BOYS' BASKETBALL: P-C pair named to RVC all-conference teams
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
The strong Paton-Churdan junior backcourt earned some high recognition this week.
Rockets’ point guard, Joe Towers, was named to his second consecutive Rolling Valley all-conference team this winter, grabbing first team honors thanks to his 17 points per game average.
The other half of the guard pair, Jake Berns, was named to the 2016-17 RVC second team behind his 15.6 PPG average and seven rebounds per game.
The juniors led the Rockets to a 10-11 record and a 9-9 record in the RVC before falling in their first round, 1A district game to Bishop Garrigan, 59-44 Feb. 16 in Algona, P-C finished out the regular season 8-4 after starting the year 2-6, including a five game losing streak.
Towers was named to the RVC second team following the 2015-16 campaign, averaging 12.8 points per game while Berns was an honorable mention a season ago.
Towers’ 17 points per game average was the fourth-best mark in the conference this season. The junior also collected the fourth most steals (57) and came in third with 87 assists. Boyer Valley’s Joe Weber, a unanimous first team selection, led the conference at 23.5 points per game. Thomas Hensley of CAM, the second of four unanimous selections poured in an average of 23 points per game. Exira-EHK’s Cole Burmeister contributed a league-high 159 assists, 45 more than Charter Oak-UTE’s Luke Staley. Towers also drained 33 three-pointers and made 75 free throws (fourth in the RVC).
The point guard scored a season-high 26 points in a 56-52 loss to Charter Oak-UTE Dec. 10, drilling 11 of 21 shots and pulling down six rebounds to go with four assists and three steals.
He also dished out a team-high 11 assists in a 76-29 over Woodbine Jan. 27, collecting five steals to go with eight points.
Towers has totaled 772 in his three-year varsity career.
Berns’ scoring average was seventh-best in the conference while his team-best rebounding average was 11th in the league. He connected on 47 percent of his shots and swiped 47 total steals. The two-guard scored a season-high 29 points in a 83-77 double overtime victory over Boyer Valley Jan. 23, pulling down 10 rebounds while dishing out four assists and swiping three steals. Berns pulled down a season-best 12 rebounds in a 59-41 loss at CAM Jan. 30 in Anita.
Junior Charlie Minnehan was selected as an honorable mention. The forward averaged 7.3 points per game, drilling 15 three-pointers while pulling in five rebounds per game. Minnehan scored a season-high 20 points in the Jan. 27 win over Woodbine, connecting on nine of his 12 shots.
ROLLING VALLEY ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
First Team
Drew Buckholdt, SR, Exira-EHK*
Thomas Hensley, JR, CAM*
Joe Weber, JR, Boyer Valley*
Ben Obert, SO, Coon Rapids-Bayard*
Joe Towers, JR, Paton-Churdan
Derek Schurke, SR, Ar-We-Va
Drew Schurke, SO, Ar-We-Va
Hunter Clausen, SR, Charter Oak-Ute
*Denotes unanimous selection
Second Team
Dakota Rold, SO, Exira-EHK
Jake Danner, SR, Ar-We-Va
Nick Holste, JR, CAM
Zach Kraus, SR, Ar-We-Va
Justin Sparks, JR, Glidden-Ralston
Jake Berns, JR, Paton-Churdan
Brandon Evans, SR, Coon Rapids-Bayard
Jesse Hupp, SR, Charter Oak-Ute
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