete. They really have fun with each other competing. That to me is one of the best parts of watching these guys and how they’ve grown, and how they’ve gotten better each game as well. So just a fun group of kids, and we’ll enjoy the ride for as long as we can.”
West Branch (11-12) advanced with Monday’s 83-42 win at Tipton, a rubber match after each team won by two points when the teams met in River Valley Conference play. They bounced back from a 2-8 start to their season to get within a game of .500. Jayden Harris shoots 50 percent and scores 19.4 points per game to lead the Bears.
The tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to Tuesday’s district final against either Regina Catholic or Beckman Catholic.
