Class 4A Quarterfinal Preview: Sioux City East vs. Cedar Falls
Tuesday, March 5: No. 3 Cedar Falls (18-3) vs. No. 6 Sioux City East (21-1) 6:30 p.m. Ras Vanderloo’s Black Raiders currently sit at an impressive 21-1 and are back in the Class 4A State Tournament for a third consecutive…
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Continue ReadingTuesday, March 5: No. 3 Cedar Falls (18-3) vs. No. 6 Sioux City East (21-1) 6:30 p.m.
Ras Vanderloo’s Black Raiders currently sit at an impressive 21-1 and are back in the Class 4A State Tournament for a third consecutive year. With Sioux City East boasting its best record since the 2012-13 season, there was anticipation that it would receive at least a 4-seed in the tournament. When the brackets were announced though, it was deja vu all over again. For a second straight year, East was placed in the No. 6 spot and would face defending state champion Cedar Falls yet again.
Last year when these two programs matched up in Des Moines, Cedar Falls got off to a hot start and never looked back as it downed Sioux City East with a convincing 75-47 win. Luckily for the Black Raiders this season, AJ Green has moved on to play at Northern Iowa. Green scored a game-high 28 points and was 5-of-11 from behind the arc.
“First of all, thank goodness they don’t have Green anymore because he was an unbelievable player”, said Sioux City East head coach Ras Vanderloo. “They are still a very good team. They’re a football-style team with three Division I football kids that start for them. They’re big and strong, so we’re going to need to play big and strong. Our strength is more athleticism and their strength is size.”
While Ras Vanderloo’s squad will rely heavily on senior leader and the program’s all-time scorer Aidan Vanderloo, it will need get a solid performance out of 6-foot-7 forward Javonte Keck inside and on the boards. Keck, who will be challenged by 6-foot-7 senior Jackson Frericks and 6-foot-5 senior Jack Campbell, has averaged 14.1 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game this season.
The Black Raiders will look to counter the Tigers’ physical play with their quickness and ability to push the ball up the floor. “We want to play a fast tempo. They’re going to want to play a game in the high 50’s and we want to get to 70-75, mentioned Vanderloo.”
Aidan Vanderloo leads Sioux City East with 23.3 PPG and is shooting an impressive 52 percent from behind the arc. On the other hand, Cedar Falls is led by Northern Iowa commit Logan Wolf who is averaging 15.3 PPG.
The Black Raiders and Tigers will play in the first game of the Class 4A quarterfinal round. The winner will face off against either No. 2 North Scott or No. 7 Ames in the semifinals on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.