WATERLOO - Friday marked a rare occasion in which Waterloo West center John Puk - whose frame stretches to 6-foot-9 - guarded an opponent who stood nearly eye-to-eye.

Regardless, Puk stood especially tall. And, as a result, he helped his Wahawks end a lengthy string of losing seasons.

Puk produced 22 points to go along with six blocked shots, helping West secure both a 54-35 win over Dubuque Hempstead and the Wahawks' first winning season since 1993-94.

"It feels good. But we're never satisfied," said Puk, who outscored Hempstead's solidly built 6-8 center, Brandon Gruber.

"How proud I am of my guys," said coach Courtney Henderson, whose Wahawks improved to 11-8 overall and 7-7 in Mississippi Valley Conference action.

"This was a big game for us," Henderson added. "It's an opportune time to be playing well, so hopefully this puts us back on track."

West was without the services of 6-7 playmaker TrayVonn Wright (sprained ankle) Friday. You could hardly tell.

Puk owned the interior much of the night, and helped stake the Wahawks to a 26-16 halftime lead.

Iowa State University football recruit Josh Lenz provided Hempstead's lone first-half highlight, when the 6-foot-1 guard rose up and threw down a one-handed dunk on a breakaway.

After that, Hempstead (5-13, 2-11) was buried in an avalanche of bricks. The visitors shot just 11-for-49 (22.4 percent) from the floor. And, despite Gruber's 15 points, the Mustangs couldn't keep pace with Puk and company.

"It's kinda fun watching two guys that big when they match up," said Hempstead coach Curt Deutsch in reference to the Puk-versus-Gruber battle.

But, Deutsch noted that Hempstead had less success guarding Puk, even when the Mustangs applied double teams.

"I was picking and choosing the right moments to attack," said Puk, a Division-I signee with Albany. "I was just not forcing things and staying strong with it."

Fellow seniors Ryan Edwards and Max Nank also aided West's effort, chipping in with 11 points and 10 points respectively.

As a result, the Wahawks' search for a winning season is complete. Of course, West would love to reach the next rung of success by winning in the postseason.

"Hopefully," said Henderson, "we're peaking at the right time."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com

HEMPSTEAD (35) - Brad Duwe 1-6 1-2 4, Josh Lenz 3-15 0-0 7, Brandon Gruber 5-13 5-6 15, Ben Cottrell 1-7 0-2 2, Jordan Decker 0-2 2-2 2, Mike Holdridge 1-4 0-0 3, Matt Ehlers 0-1 2-2 2, Jon Rapp 0-0 0-0 0, John Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Buelow 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-49 10-14 35.

WEST (54) - Ryan Edwards 5-10 0-0 11, Trent Washington 0-4 2-2 2, Max Nank 4-5 0-0 10, John Puk 8-13 6-7 22, Max Shower 2-9 0-0 6, Trashon Montgomery 0-5 0-0 0, Cody Cox 1-4 0-0 3, Jerrold Manago 0-0 0-1 0, Paul Braley 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Meisinger 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Cooley 0-0 0-0 0, Antoine Knight 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 8-10 54.

Dubuque Hempstead 10 6 13 6 - 35

Waterloo West 16 10 18 10 - 54

3-point goals - Hempstead 3 (Duwe 1, Lenz 1, Holdridge 1); West 6 (Nank 2, Shower 2, Edwards 1, Cox 1). Total fouls - Hempstead 11, West 14. Fouled out - none.

HEMPSTEAD SOPHS 49, WEST SOPHS 28

HEMPSTEAD - Mike Francis 8, Cody Leach 11, Gage Hefferman 16, Aaron Collins 2, Conner Lewis 1, Connor Sindberg 3, Chad Peppermeier 5.

WEST - Austin McMahon 7, DiMarco Mallett 5, Dominick Smith 3, Trevonte Keller 4, Malcolm Smith 5, Collin McCalley 2, Phinehas Starks 2.