STATE TOURNAMENT: Class 4A Recaps
4A All -Tourney: Connor McCaffery (Captain), Quinton Curry, Van Rees, Devontae Lane, Charley Crowley
FINAL: No.1 Iowa City West (22-3) vs No.2 Valley (21-4)
When the Trojans are firing on all cylinders, they are nearly impossible to defeat; tonight they were doing just that. Both McCaffery brothers (Connor, Patrick) and Devontae Lane played well, the Tigers — despite playing a decent overall game — were outmatched by the Trojans’ high-level talent. Quinton Curry and Austin Hinkle did what they could to help keep the game close, but whenever the Tigers would get it close, West would come away with a quick bucket. Valley could never get closer than five in the second half. Quinton Curry was starting in his third state title game for the Tigers, a remarkable accomplishment; he’ll play at D2 Rockhurst next season. Connor McCaffery and Devonate Lane — even with West’s storied history — will likely go down as two of the best to ever walk the hallways.
MVP: Connor McCaffery (Iowa City West) 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
It was business as usual for the tough and versatile 6-foot-6 guard. He was doing most of his damage from the paint, and though he netted two triples in this one, it was his grit and toughness in the trenches where he made his mark. He projects as a guard at the next level, but at 6-foot-6 and with a decent build, he should be able to be a versatile threat at the next level too.
Team Scoring
Valley 9 15 15 11 — 50
West 16 18 11 19 — 64
Individual Scoring
Valley (50) Quinton Curry 15, Austin Hinkle 13, Carter Frey 7, Charley Crowley 7, Nate Dennis 4, Reese Skinner 2, Parker Jensen 2.
West (64) Connor McCaffery 19, Devontae Lane 13, Patrick McCaffery 12, Evan Flitz 6, Izaya Ono-Fullard 4, Seybian Sims 4, Jake Anderson 1, Hakeem Odunsi 1.
Semifinal: No.2 Valley (20-4) 64 vs No.6 Sioux City East (22-2) 54
After an fast-paced 16-16 first quarter it appeared we could be in for another wild Valley game (see quarterfinal vs North), but the Tigers would would take control in the second quarter and come away with relatively stress-free win in against the Black Raiders. East made some pushes late, and cut the Valley lead to just five late after a Van Rees bucket. But the Tigers hit their free-throws in the final minute, squashing any chance the Black Raiders had of making a late-comeback. Charley Crowley scored a game-high 25 for the Tigers, displaying an array of offensive moves — he’s making a strong case for 4A Tourney MVP. Junior Van Rees was great for the Black Raiders, getting them going early with 12 first quarter points, and finishing with a team-high 23.
MVP: Charley Crowley (Valley)
This tweet pretty much sums it up.
Crowley with an up-and-under now. He's had: a tip-in, a dunk, a spin-move to the hoop, and now an up-and-under — 23 pts for him #iahsbkb
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) March 10, 2017
Team Scoring
Sioux City East 16 9 12 17 — 54
Valley 16 14 11 23 — 64
Individual Scoring
Sioux City East (54): Van Rees 23, Cole Taylor 9, Aidan Vanderloo 8, Jailen Billings 6, Sam Hildahl 5, Jack Peterson 3.
Valley (64): Charley Crowley 25, Reese Skinner 8, Quinton Curry 8, Nate Dennis 7, Austin Hinkle 6, Carter Frey 6, Noah Samples 2, Luke Sueppel 1, Mike Brown 1.
Semifinal: No.1 Iowa City West (21-3) 61 vs No.5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (19-5) 37
This one was over before it started, and after the Trojans got out to a 10-o start early, they never looked back. The Cougars were never able to get close, and despite coming back from 32-11 deficit in their quarterfinal win over Hempstead, no comeback bid was in the cards today. Patrick McCaffery was sterling for West, scoring 15 points on 6-7 shooting, and also swatting a game-high four shots. Older brother Connor McCaffery — Iowa’s top-ranked 2017 — was the game’s high-scorer, netting 18 points in the blowout win. The Trojans held Kennedy to just 25 percent shooting, thanks in large part to 10 team blocks (three from Seybian Sims, four from Patrick). West will play the winner of Valley and Sioux City East tomorrow night in the 4A final.
MVP: Patrick McCaffey (Iowa City West)
Last game he was 0-1 from the floor with 3 points, so we expected much out of him today — he did not disappoint. The younger, but taller McCaffery brother was as efficient as anyone’s been in the tourney so far, missing just one shot and making both of his free-throws. The four blocks is what makes this performance great, rather than just very good.
Team Scoring
Kennedy 7 7 12 11 — 37
West 14 14 15 18 — 61
Individual Scoring
Kennedy (37): Derrick Diggins 9, Drake Brewster 9, Jackson Foley 8, Mailk Haynes 4, Matt Berst 4, Nick Duehr 2, Ryan King 1.
West (61): Connor McCaffey 18, Patrick McCaffery 15, Devontae Lane 15, Seybian Sims 4, Izaya Ono-Fullard 4, Hakeem Odunsi 3, Nate Disterhoft 2.
Quarterfinal: No.2 Valley (19-4) 57 vs. No.7 Des Moines North (18-5) 55
Charley Crowley received a beautiful feed from junior guard Nate Dennis and stuffed home his fourth dunk of the night with 3.0 seconds left in the game. Crowley’s fourth and final jam would prove to be the game-winner, and it unfolded in front of a huge, wild and frenzied crowd at Wells Fargo Arena. North was down five — 55-50 — with one minute to play, but a smooth Jahion McCaleb corner three was followed by a Polar Bears steal which led to Tyreke Locure putting in a very difficult game-tying basket. On the ensuing Valley possession — after a timeout — Crowley slammed home the game-winner. Quinton Curry was sensational for Valley, he scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Crowley led the defending champion Tigers with 20 points. Locure finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for the Polar Bears. Valley advances to the semifinals where they’ll face Sioux City East on Friday afternoon.
Here's the game-winning dunk from Charley Crowley. What a feed by Nate Dennis iahsbkb pic.twitter.com/ayhpv6uQFD
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) March 9, 2017
Quinton Curry is back from an ACL injury, giving the Tigers even more firepower
MVP: Quinton Curry (Valley)
His is absolutely, 100 percent healthy, and if there was any doubt, it’s now erased. He scored 17 points on 8-13 shooting and skied very, very high to block a Locure floater which would have cut the North lead to one late in the game. Curry was great throughout, but at his best in the fourth quarter – he’s an absolute gamer.
Team Scoring
Valley 10 19 14 14 — 55
Des Moines North 12 16 15 12 — 57
Individual Scoring
Valley (57): Charley Crowley 20, Quinton Curry 17, Reese Skinner 5, Nate Dennis 5, Luke Sueppel 5, Austin Hinkle 2, Noah Samples 2, Mike Brown 1.
Des Moines North (55): Tyreke Locure 18, Dariq Myles 10, Jal Bijiek 8, Lino Malual 7, Jahion McCaleb 6, James Deng 6
Quarterfinal: No.3 Bettendorf (18-5) 53 vs No.6 Sioux City East (21-2) 61
Both of these teams seemed like semifinal caliber squads, but one had to go. Sioux City East shot the ball a little better than its counterpart, and was sterling from the line; that was the difference in this one. For Bettendorf, JMichael Young was impressive, the big 6-foot-4 guard looked like a D1-caliber basketball player, but he’ll play JuCo football next season. DJ Carton is an outstanding sophomore point guard, who could see himself land in the top-10 in the next installment of rankings. Aidan Vanderloo and Van Rees were both solid for the Black Raiders. The sharpshooting Vanderloo was 3-4 from deep and 6-7 from the line en route to 18 points. Rees scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. The Black Raiders will play the winner of Des Moines North and Valley on Friday at 3:15.
MVP: Van Rees (Sioux City East)
He was very workmanlike in the win, methodically going about his business and posting game-highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds in the process. All of the 6-foot-6 forward’s points came from inside, and that’s where he’s best right now.
Team Scoring
Sioux City East 12 15 13 21 — 61
Bettendorf 11 9 21 12 — 53
Individual Scoring
Sioux City East (61): Van Rees 25, Aidan Vanderloo 18, Jailen Billings 8, Cole Taylor 4, Sam Hildahl 4 Steve Siebersma 2.
Bettendorf (53): JMichael Young 20, DJ Carton 12, Dylan Clearman 9, Suni Lane 8, Mark Kallenberger 2, Cole Grothusen 2.
Quarterfinal: No. 4 Dubuque, Hempstead vs No.5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy
In what was one of the wildest turnarounds you’ll ever see in a basketball game, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy turned a 32-11 second quarter deficit around in a hurry, taking its first lead in the third quarter, and cruising to a win in the fourth. When the dust settled, the Cougars had outscored the the 45-15 after the 32-11 start. The run started slowly — almost unnoticeabley — at the end of the second quarter, but the real magic happened in the third quarter when Kennedy blitzed the Mustangs out of the gates with a quick 10-0 run. Kennedy won the third 19-2; that was the difference in the game. Foul trouble hampered the Mustangs throughout and star forward Keith Johnson played sparingly in the second half after picking up his third foul early in the third quarter. Kennedy will play Iowa City West in a 4A semifinal Friday at 1:30.
MVP: Derrick Diggins (Cedar Rapids Kennedy)
Diggins — our 25th-ranked 2018 — was quiet in the first half, most of Kennedy was (aside from Jackson Foley). But he busted out of his seams in the second half; scoring, assisting and coming away with a streaking block that saved Hempstead from regaining a lead and momentum late in the fourth quarter. Think Lebron James’ block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June.
Team Scoring
Cedar Rapids Kennedy 9 11 19 16 — 55
Dubuque, Hempstead 16 18 2 11 — 47
Individual Scoring
Cedar Rapids Kennedy: Derrick Diggins 14, Jackson Foley 14, Drake Brewster 13, Malik Haynes 10, Nick Duehr 2, Ki Jenkins 2.
Dubuque, Hempstead: Curtis Martin III 19, Connor Duax 8, Lucas Duax 6, Keith Johnson 6, Marshon Crowder 4, Tyler Cooksley 2, LeShaun Evans 2.
Quarterfinal: No.1 Iowa City West (20-3) 57 vs No.8 Newton (19-5) 51
It was certainly not easy, and Newton — for certain stretches of this game — looked like they would pull the upset, but in the end the star-power of West was too much. Devontae Lane came away with some tough buckets in the second half, and was key to Trojans’ success, scoring 18 points. Top-ranked 2017 Connor McCaffery was solid for most of the game, and poured in 18 points of his own. Not many people outside of Newton gave the Cardinals a chance in this one, but they came out of the gates strong; poised and un-intimidated. Garrett Sturtz scored 20 points to go with 3 blocks and two steals. Senior Connor Gholson poured in a game-high 24 in his last-ever high school game.
MVP: Devontae Lane (Iowa City West)
Nobody especially stood out in this one, but Lane was very good in the win. He scored 18 points, dished out 3 assists and swiped 2 steals. Several of his buckets were tough, and timely.
Team Scoring
Newton 14 16 15 6 — 51
Iowa City West 19 9 15 14 — 57
Individual Scoring
Newton (51): Connor Gholson 24, Garrett Sturtz 20, Trey Vanderlaan 5, Morgan Maher 2.
Iowa City West (57): Connor McCaffery 18, Devontae Lane 18, Izaya Ono-Fullard 7, Hakeem Odunsi 6, Seybian Sims 4, Patrick McCaffery 3, Nate Disterhoft 1.