Trojans look to close out fourth-straight title

West Marshall will look to wrap up its fourth consecutive NICL West boys’ basketball title tonight in Ackley.

The Class 2A No. 2 Trojans can claim the title outright tonight with a win over second-place AGWSR.

Also on the line for West Marshall is its march to a perfect season, with its record currently at 16-0 overall and 11-0 in conference.

AGWSR (12-6, 9-2) took a 22-point loss in the teams’ first meeting in State Center.

The Trojans ceded their top spot in the AP Top 10 poll this week to West Fork, despite getting 10 first-place votes to West Fork’s five.

West Marshall’s Michael Newton scored 25 points and Tysen Streeter 20 points when the Cougars and Trojans tangled on Dec. 20. Newton also had 11 rebounds.

Josh Bagley paced AGWSR with 23 points while Hunter Drake had 10 and Braden Bonewitz nine.

West Marshall has won the NICL West every year since joining the league for the 2008-09 season. The Trojans went undefeated in conference play that first season and then shared the title with Grundy Center in 2009-10. They were the outright winners with an undefeated conference season a year ago.

The Trojans are 46-1 in NICL West play over the last three-plus seasons.

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