Harlan and LinMar take 3A and 4A titles

Harlan captured the one big trophy that’s been missing from their display case Saturday — rallying from 13 points down to win the 3A state basketball title 60-54 over Crestwood of Cresco. Coach Mitch Osborn says the only good thing about getting behind was it was early in the fourth quarter. He says there’s not doubt about it, he was worried, but he says he told his team that had plenty of time. Osborn says his team was panicking and throwing up three’s, but he says they calmed down and made some shots to get back in it. Osborn says it was a tough game. He says Crestwood deserves a lot of credit for being a physical team and being tough. The win was the 57th straight for Harlan football, baseball and basketball and the goes along with the 3A baseball, football and track titles they’ve won going back to may. Joel Osborn, the son of the coach, was named captain of the all-tournament team, and says the success in all sports is part of the confidence the teams have built. He says they don’t get down on themselves. He says they always stay together as a team, get out of things as a team, and they don’t like to lose. Crestwood Coach Lynn McCormick says the pressure turned on his team after Harlan came back. He says they panicked a little bit and had a few turnovers. But he says Harlan is a good team and were ranked number one for a reason.LinMar of Marion avenged an early season loss and denied Waterloo East a second straight 4A championship, downing the Trojans 56-51. East fought back from a 10 point halftime deficit to get within one, but LinMar pulled away again and held off a late rally. Lion coach Mark Hutcheson said it was a tough way to win the title in defeating the defending champs. He says Waterloo East deserves a lot of credit for being tough and fighting their way back into the game. East coach Steve McGraw says his team made too many mistakes after making a big comeback.He says his team put itself in holes that it just couldn’t get out of, and says you can’t do that against a good team. LinMar finished the season at 24-3 and East at 21-5.