STATE TOURNAMENT: Class 2A Recaps
CHAMPIONSHIP
No.1-Seed Treynor 38 vs. No.6-Seed Cascade 49
It wasn’t looking good for Cascade when Treynor started the second half on a 9-0 run. The game had been tied at the break, and the Cardinals run had them up 29-20. But then, good things started happening for Cascade, really good things.
An 18-0 run to be exact.
That’s what did the Cardinals in, and that’s what helped secure Cascade’s first-ever boys basketball title. The Cougars went from down nine to up nine in just under eight minutes of game-time. They bridged the third and fourth quarters with the run. That run made these Cougars legends.
A team with five guys that play position-less basketball, the Cougars were fascinating to watch, and they play extremely well together; a finely-tuned machine. Gannon O’Brien led the way with 12 points six rebounds and four assists. Brock Simon was really good with seven points and three steals. They all played well.
The Cardinals were led by Luke Clausen, who scored nine straight points at one point in the third quarter, just before the Cascacde run. He finished with a game-high 20 points.
Treynor was represented on the all-tournament team by both Dillon Faubel and Luke Clausen. Cascade is represented by Gannon O’Brien and captain, Haris Hoffman.
MVP: Gannon O’Brien, 6’1 G/F (Cascade)
On a team where everyone kind of blends in, it’s tough to pick a standout; and this game was no different. All the guys do what’s asked of them, that being everything. But tonight, O’Brien posted the best numbers, going for 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and canning both of his 3 attempts.
Cacscade — 11 9 9 20 — 49
Treynor — 10 10 12 6 — 38
Cascade: O’Brien 12, Supple 11, Hoffman 10, Simon 7, Rausch 6, Koppes 3
Treynor: Clausen 20, Faubel 9, Stogdill 5, Jorgensen 3, Schwarte 1
SEMIFINALS
No. 1-Seed Treynor 75, No.5-seed Aplington-Parkersburg 66
It’s the 2018 state tournament , and no lead is safe.
Treynor’s 18-point lead didn’t vanquish altogether, but it nearly did. Aplington-Parkersburg came at them full-force in the latter part of the third quarter and for most of the fourth, and got the deficit down to as few as three with 2:23 left in the game. But some things went Treynor’s way down the stretch, and the Cardinals escaped with a somewhat misleading nine-point win.
Treynor (26-o) sophomore Jack Stogdill had himself a coming-out party in the win, going for 20 points and shooting magnificently; 7-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from deep. Dillon Faubel was calm and collected down the stretch, keeping his composure even when the Falcons were hurling multiple defenders at him full-court. He’s been the MVP for the Cardinals so far, and finished with a team-high 21 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
A-P gave it all they had, and even when down 18, showed no signs of dismay. Carter Cuvelier, a standout junior forward, led the way with 30 points.
Treynor will play in the 2A title game Friday at 3:45 p.m.
MVP: Dillon Faubel, 6′ PG (Treynor)
Stogdill was excellent, and his shooting certainly was a key element in the Cardinals’ success, but it was Faubel’s ability to handle the ball and beat the full-court press that was the biggest reason Treynor was able to get past A-P. Also, Faubel was clutch down the stretch, making all for of his free-throws in the final 34 seconds to help put the game on ice.
A-P — 15 10 23 18 — 66
Treynor — 10 28 22 15 — 75
A-P: Cuvelier 30, Oberhauser 16, Price 10, Bodden 5, Truax 3, Bachman 2
Treynor: Faubel 21, Stogdill 20, Clausen 14, Schwarte 9, Jorgensen 6, Tiarks 5
No. 2-Seed Sheldon 43 vs. No.6-Seed Cascade 65
The Sheldon team that blew out Kuemper on Monday night was nowhere to be found, and Cascade looked like the best team in the 2A field during this lopsided semifinal affair.
The Cougars were led by Haris Hoffman’s 23 points, and the position-less brand of basketball they play has been fascinating to watch. Any player can play anywhere and do anything the team needs at any given time. There are no guards, forwards or centers, because they are all guards, forwards and centers.
Confused yet? Well one thing is crystal clear; Cascade has a real shot of bringing home its first state title since….ever. They’ll face Treynor on Friday afternoon at 3:45 in what should be a doozy of a title game.
MVP: Haris Hoffman, 6’1 G/F (Cascade)
He was absolutely sensational in this one, particularly in the third quarter when he notched 14 of his game-high 23 points. But it wasn’t just that, the senior do-it-all prospect grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, dished out three assists and swiped two steals in the blowout win.
Cascade — 19 9 20 17 — 65
Sheldon — 11 8 11 13 — 43
Cascade: Hoffman 23, O’Brien 13, Simon 13, Koppes 7, Cuckler 3, Rausch 3, Supple 3
Sheldon: Van Marel 13, Boerhave 11, Johnson 6, J. Klenhesselink 3, Merley 3, Van Meeteren 3, M. Kleinhesselink 2, Dykstra 2
QUARTERFINALS
No. 1-Seed Treynor 59 No. 8-Seed Wapello 53
Wapello was a formidable 8-seed, and it took all the Cardinals had, but Treynor was able to narrowly escape and advance to the semifinals. Dillon Faubel was magnificent for Treynor, he was slicing and dicing en route to a game-high (and current tourney-high) 28 points. He did so on 10-17 shooting and 4-6 from deep.
Wapello trailed by 10 midway through the fourth quarter before senior guard Trenton Massner and junior big-man Keaton Mitchell spurred a quick comeback — with 2 minutes to go, it was just a two point game.
Then, Treynor senior wing Luke Clausen canned a massive 3-ball, pushing the Cardinal lead to 55-50, and that would prove to be the biggest shot of the game. Wapello would get the lead back down to two after a Gage Witte triple with 50 secs to go, but Treynor played mistake-free ball down the stretch to secure the narrow win.
MVP: Dillon Faubel, 6′ G (Treynor)
We knew he was a good one coming in to this tournament, but he’s vastly improved form the last time we saw him. The Midland (NE) commit was the best player on the floor in this one, and it wasn’t close. He’s certainly one of the best players in all of 2A.
Wapello — 17 11 12 13 — 53
Treynor — 14 13 17 15 — 59
Wapello: Mitchell 15, Massner 12, Witte 12, Short 7, Belzer 5, Lanz 2
Treynor: Faubel 28, Schwarte 11, Clausen 11, Tiarks 4, Jorgenson 3, Stogdill 2
No. 4-Seed South Hamilton 51, No. 5-Seed Aplington-Parkersburg 54
Marco Balderas’ 3-point try at the buzzer would not go, and Aplington-Parkersburg advanced after defeating South Hamilton in what has been easily the most exhilarating game of the day so far at Wells Fargo Arena.
Balderas was at times incredible for the Hawks, and the future Briar Cliff floor general scored a game-high 24 points in his last ever high school game. In the first quarter, the crafty 5-foot-8 point guard went over 1,000 points for his career.
It was Alec Oberhauser who stood out for the Falcons, and with his team down four heading into the fourth quarter, the 6-foot-6 senior kicked it up a notch. He was sensational in the fourth quarter, and finished the game with a team-high 14 points on 7-11 shooting, also blocking four shots.
A-P (24-1) advances to the semifinals where they’ll play top-seed Treynor (25-0). That game will be Wednesday at 6:30 P.M.
Marco Balderas’ 3 won’t drop, Alec Oberhauser and Aplington-Parkersburg advance to 2A semifinals #iahsbkb pic.twitter.com/APcfaX5TAB
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) March 6, 2018
MVP: Alec Oberhauser, 6’6 G (Aplington-Parkersburg)
The strikingly big guard was dominant on both ends of the floor, and his 14 points seemed to come at the most timely spots for the Falcons. Same goes for those four blocks, too.
South Hamilton — 11 9 19 8 — 51
Aplington-Parkersburg — 8 13 14 15 — 54
South Hamilton: Balderas 24, Hill 11, Berg 7, Peters 7, Klemp 2.
Aplington-Parkersburg: Oberhauser 14, Price 13, Cuvelier 12, Hoff 5, Truax 5, Ellis 3, Bodden 2.
No.2-Seed Sheldon 63 No. 7-Seed Kuemper Catholic 50
Sheldon, tucked away in the Northwest corner of the state where sometimes things can be hard to keep tabs on, had without a doubt the most eye-opening performance of the tourney today.
The Orabs, led by a killer inside/outside duo of Jaden Klenhesselink and Kyle Boerhave were dominant in their quarterfinal beat-down of a hot Kuemper Catholic squad, leading from wire-to-wire in the 13-point win.
It was a 19-5 start by the No.2-seed Orabs that buried the Knights early, and although Sam Auen would briefly get red-hot in the second quarter and at one time the lead was dwindled to six (26-20), this was one was never really in question.
Kleinhesselink was fantastic on both ends of the floor for the Orabs and he finished with a team high 17 points. Kuemper’s Parker Badding did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, and scored a game-high 21.
Sheldon will play the winner of Van Meter and Cascade, Western Dubuque on Wedensday at 8:15.
MVP: Jaden Kleinhesselink, 6’1 G (Sheldon)
This seniot guard is, I’m convinced, one of the very best shooters in all of Iowa. He canned his first four 3s of the night and finished 4-5 from deep. He’ll be headed to NAIA Briar Cliff, they’ll be getting a sharpshooter who’s not afraid to get down and dirty on D.
Kuemper — 5 15 8 22 — 50
Sheldon — 19 10 13 21 — 63
Kuemper: Badding 21, Auen 18, Tigges 4, Metz 3, Schroeder 2, Gunnerson 2.
Sheldon: Kleinhesselink 17, Van Marel 15, Boerhave 12, Van Beek 9, Cain 4, Johnson 3, Lode 2, Merley 1.
No. 3-Seed Van Meter 47 No.6-Seed Cascade, Western Dubuque 60
Cascade started the game razor sharp and ended it the same way, and all Van Meter could do was try and catch up.
The Cougars raced out to a 17-2 lead, and extended that lead to as much as 16 in the second quarter (22-6). Van Meter settled in after that and ended the first half on an 11-2 run before heading into the break down 27-17. the third quarter belonged to Van Meter, and a JJ Durflinger 3 just before the buzzer brought the Bulldogs as close as they’d been, 39-37, since the opening minutes.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Van Meter had the momentum, but it was quickly stymied by Cascade senior Gannon O’Brien, who canned two 3s in a brief span of time, the second pushed the Cougars’ lead to eight. From then on Cascade rolled. They’ll play a very tough (and big) Sheldon squad Wednesday night at 8:15 in a 2A semifinal.
MVP: Harris Hoffman, 6’1 G (Cascade)
On one of the more well-balanced teams in the tournament, Hoffman was the one who stood out the most. His 17 points were a game-high, and he was also able to dish out five assists and swipe two steals to boot. His behind the back pass to Derek Koppes for a corner 3 was a thing of beauty; the play of the game.
Cascade — 19 8 12 21 — 60
Van Meter — 5 12 20 10 — 47
Cascade: Hoffman 17, Koppes 14, O’Brien 14, Supple 11, Simon 4
Van Meter: Durflinger 15, Trudo 8, Johnson 7, Fryar 5, Schmitt 5, Abrahamson 4, Smith 3