Quickness and athleticism were the keys for  the Cedar Valley Christian boys Thursday night at Marion.

The Huskies overcame a seven-point deficit midway through the third quarter and swept to a 72-60 victory over Alburnett in a boys Class 1A District tournament basketball game.

The Huskies took advantage of their quickness to pressure the Pirates into turnovers that resulted in lay ups. CVC only made four shots that weren’t taken in the lane.  The Huskies rode a 32-13 run to the final buzzer.

“They were a little rattled because they had never played a tournament game before,” said Cedar Valley Coach Jeff Pospisil.  “We made some lazy passes in the second quarter and didn’t take care of the ball.  Then in the third quarter we realized that they were slower and a little tired and at that point, we took charge.”

Cedar Valley (13-9) was playing its first tournament game in the Iowa high school basketball series. The Huskies are in their first year of membership in the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

The win advances Cedar Valley Christian to the district semifinals Tuesday at Lone Tree (19-2). Lone Tree beat Highland, 79-42.

Cedar Valley had four players in double figures.  Jeremy Strutz led all scores with 22, Will Muhlbach had 17, and Nick Henderson and Jon Landis contributed 12 and 11, respectively.  Strutz and Landis each knocked down a couple of 3-point shots, and everything else was going to the hoop.  All of Muhlbach’s points came from box to box in the lane.

“We seemed to lose our focus in the first half, but once we talked over our strategy at halftime we went out and took advantage of them,” said Strutz.  “Our press had good intensity and trapping created a lot of easier baskets for us.”

“I have the easy part,” said Muhlbach.  “I just cut, catch the pass, and put it in.  At first the game was a little nerve-racking, but once we executed and went to the basket we were fine."

Alec Philipp led the Pirates with 21 and Karsten Wright chipped in 17. Alburnett put up 27 second quarter points but lacked offensive consistency much of the rest of the game.

ALBURNETT (60) Runninghawk 2 3-5 7, Freeland 2 0-0 5, Frederick 1 0-0 3, Wright 8 1-2 17, Philipp 8 2-4 21, Long 1 2-2 5, Dierks 1 0-0 2, Rose 0 0-0 0, Sorenen 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-13 60.

CEDAR VALLEY CHRISTIAN (72) Long 1 0-0 2, Sperling 3 2-6 8, Muhlbach 8 1-4 17, Strutz 7 6-8 22, Landis 4 1-2 11, Henderson 6 0-1 12, Zielke 0 0-0 0, Koch 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 10-21 72.

Halftime - Alburnett 36, Cedar Valley Christian 33. 3-point goals - Alburnett 6 (Freeland 1, Fredeerick 1, Philipp 3, Long 1), CVC 4 (Strutz 2, Landis 2).  Fouled out -  Frederick.