Meskwaki senior guard Eleron Youngbear, left, tries to shoot over Grand View Christian defender Daniel Tobiloba during the first half of Monday’s game at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. -- Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Playing the No. 2-ranked team in Class 1A basketball is difficult.

Playing the No. 2 team while shorthanded and undersized? That’s a monumental task.

This is what was in front of the Meskwaki boys’ basketball team Monday night, as the Warriors went on the road to play the Grand View Christian Thunder and their huge height advantage.

The Warriors were down 22-5 seven minutes in and lost 83-35, falling to 1-5 on the season.

Missing starting wing Wyatt Kapayou due to an ankle injury and still working players back to full fitness after an illness swept through the team, coach Garrett “Joe” Bear said it was a tough ask of the team. He saw some moments of positive impact, while some left him wanting more.

“I thought we at times competed, but at the same time with that step up in competition you always want to see how they react,” Bear said. “There were times where we did react positively, but other times we kind of laid down.”

Leading the way in the scoresheet for Meskwaki was senior guard Larnell Bear, who scored 23 of the team’s 35 points and was the main target of GVC’s attention on defense. Eleron Youngbear scored eight points — all in the second half — and hit two threes, the team’s only makes from deep all night.

Joe Bear spoke about how important confidence and shot selection is for Youngbear as he tries to provide a scoring boost for the Warriors.

“A couple of times in the first half he had that shot, but he was real tentative with it,” Bear said. “In the second half, he actually took those shots and looked at it and realized that was his shot. “Confidence in that sense goes a long way.”

Dayvin Guevara scored four points as he continued to try and get to peak conditioning after missing time with illness.

GVC had three players break double fires, and Manny Hamonds led the Thunder with 21 points and hit four 3-pointers. Big man Daniel Tobiloba didn’t score much, but his constant presence in the paint deterred the Warriors from being able to consistently get clean shots off inside.

It’s been a tough start to the season for the defending Iowa Star South champions, who play Baxter Tuesday night at home in a big to notch their second win of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Grand View Christian 83, Meskwaki 35

MESKWAKI (1-5) — Eleron Youngbear 3 0-0 8, Larnell Bear 9 5-6 23, Dayvin Guevara 2 0-0 4, Kingston Davenport 0 0-0 0, Reimundo Balderas 0 0-0 0, Gilberto Ramirez 0 0-0 0, Zayton Weninger-Brown 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 14 5-6 35.

GRAND VIEW CHRISTIAN (5-0) — Josh Sanderson 3 0-0 9, Josh Baucum 7 3-4 17, Manny Hammonds 8 1-1 21, Caleb Parlee 5 0-0 10, Daniel Tobiloba 1 1-4 3, Emiliano Barrantes 4 0-2 8, Evan Rogers 0 0-0 0, Brock Schroeder 0 0-0 0, Eli Tarbell 1 0-0 3, Malachi Seyler 1 0-0 3, Noah John 4 0-0 9. TOTALS 34 5-11 83.

MESKWAKI 7 10 8 10 — 35

GV CHRISTIAN 25 24 21 13 — 83

3-Point Goals-Meskwaki 2 (Youngbear 2), GVC 10 (Hammonds 4, Sanderson 3, Tarbell, Seyler, John). Total Fouls-Meskwaki 11, GVC 14. Fouled Out-none.