Last two MAC teams fall; no one to MAC in state

March 2, 2011

By Brian Rathjen of North Scott Senior High School


For the first time since 1977, the Mississippi Athletic Conference will not be represented at the Iowa high school state basketball tournament.
The last two remaining teams from the MAC -- North Scott and Davenport West -- fell, both in decisive fashion, to teams from the rival Mississppi Valley Conference in Tuesday's Iowa Class 4A substate finals.
West saw its best season in nearly 15 years come to an end with a 59-38 loss to Iowa City West. The Trojans, with a 15-game winning streak in hand, built an early 20-point lead and held Falcon big man Nate Wells to two points. The Falcons, the MAC champions, ended the year with a 19-4 record.
At the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, North Scott held tough for 2 1/2 quarters and trailed just 23-22 midway through the third period. But it was University of Northern Iowa-bound Matt Bohannan -- not North Carolina-committal Marcus Paige -- who took the game over for Linn-Mar, helping spur an incredible 25-0 run to stamp a 50-25 win over the Lancers. Darren Dillion led the Lancers (16-7) with 12 points, all on three-pointers, while all-time leading scorer Brandon Voss was shut down. 
Congratulations to all Mississippi Athletic Conference teams for fine seasons.