Five Takeaways: No. 7 Cedar Falls knocks off No. 1 Iowa City West

<p><strong>IOWA CITY - </strong>This matchup lived up to the hype. </p> <p>No. 7 Cedar Falls knocked off No. 1 Iowa City West, 41-38, in a thriller in Iowa City Saturday afternoon. Cedar Falls senior and Truman State signee <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/">Josh Ollendieck</a></a> hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win it for the Panthers. </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/SBock247/status/1226297523670863872?s=20">Here is a link to Ollendieck's buzzer-beater</a>. </p> <p>Belmont signee <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/even-brauns/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/even-brauns/">Even Brauns</a></a> finished with a game-high 18 points and 7 rebounds for the Trojans while <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/">Landon Wolf</a></a> led Cedar Falls with 11 points. </p> <p>Cedar Falls improves to 14-2 on the season while City West drops to 15-2.</p> <p>Let's look at some takeaways. </p> <p><strong>Cedar Falls has so many weapons </strong></p> <p>Cedar Falls may have one of the deepest rosters in the state, and it can beat you in a number of ways. The Panthers have a deep lineup of guards with <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-campbell/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-campbell/">Trey Campbell</a></a>, Wolf, Ollendicek, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/">Ben Sernett</a></a>, and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jaxon-heth/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jaxon-heth/">Jaxon Heth</a></a>. Campbell is the straw that stirs the drink at the point guard position while the others are capable scorers. Balance is the key for this group. They are so disciplined on both sides of the floor and find ways to get a great shot rather than a good one. They stretch the floor which opens things up downlow for their big men like <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/">Chase Courbat</a></a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joe-knutson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joe-knutson/">Joe Knutson</a></a>. </p> <p><strong>Courbat continues to improve </strong></p> <p>This was my first time seeing Courbat live in almost a year and a half, and I definitely noticed the improvement. The 6-foot-9 Courbat is raw, but he has tools to work with. He looks more comfortable out on the floor. He finished with five points, including a 3-pointer from the corner and a dunk rolling to the rim after setting a solid ball screen. Northern Iowa is the lone offer for Courbat. One thing I should point out regarding Courbat is that he did a great job fronting Brauns in the post. Brauns got his points, but Courbat cut off the post feeds to Brauns and did it without fouling. Really strong performance overall for Courbat. This will be a big summer for him. </p> <p><strong>West needs <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/marcus-morgan/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/marcus-morgan/">Marcus Morgan</a></a> back</strong></p> <p>City West junior guard <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/marcus-morgan/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/marcus-morgan/">Marcus Morgan</a></a> is recovering from a lower leg injury, and hasn't been 100 percent for a while now. Morgan didn't get the start for West, and played sparingly in the loss. Morgan is an important piece for West. When he's on, he's one of the top scorers in the state, and he can get them up in a hurry. West will be able to make a run deep in the postseason with Morgan back in the lineup and at full go. His presence is needed on both sides of the floor. The attention on Morgan will take the pressure off of Brauns, who is drawing double teams every time he gets the ball in the post. </p> <p><strong>West will need more players to step up </strong></p> <p>As I mentioned in the last point, Brauns is seeing a lot of attention with Morgan not at 100 percent. West will need wings Tate Crane and Ben Vander Leest to step up in the scoring department. Crane, a Truman State football recruit, can score from multiple spots, and Vander Leest can knock down the 3. The backcourt of <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nick-pepin/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nick-pepin/">Nick Pepin</a></a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joey-goodman/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joey-goodman/">Joey Goodman</a></a> will also need to score and take care of the ball to maximize possessions for West. </p> <p><strong>Who's No. 1 in 4A?</strong></p> <p>With West losing to Cedar Falls, it looks like Ankeny Centennial will be the new No. 1 team in Class 4A. North Scott and Senior will likely follow depending on how far West drops. Centennial doesn't have a lot of studs, but like Cedar Falls, this group is very unselfish and plays well together. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>