Rams rally from 20 down to win district title

After abysmal first half shooting and its largest halftime deficit of the season, Glenwood rallied back from 20 points down over the final 16 minutes to defeat Atlantic 63-61 in the Class 3A, District final finals at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln tonight.

“These kids have heart and they have grit,” said Glenwood coach Curt Schulte after the game. “At halftime, there was no doubt in their minds that they were going to come back and win this game.”

Glenwood will play Perry (14-9) in Atlantic Monday for a second straight trip to the Iowa State Basketball Tournament.

Against Atlantic, the Rams (19-5) shot just 4-of-32 from the field in the first half and had no answer for the hot shooting Trojans (18-6), who hit six first half threes and repeatedly beat Glenwood to loose balls and errant rebounds.

But Glenwood would re-group at halftime and come out firing in the second half. Sophomore guards Andrew Blum and Nate Mohr, who both scored 21 points in the win, keyed a 19-3 Ram run to get the Rams back into the game.

Glenwood tied the score twice in the final frame before taking their first lead of the game on Mohr’s long three-pointer with 1:59 to go – the Rams would never trail again.

Up 60-57 with 1:18 to go, Atlantic’s Ryan Hawkins drove the lane and put down a layup. The senior center was fouled on the play but missed the free throw that would have tied the score.

A free throw by Connor Weis and two by Mohr iced the win for Glenwood.

The district title is the Rams’ third straight.