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HULL, Iowa - Here's something almost unheard of for any basketball game.

North's boys didn't attempt a free throw Tuesday night in its game against Western Christian.

Mike Eekhoff went 19 of 23 from the charity stripe en route to a game-high 31 points as the state's eighth-ranked Class 2A squad clipped the Stars 64-54.



Western was whistled for only five fouls and outscored the Stars 22-0 from the free throw line.

"We can't say it was a bad effort on our part," said North Coach John Vanderloo. "We played well offensively and we had the shots. We just didn't get any free throws. That's where they beat us.

"You can't go on the road, get outscored by the free throw line by 22 and expect to win a game. We made six more field field goals and they beat us by 10."

Eekhoff, a second-cousin to Western Christian Coach Jim Eekhoff, also grabbed 12 rebounds for a team that had a 39-29 advantage on the boards. Carlie Landegent added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Adam Palmer, a 6-5 senior, had 14 points and nine rebounds for North (6-3), which had a 35-34 halftime lead. Western Christian (9-1) outscored the Stars 10-4 in the third quarter.

Tyler Glidden made three three-point field goals while adding a season-high 13 points. The 6-foot senior, who reached double-figure scoring for the first time this season, had tallied 21 points in his last two games

North won the sophomore game 69-66 in overtime, paced by Anthony Tomscha's 26 points. Marcus James added 16 for North (6-3) while Matt Negaard and Bo Smith each scored 10.

Lee Ysselstein scored 19 points for Western.

North will play at East Thursday night.