The top-ranked Iowa City West boys basketball team notched their 41st straight win Friday night, knocking off Prairie 62-48 at the Prairie gym.

Balanced scoring was a key for West (15-0, 10-0). Wyatt Lohaus scored 21 points to lead the Trojans, but three other players - Dondre Alexander, Jeremy Morgan and Austin Swank - chipped in with nine points apiece. Morgan did all his scoring in an important second half effort for West.

“It was important to guard their shooters—they worry me a lot!” said West Coach Steve Bergman.

The Trojans kept Prairie's great shooters at bay for the most part.

Jace Hanna paced Prairie (5-10, 4-6) with 14 points.  No other Hawks were in double figures.  Hanna was perfect from the charity stripe and had a 3-point goal.

“We’ve got to be effective on our dribble penetration and execute our offense and it was important to shoot good shots tonight,” continued Bergman.

A tough hard-nosed defense set up in the half-court situation also was important for the Trojans.

“We wanted to control the game defensively,” said Prairie Coach James Moses, “and we needed to be effective on offense, too.”

Many Prairie shots rimmed out, but the Hawks' “never say die” attitude kept them in the game.

West High was never headed in the game. The Trojans led 17-9 after the first quarter and held a 12-point margin at halftime, 35-23.

The Trojans maintained control in the third quarter, putting in some second and third chance shots.

Both teams' next game is Tuesday. West is home to Waterloo West and Prairie travels to Iowa City High.

IOWA CITY WEST (62):  Dondre Alexander 2 1-2 5, Jeremy Morgan 3 2-4 9, Wyatt Lohaus 6 9-12 21, Myzeah Batie-Gaddy 1 0-0 2, Austin Swank 4 0-0 9, David Di Leo 0 0-0 0, Jason Stewart 3 0-0 6, Chike Ukah 3 0-0 6. Totals 23 14-20 62.

PRAIRIE (48): Michael Mims 0 2-2 2, Ty Mougin 1 1-3 3, Dylan Kuchemann 1 1-2 3, Demetrius Harper 2 1-1 5, Jace Hanna 4 5-5 14, Ty Butz 2 2-2 7, Bryce Meeker 2  0-0 4, Tom Eilers 2 1-1 6, Jo Jo Simpson 1 2-2 4. Totals 15 15-18 48.

Halftime - Iowa City West 35, Prairie 23. 3-point goals - Iowa City West 2 (Moragan, Swank), Prairie 3 (Hanna, Butz, Eilers). Fouled out - Harper.