2A District Semifinal Preview
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The district semifinals are Thursday night in Class 1A and 2A. We take a look at some of the top games in Class 2A action here. The Top Five Games Ridge View at East Sac County This figures…
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Continue ReadingThe district semifinals are Thursday night in Class 1A and 2A. We take a look at some of the top games in Class 2A action here.
The Top Five Games
Ridge View at East Sac County
This figures to be a highly entertaining game between a pair of very evenly matched teams. BC Moore’s computer rankings have these teams separated by less than half a point, so expect to see a tight one here. East Sac County is led by senior wing Camden Schroeder Camden Schroeder 6'5" | SF East Sac County | 2021 State IA (23.4, 10.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 3.7 blocks), a skilled, 6-5 wing who impacts the game on both ends of the floor. He’s a highly efficient scorer (57-51-78 shooting splits) who Ridge View will struggle to defend. The Raptors are a good defensive team, allowing just 45.2 points a game, and are led by senior Bo Clausen (17.0, 7.5 rebounds) and junior Cade Harriman (14.5).
West Lyon at Rock Valley
Rock Valley won the regular-season meeting, 56-49, on January 19. West Lyon has won six of their last seven games and has four players averaging between 10.4 and 11.6 points a game. The ’Cats do a great job attacking the offensive glass, pulling down 11 offensive boards a game, so that’s something that Rock Valley is going to have to focus on. The Rockets are led by their junior trio of Landyn Van Kekerix (16.7), Bryson Van Grootheest Bryson Van Grootheest 6'0" | CG Rock Valley | 2022 State IA (15.9), and Sam Remmerde Sam Remmerde 6'3" | PF Rock Valley | 2022 State IA (10.9), who give them a lot of versatility and scoring punch. This young group had high expectations heading into the year, and they’re playing their best ball of the year heading into the postseason.
Okoboji at Spirit Lake
Okoboji recently got star forward Lucas Lorenzen Lucas Lorenzen 6'4" | SF Okoboji | 2022 State IA (23.2, 8.0 rebounds) back from an injury, and that makes the Pioneers a very dangerous team. Senior guard Will Jensen (14.7) stepped up in Lorenzen’s absence and is a solid secondary scoring threat. Spirit Lake plays a ton of close games, going 11-4 in games decided by 8 points or fewer, including 6-3 in games decided by 2 or less. The Indians are led by senior forward Creighton Morisch (17.6, 8.1 rebounds) and junior wing Vance Katzfey Vance Katzfey 6'3" | SG Spirit Lake | 2022 State IA (14.6).
Forest City at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
These teams are both excellent defensive units that like to play at a slower pace and use their defense and physicality to grind teams down. Forest City won the regular-season meeting 39-36 back on January 21. Neither team shot well in that game, with Forest City going 16-50 (32%) and GHV was just 12-46 (26.1%). Expect both of those numbers to come up a bit in this meeting. Senior guard Noah Miller Noah Miller 5'11" | CG Forest City | 2021 State IA (16.4, 4.2 assists) leads Forest City’s attack, while junior forward Andrew Snyder (10.3, 7.0 rebounds) is a solid force on the interior. GHV has a trio of double-figure scorers in seniors Kevin Meyers (12.6), Zachary Suby (10.2) and Hayden Hutcheson Hayden Hutcheson 6'5" | SF Garner-Hayfield-Ventura | 2021 State IA (10.4). They like to crash the offensive glass, so that’s an area that Forest City will need to control.
South Hamilton at South Central Calhoun
This is an interesting contrast in styles, as South Hamilton likes to rely on their strong defense (11th in 2A, 45.9 points a game), while South Central Cal likes to get up-and-down, ranking 5th in scoring offense at 68.4 points a game. South Hamilton is going to try and slow this one down, which is easier said than done against the potent Titans attack that has three averaging in double-figures – Brennan Holder Brennan Holder 6'1" | SG South Central Calhoun | 2021 State IA (17.2), Joshua Dietrich (14.3) and Cole Corey (14.0). South Central Cal doesn’t turn the ball over too often (11.0 a game), considering how quickly they like to play. South Hamilton has just one player, senior Carter Hewitt (12.0), averaging in double-figures. If they can dictate the tempo and play this one in the high-40s or low-50s, they’ll hang around.
Upset Alert
East Sac County: Ridge View is a good defensive team, and if they can find a way to slow down Camden Schroeder Camden Schroeder 6'5" | SF East Sac County | 2021 State IA , East Sac could be in trouble.
Western Christian: The Wolfpack are the better, more experienced team, but Central Lyon is red-hot, winning nine straight games heading into this one. The Lions have two big-time scoring threats in sophomore Zach Lutmer Zach Lutmer 6'1" | PG Central Lyon | 2023 State IA (20.5) and junior Mason Gerleman Mason Gerleman 6'0" | SG Central Lyon | 2022 State IA (13.3, 47.0 3P%).
Rock Valley: Taking on a conference rival in the postseason is always tricky, especially one with the talent and athleticism that West Lyon possesses. The Rockets won the regular-season meeting by just 7 points, so they’ll be ready for this one and certainly not overlooking the Wildcats.
Spirit Lake: As we mentioned above, Okoboji recently got star forward Lucas Lorenzen Lucas Lorenzen 6'4" | SF Okoboji | 2022 State IA back, which completely changes the Pioneers. His ability to dominate games with his scoring and on the glass will be tough for Spirit Lake to contend with.
Beckman Catholic: The Blazers are the better team in this matchup, but Jesup has some explosive scorers who can put up points in a hurry. The J-Hawks rank 7th in 2A in scoring at 67.9 points a game, led by the trio of Carson Lienau (18.7), Brodie Kresser Brodie Kresser 6'0" | SG Jesup | 2021 State IA (14.0) and Jack Miller (11.0). Beckman will need to have strong games from Padraig Gallagher Padraig Gallagher 6'5" | SF Beckman Catholic | 2023 State IA (12.9) and Jack Gehling Jack Gehling 6'4" | PF Beckman Catholic | 2021 State IA (10.6) here to avoid the upset.
Waukon: Waukon is the higher-seeded team, but North Fayette Valley is no slouch. The TigerHawks are 18-4 and have a strong, versatile leader in senior forward Kole Johnson Kole Johnson 6'2" | PF North Fayette Valley | 2021 State IA (17.1, 8.2 rebounds). Waukon won the regular-season meeting, 67-64, in overtime.
Roland-Story: The Norsemen did a great job defensively against Southeast Valley in the regular-season, limiting the Jags to 39 points. Kolson Kruse Kolson Kruse 5'11" | SG Southeast Valley | 2022 State IA (17.7), Aaron Graves Aaron Graves 6'5" | PF Southeast Valley | 2022 State IA (13.4) and Sam Hanson (13.2) are tough to keep down and the Jaguars are dangerous with all of those weapons.
Panorama: Panorama is the higher-seeded team, but ACGC actually won the regular-season meeting, 58-57, back on January 22. The Chargers have a trio of double-figure scorers in Eli Kading (15.8), Lucas Marsh (10.7) and Miles Kading (10.7) They won that regular-season meeting despite Kading being held to half of his scoring average.
Our Picks for All 32
District 1: OABCIG over Kuemper Catholic, East Sac County over Ridge View
District 2: Boyden-Hull over Hinton, Unity Christian over Cherokee
District 3: Western Christian over Central Lyon, Rock Valley over West Lyon
District 4: Okoboji over Spirit Lake, Alta-Aurelia over Sioux Central
District 5: Aplington-Parkersburg over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Forest City over Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
District 6: Denver over Sumner-Fredericksburg, Osage over New Hampton
District 7: Beckman Catholic over Jesup, Waukon over North Fayette Valley
District 8: West Branch over Tipton, Northeast over Anamosa
District 9: Camanche over Wilton, Mid-Prairie over West Liberty
District 10: Pekin over Mediapolis, West Burlington over Central Lee
District 11: Albia over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Pella Christian over Cardinal
District 12: Des Moines Christian over Pleasantville, PCM over Woodward-Granger
District 13: Dike-New Hartford over East Marshall, Iowa Falls-Alden over Hudson
District 14: Roland-Story over Southeast Valley, South Central Calhoun over South Hamilton
District 15: Van Meter over Central Decatur, ACGC over Panorama
District 16: AHSTW over Clarinda, Treynor over Red Oak