STATE TOURNAMENT: Shining Moments — Part I
AJ Green 14 Points in Four Minutes The Cedar Falls point guard had a lot of buzz surrounding him coming into the tournament, and he exceeded the high expectations placed on him. There were many moments and spurts of greatness…
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Continue ReadingAJ Green 14 Points in Four Minutes
The Cedar Falls point guard had a lot of buzz surrounding him coming into the tournament, and he exceeded the high expectations placed on him. There were many moments and spurts of greatness that made it evident this kid was a cut-above-the-rest. But none greater than — with his team down 10 — AJ Green bursting for 14 points in the final half-quarter of the Tigers’ semifinal against Iowa City West. He did not miss any of his final five shot attempts, all of which were contested or challenged shots, and one was even a made 3 with a foul. A truly remarkable display by the future Division I point guard.
2OT Stall
There is no shot-clock in Iowa high school hoops, in fact, only nine states in the country implement one. So, there is nothing wrong with the way Valley won its double-overtime semifinal game against Pleasant Valley — but, it was definitely a controversial situation. Game tied at 48 and headed to a second OT, Valley gathers the jump-ball and little did everyone in the audience (or on press row) know, that would be the most important development of the next 3 minutes and 55 seconds. Valley’s electric point guard Turner Scott, with his elite handles and all, dipped and dived, eluding Spartans defenders and keeping the ball secure in Valley’s grasp for an entire 4-minute overtime. And with 5 seconds to go, Scott made his move and darted to the hoop for a game-winning bank shot. A shot-clock outcry ensued.
TURNER SCOTT does it in 2OT. Valley is headed to the 4A state final — unbelievable game #iahsbkb https://t.co/P6tbu2BfQS
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) March 11, 2016
Lane, Lohaus Heroics
The four minutes that Green put together at the end of the Iowa City West vs. Cedar Falls game was special, but it culminated in heartbreak for the dazzling sophomore. With the game tied at 59, after Green had tirelessly brought his team back from sure defeat, it was a miracle tip-in that sealed the win for Iowa City West — and misery for Cedar Falls. West junior Connor McCaffery was at the line shooting the front end of a one-and-one, game tied, 4.9 ticks left. McCaffery missed the free-throw, and Cedar Falls’ TreyShawn Labeaux pulled down the rebound. It’s time for AJ Green to dart down the floor, heave up a 3, and win the game right? Wrong. Instead, it was West’s Devontae Lane who jumped in front of a Labeaux outlet to Green and regained possession for the Trojans. Lane promptly hurled up a fadeaway baseline jumper that wouldn’t go, but then it was Tanner Lohaus who made the most memorable single-play of the week — a fall-away bat at the ball coming off the Lane miss bounced up, and down, and ultimately in as buzzer sounded. The West students were right behind us on press row, and the winning bucket and subsequent celebration happened a mere 20 feet in front of our eyes. It was a chilling conclusion to a remarkable fourth quarter.
Class 4A Iowa high school state basketball semifinals😳 @espn @ihsaa_iowa pic.twitter.com/uAH1LX5371
— Jacob Norton (@jacob_norton15) March 11, 2016
Cedar Falls vs Council Bluffs Lincoln
This may have been the best all-around game of the tournament. Other games had great moments but may have lacked in other areas. This game was close from start to finish and had the wild fourth quarter action that culminated in a zany finish. After several lead changes had taken place in the fourth quarter alone, Cedar Falls had put itself into the driver’s seat, and with 16 ticks to go, after yet another Tra’von Fagan bucket (he had 21 second half points), the Tigers led by three. After a timeout and with 12 seconds still remaining, Council Bluffs Lincoln sharpshooter Kyle Crowl eyes a 27-footer from straight on and buries it, tying the game at 60. No timeout was called by the Lynx after the made bucket. And Fagan took the ball the length of the floor and got to the hoop, where with two-tenths of a second to go a foul was called on the Lynx’s Tony Bonner, sending Fagan to the line. He hit both free throws, and Lincoln did not have enough time to even pull-off a miracle heave to win the game. Fagan was the hero.
Pemsl Dunking and Diming
Coming into the tournament, Iowa Hawkeye commit Cordell Pemsl had an intermittently illustrious career. He had been a key figure of back-to-back state title teams, but was often plagued by injuries — specifically to his knees, and played very little over his last two seasons with his grassroots team Martin Brothers. So naturally, coming into this tournament — his last before becoming a Hawkeye — there was curiosity about how he might look. Somewhat surprisingly, Pemsl has not grown any since accepting an Iowa offer and committing after his sophomore season. He still stands 6-foot-8, with his shoes on, not small, but maybe not as big as his future Big Ten counterparts will be. However, Pemsl, though dominant in the paint at times last week, was doing a lot of his damage while surveying the floor, or in transition. His vision and passing were showstopping all week, and when he got loose for some dunks in the quarterfinal win over MOC-Floyd Valley he was soaring — head at rim — and destroying the rim. It became very evident this past week that the Hawkeyes are not necessarily getting a brute post, but a savvy stretch-four.