It was a tale of two halves Thursday night in Iowa City as the Regals rallied to eliminate the Mid-Prairie boys basketball team 73-56 in the second round of district play. Mid-Prairie controlled the first half leading by as many as 11 at 33-22 midway through the second quarter. The Golden Hawks built their lead by knocking down shots with an efficient offense, and gaining great interior defensive position against all-stater Drew Cook and the Regal offense. Regina spent the first half in major foul trouble. After the game Head Coach Chris Kern talked about his teams great first half effort.

“We made them work tonight, offensively we didn’t back away, we took it at them, we were hoping to get the jobs done on Arendt in the second half, get him in foul trouble and get him out of the game. He had three the first half, ended at four, and the plan was to keep taking it at those guys,” Kern said. “Like I told the kids, we hate to lose, no matter what, you never like to lose, but I am really proud of the effort tonight.”

Regina was able to chip away late before halftime and the Golden Hawk advantage was just 38-34 going to the break. Coming out of the locker room Regina made their run and the Hawks struggled to find an answer. Mid-Prairie turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions while the Regals manufactured a key 13-2 run. The Golden Hawks burned two time outs trying to stop the bleeding, but by the time Mid-Prairie could score again they trailed by 11. Drew Cook led the Regal charge, scoring 11 straight at one point for Regina, and 17 of his game high 30 points in the second half. Mid-Prairie trailed 56-49 going to the fourth quarter but would get no closer as Regina continued to pour it on and knocked down late free throws to put the game away.

Mid-Prairie was led by Dayton Hall and Nick Stimson who each finished with 14. With the loss Mid-Prairie ends their season at 11-12.