Tuesday, March 11
3A First Round
#7 Xavier, Cedar Rapids 52, #2 Knoxville 37 — The Xavier girls made an upset run to a state title and the boys began the same on Tuesday by ending Knoxville’s season at 24-1. A.J. Evans led the Saints with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Xavier led by 11 early in the third quarter 31-20 — Knoxville crawled back to cut it to 4 36-32 going to the 4th. The Saints went on an 8-1 run to the start the final quarter and the lead was back to 11 44-33. With a record of f16-9, Xavier moves to the 3A Semifinals and has provided the tournament with its biggest upset so far.
#6 MOC-Floyd Valley 55, #3 Ballard 51 — The Dutch kept the upset train going by leading most of the way and dispatching the three seeded Bombers. MOC Floyd Valley led 25-12 at the half and Ballard was able to get it as close as 5 with one minute left. MOC Floyd Valley would go 7-8 from the line the rest of the quarter and despite two three pointers from Jude Gibson, the dutch hung on for the win. Blake Aalbers led the Dutchmen with 24 points including going 12-14 from the free throw line. Ahman Langton and Carter Van Gelder each added 12 as MOC is now 21-4 and moves to the 3A Semifinals to face Xavier on Thursday, March 13 at 12:15 pm. Ballard finishes their season with a record of 21-3.
2A First Round
#1 Western Christian 69, #8 Jesup 38 — The J-Hawks could not stay with the Wolfpack who led the entire way and by as many as 39 points — the game went into running clock in the 4th quarter. Karsten Moret led Hull Western Christian with 23 points and Kaden VanRegenmorter added 15 as Hull moves to the 2A Semifinals at 23-3. Jesup ends a fine season at 16-10.
#4 Grand View Christian 61, #5 Treynor 46 — After a tied game at the half, Jameson Scharnberg hit a three pointer to start the third quarter and the Thunder would lead the rest of the way. The Cardinals were only 3-14 from the field in the third quarter and were outscored 17-7. Corbin Thein got a three for the Cardinals at the 5:54 mark of the 4th quarter to cut the lead to 45-38. The Thunder would then go on a 10-1 run to put a stranglehold on the game. Brayden Hoben led Grand View Christian with 26 points as they go to 24-1 on the season and will face Western Christian in the 2A Semifinals on Thursday, March 13 at 2 pm. Jared Schwarte led Treynor with 12 points and Alec Lovely added 10 and the Cardinals finish the season 22-4.
#2 West Lyon 81, #7 Union 50 — After upsetting Kuemper Catholic in the substate finals to get to state, Union ran into a tough Wildcat team who led the entire game. Jorden Meyer led West Lyon with 25 points and the Wildcats advance with a 22-3 record. The Knights finish at 17-10.
#3 Unity Christian 48, #6 Grundy Center 46 — The Knights trailed the entire game until the final minute and a half. Unity was down 41-32 early in the 4th quarter and went on a 12-3 run to tie the game at 44 on a lay-up by Braedon Bosma. The Spartans retook the lead on a jumper from Ryker Thoren. After 1-2 free throws by Unity, Tyce Van Donge got a steal for the Knights and Bosma got a lay-up and 3 point play to give Unity a 48-46 lead with 1:14 left. Grundy Center missed a three and the Knights ran down the clock but the Spartans got it back for one more chance but Tiernan Vokes missed a shot with 2 seconds left and Unity Christian goes to 21-4. Jackson Vogel led the Knights with 14 points and they will meet West Lyon in the 2A Semifinals on Thursday, March 13 at 3:45 pm. Grundy Center ends their season at 22-3.
