STATE CENTER — Thirteenth-ranked West Marshall couldn’t have had a worse start to its girls’ basketball Class 3A regional quarterfinal against Nevada. Trailing by as much as 17-2 early on, the Trojans had to dig themselves out of a hole — which they did to defeat the Cubs 47-28 Saturday night.

The Trojans did their best work in the fourth quarter, using a strong defensive period and good shooting to hold the Cubs to five points and pull away for the win.

Avril Sinning led the Trojans with 19 points and hit four 3-pointers. Katy Reyerson scored 15 points and had seven rebounds, a big game for the freshman wing in postseason play.

The Trojans are 17-2 and play Creston Wednesday at 7 p.m. Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.

Rebels lose tight one with Montezuma

REINBECK — The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels boys’ basketball team closed out its regular season on Friday night with a loss to Class 1A No. 6 Montezuma, 71-65.

The Rebels led by six entering the final quarter but were only able to muster nine points in the final frame, while Montezuma scored 21 to pull out the win.

Leading the Rebels (13-8) in scoring was junior Dylan Riffey with 21 points and six 3-pointers. Freshman William Kiburis had 15 points and Tyler Tscherter had 14, but it wasn’t enough for G-R, who has now lost its last four games.

Up next for the Rebels is the beginning of district play — a trip to Alburnett to play Wapsie Valley Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Meskwaki stumbles at AGWSR

ACKLEY — The Meskwaki Warriors boys’ basketball team fell short on the road Friday night against AGWSR. The Warriors (16-4) lost 45-41.

In a low-scoring contest in a tough environment, the Warriors held AGWSR to single-digits in two of four quarters. However, the Cougars scored 14 points in the first quarter and closed the game out with 15 points to keep the Warriors at bay.

Leading Meskwaki in scoring were Taurice Grant and Victor Balderas, both with 11 points. The Warriors struggled offensively and shot 18-for-46 from the floor.

The regular season is over now for Meskwaki as the Warriors begin district play at 8 p.m. Thursday against GMG at Meskwaki Settlement School.

South Tama winless in regular season

DEWITT — A 27-2 first-quarter deficit put the nail in South Tama’s coffin early.

The Trojans ended their regular season with an 0-21 record after Friday night’s 67-28 loss to Central DeWitt.

The Trojans trailed 36-9 at the half and scored 19 points in the second half, but the cap increased to 39 points by game’s end. No Trojan reached double-figures but senior Lincoln Kingbird led South Tama with eight points. Mylik Wanatee and Eli Keahna scored six points each.

The Trojans will play Class 3A No. 5 Marion on the road in the first round of their substate tournament on Feb. 24 with an 8 p.m. tip.