Ten Best: Camanche (86) vs. West Branch (80)
Dylan Hundley had a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for Comanche Camanche 86, West Branch 80 Camanche outlasted West Branch in a highly entertaining substate final on Saturday night, winning 86-80 to send the Indians to the state tournament…
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Continue ReadingCamanche 86, West Branch 80
Camanche outlasted West Branch in a highly entertaining substate final on Saturday night, winning 86-80 to send the Indians to the state tournament for the first time since 1985.
West Branch sophomore guard Beau Cornwell got off to a tremendous start, scoring 22 points in the first half, including knocking down five 3s, to help the Bears jump out to a 46-42 lead.
A back-and-forth game for the first three quarters, Camanche used an 11-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to take over the game. Tied at 70 with about five minutes left, the Indians got a bucket, followed by a Dakota Soenksen 3, then a Dylan Hundley steal and layup, giving them a 77-70 lead and forcing a West Branch timeout. The run extended to a 81-71 lead, and it became too much for West Branch to overcome.
Camanche (22-2) advances to the 2A state tournament for the first time in 32 years. All five starters scored in double figures for the Indians, led by Dylan Hundley, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Cameron Soenksen had 20 points, Dakota Soenksen 18, Dev Patel 11 and David Gonzalez added 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Indians will find out who they play in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, when the pairings for all four classes will be released.
West Branch ends their season at 18-6, falling just short of the school’s first ever state tournament berth. The Bears were led by their star duo of Cooper Kabela, who had 32 points, and Beau Cornwell, with 26. They were the only two in double figures.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Camanche | 17 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 86 |
West Branch | 18 | 28 | 17 | 17 | 80 |
Camanche: Dylan Hundley 21, Cameron Soenksen 20, Dakota Soenksen 18, Dev Patel 11, David Gonzalez 10, Calvin Ottens 5, Tre Austin 1
West Branch: Cooper Kabela 32, Beau Cornwell 26, Ben Thompson 9, Brett Schiele 6, Tanner Lukavsky 4, Brady Lukavsky 2, Trey Eagle 1
MVP: Dylan Hundley (Camanche)
The Indians’ combo forward notched an impressive double-double, scoring a team-high 21 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds. He was especially good in the second half, where he scored 17 of his 21 on 7-10 shooting. His steal and layup to cap off a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter may have been the biggest play of the night, as it pushed Camanche’s lead to seven and made a comeback for West Branch insurmountable.
Best offensive performance: Cooper Kabela (West Branch)
The West Branch senior showed a little bit of everything in his final high school game, scoring a game-high 32 points on an impressive 11-17 shooting. A 6-5 forward, he’s got the ability to stretch out to the 3-point line and knock down shots, which in turn helps open everything else up. When he touches the ball in the paint, with his combination of footwork, touch and skill, he’s nearly impossible to stop at the 2A level. It was certainly not the ending Kabela wanted, but he put on a show in his last game, to the tune of 32-10-7 blocks.
Best defensive performance: Cooper Kabela (West Branch)
The 6-5 senior not only went out in a big way on the offensive end, he also blocked seven shots for the Bears, making life difficult for Camanche in the paint early on. A strong, physical player, he moves his feet well, has great timing and gets good position on the defensive end.
Best shooter: Beau Cornwell (West Branch)
The 6-0 sophomore shooting guard set the gym on fire in the first half, scoring 22 points in the first 16 minutes and knocking down five 3s in the process. He ended up going 6-13 from the arc overall, showcasing extended range. He’s a confident shooter with a quick release, and as he continues to develop his overall game even more, it’ll make him a deadly all-around offensive weapon.
Best passer: Dev Patel (Camanche)
Patel not only dished out a game-high six assists, he made one of the best passes I’ve seen this season. In the middle of the second quarter, he took an outlet pass, then fired a beautiful 60-footer to a streaking David Gonzalez for a layup and the foul. The Indians’ point guard does a nice job penetrating the defense and dropping off passes to Gonzalez, Hundley or Calvin Ottens for layups, and as he showed with that pass, he’s able to push it in transition as well. His improvement from last year to this season is a huge reason Camanche is going to the state tournament.
Best rebounder: Dylan Hundley (Camanche)
The 6-4 combo forward pulled down 11 rebounds for the Indians, and he’s a threat to bring the ball up the court for them when he grabs a defensive board. He’s a strong, physical interior player who makes good contact on his box outs, rebounds in and out of his area, and has great hands. He attacks the ball on both ends of the floor.
Best underclassman: Cameron Soenksen (Camanche)
Early in the game, it was Soenksen and Cornwell going back-and-forth from behind the arc and providing all sorts of entertainment. A 6-1 freshman guard, he’s got the ability to torch teams from deep, sticks his nose in on both ends of the floor on the glass, and has started to develop his ball handling abilities, allowing him to get some dribble penetration. He’s going to score a ton of points for the Indians over the course of the next three years.
Best player off the bench: Calvin Ottens (Camanche)
A big body off the bench, the sophomore is listed at 6-7 and he takes up a lot of space. He’s still got a ways to go with his touch around the rim, but he’s got good hands, showed the ability to finish a bit (finished with five points), and he’s fairly agile for a young big kid with his frame. He provides them with solid minutes on both ends, and will step into a major role next season.
The atmosphere
One of the best things about small-school district and substate finals is the atmosphere, and this was no different. Both Camanche and West Branch packed the lower level of the Muscatine gym, with Camanche’s fans decked out in all royal blue, and West Branch’s primarily in black. Unlike the bigger schools, every bucket is celebrated as if it’s the biggest one of the game, and the gym gets incredibly loud during a run like the one Camanche had to put the game away in the fourth quarter. The atmosphere was everything a game to send a team to state should have been.
What to watch for in Camanche’s state trip: How does the 3-point shooting adjust to the big arena?
Camanche has attempted 201 more 3s than any other team in the 2A state tournament field, and it’ll be interesting to see if moving into a bigger arena with a much different shooting background will effect them adversely, much like it did to Grand View Christian in the 1A tournament last season.