Paton-Churdan and IKM-Manning meet in Guthrie Center tonight at seven o’clock for the boys’ basketball Class 1A District 14 title. The winner goes to Atlantic on Saturday, Feb. 27 to face either Nodaway Valley or Central Decatur for the Substate 7 crown and a trip to next month’s State Tournament in Des Moines. IKM-Manning is 20-2 and ranked ninth while Paton-Churdan is 17-5 and not rated among the top 10 1A teams.

The Wolves average almost 69 points per game while the Rockets average 56. Senior Noah Juergensen leads Paton-Churdan at nearly 20 points and more than 10 rebounds per contest. Sophomores Joe Towers and Jake Berns both average around 13 points. For IKM-Manning, Kyle Wagner averages 23 points, while Ben Wegner averages 12 and Jared Vollstedt is at 11.5.

IKM-Manning has slightly higher shooting percentages from the field, but P-C has an edge at the foul line of almost eight percent.