NM to Meet Holy Trinity in District Final

North Mahaska will meet Holy Trinity in a Class 1A District 10 final Tuesday night in Ottumwa. The winner will advance to the substate final against the winner of Winfield-Mount Union and Burlington Notre Dame.

North Mahaska advanced to the district final with a win over rival Montezuma Thursday 46-42. Holy Trinity defeated Moravia 55-29. NM has a season mark of 18-6 while Holy Trinity comes in at 18-5. The only team the two teams have in common this season is Tri-County, in which both defeated handily.

North Mahaska averages just under 70 points per game while Holy Trinity scores 64.7. They are led in scoring and rebounds by junior Luke Helige with 24 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He is also a 43 percent 3-point shooter and 78 percent from the free throw line. As a team Trinity shoots 64.5 from the charity stripe. North Mahaska is 58.7 percent from the line.

Senior Conner Gehring averages 15.8 points per game and is 60.5 from the line. Sophomore Layne Rung also is a double-figure scorer averaging 10.9 points per game and 32 percent from the arc.

North Mahaska has multiple weapons inside and outside. The Warhawks have three players who average in double figures and average at least 27 percent from the arc. Juniors Asher DeBoef and Gabe Hora lead in scoring with a 15 and 14 point per game average. Seniors Nolan Andersen and Nate Sampson average 12.5 and 10. DeBoef is the leading rebounder with 8.8 boards per game and Andersen averages 7.8.

North Mahaska is deep in 3-point shooters and receive production from the bench. The key to the win over Montezuma was solid defense and taking advantage of cold shooting by the Braves. Free throws have been a problem for the Warhawks at times this year, but against Monte it was the Braves who failed at the line and NM hit key free shots in the final minute.

The team that can limit the turnovers and hit shots will be able to advance to the substate final and a berth in the state tournament.