TRURO — Interstate 35 knew it would have a big matchup advantage somewhere against Woodward-Granger early in Monday’s Class 2A District 13 boys basketball game.
Austin Clark had the hot hand.
Clark scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter of the Roadrunners’ 58-39 win Monday.
Interstate 35 moved on to face longtime Pride of Iowa Conference rival Central Decatur Thursday in the district semifinal. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. in Van Meter.
“We knew we were going to have a mismatch,” said Interstate 35 coach Nate Rankin. “Someone was going to have a bad matchup. We didn’t care who it was. We talked it over. Whoever it was we were going to know early and we were going to go to him often. We executed and did a good job.”
Woodward-Granger could not match Interstate 35’s size down low.
“We like to use our size against teams,” Rankin said. “Not everybody has four 6-4 kids. We can be a matchup problem.”
Interstate 35 jumped out to an 18-10 lead after one quarter.
The Roadrunners struggled a bit against the Eagles’ zone defense in the second quarter. Woodward-Granger cut the margin to 28-23 at halftime.
Interstate 35 re-established control in the second half, pushing the lead to double digits at the end of the third, 42-31.
The margin did not slip below 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“We battled,” Rankin said. “In the second half, we jumped on them and didn’t let them back in.”
Brennan McCuddin added 12 points.
Up next is a matchup with a familiar foe.
“They’re really good,” Rankin said. “We know we can beat them. They know they can beat us. It should be a good game. I can’t wait. We’re excited.”
“We know each other so well. It comes down to who plays better as a team. Both teams will execute. Who will make more shots?”