—Photo by Tonya Harrison, The Gowrie News southeast valley’s bryce harrison dribbles the ball down the court against Sioux Central last week.

GOWRIE — Kyle Johnson saw some of this coming, but the veteran head coach admits even he has been a bit surprised by the success of his Southeast Valley boys basketball team.

“I thought the pieces were there for us to have a winning season and maybe get to 13 or 14 (victories by the end of the year),” said Johnson, a 1992 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate and former Iowa Central Triton basketball player. “But being 12-1? I’m not sure even, optimistically speaking, we figured we’d be off to this kind of start.”

If a hoop pundit were to audit the Jaguars in search of a statistical explanation for this level of success, it may be an exercise in futility. Nothing really jumps off the page about Southeast Valley – especially considering the Jaguars graduated four senior starters and nearly three-fourths of their scoring from a 12-11 campaign last winter.

“We shoot around 42 percent from the field, 21 percent from (three-point range) and 54 percent at the (free throw) line,” Johnson laughed. “So I wouldn’t exactly say it always looks pretty, especially given we’re a program that likes to push the tempo a lot and get things going (offensively).”

What Southeast Valley does show is immeasurable toughness and a lock-down mentality on defense. The Jaguars are the top-ranked squad in Class 2A for fewest points allowed, surrendering only 37.4 per game. They’re averaging over 20 steals, while committing just 10 turnovers on average with the ball in their hands.

“These guys work incredibly hard,” said Johnson, who is in his 12th season at the SVHS helm and 16th overall dating back to the days of Prairie Valley. “They’ve played a lot of basketball together in the past and in the ‘dark,’ so to speak. They really get after it and are so competitive.

“I also think a lot of them feel like they have something to prove. They had to wait their turn behind the seniors (in 2024-25), and they had an undefeated JV (campaign a year ago). So it’s not like they’ve come out of nowhere. It’s just that we didn’t entirely know what to expect once they got to this level. Well now we know.”

There may be no greater example to personify this group of Jaguars than Cornell Lowery. The 6-foot-3 senior saw the court only once last season and hadn’t attempted a single varsity shot in his career. Now, Lowery is averaging 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 steals and shooting nearly 56 percent from the floor.

“It’s an incredible story, and a credit to the work Cornell has put in,” Johnson said. “He’s the most improved player I’ve ever had. I’d like to say it’s something we’ve done (as a coaching staff), but I truly believe about 80 percent or more of (the success rate) in basketball is on the kids and the time they put into the game, (often when) no one is looking or keeping track.”

Lowery and Nick Field are the only seniors in the starting lineup. They are joined by juniors Bryce Harrison (12.5 points per contest), Casey Hanson (8.2) and Logan Jaeschke (4.7). Junior Hayden Butrick (6.3) and senior Lincoln Akins (5.6) have been the top contributors off the bench.

“We have some really good athletes coming through right now and everyone gets along well,” Johnson said. “They’re a lot of busy, multi-sport kids, which I’m a big fan of given I’m an assistant football coach and junior high track coach. We’re big believers in being out for as many (activities) as possible (versus specializing).

“We play 10 guys who all hustle. Practices get intense at times. And I think that’s something that fuels the success in games.”

After six winning campaigns in eight seasons from 2014-21 and an overall record of 107-76, the Jaguars sputtered through a rough 3-38 stretch before getting back on track last winter.

“I’ve been humbled a lot (as a coach),” Johnson said. “You go through highs and lows and you take a look at what has worked (in the past), but also, why things sometimes go wrong. So much of it depends on the kids and the offseason and holding each other accountable, but you also have an identity as a program and I feel like we’re getting back to that.

“We’re really concentrating on just one game at a time, though. We do have (big-picture) goals, but we can’t look ahead or take anything for granted. The Twin Lakes Conference is a nightly challenge. We have to just keep focusing on the next play and go from there.”

Southeast Valley passed its biggest test to date last Friday, taking down Sioux Central (8-2) in double overtime on its home court for the outright lead in the TLC.

“(The Rebels) have a senior-dominated lineup, so we knew it would be a tough game. And they took it to us last year (in a 54-43 Sioux Central victory),” Johnson said. “Our fans really made a difference. (Assistant coach) Ryan Dahlstrom kept telling our guys to make sure to keep the energy up and crowd in it. We knew the stakes were high and we fought through some adversity to get the job done.

“We’re just trying to stay humble and worry about what’s right in front of us. There’s no reason to think beyond that or start assuming anything. And I’m not concerned about that happening with this group. They’re gaining confidence, but they understand there’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”