Cedar Falls takes down Hempstead to return to State

<p>CEDAR RAPIDS - While it may not have had the excitement at the buzzer that the first game of the doubleheader did, Cedar Falls and Dubuque Hempstead was a back and forth highly-competitive battle. </p> <p>The Tigers grinded out the victory at the US Cellular Center, 53-44, in a game that was a lot closer than the score entails. </p> <p>Cedar Falls had a three-point lead going into the 4th quarter at 34-31, but Hempstead was able to tie it at 37. After that, the Tigers closed out the game on a 17-7 run to secure the victory. </p> <p>Cedar Falls drained 8 straight free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/">Ben Sernett</a></a> was big for Cedar Falls as he scored a team-high 12 points while Truman State recruit <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/">Josh Ollendieck</a></a> had 9 points and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-campbell/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-campbell/">Trey Campbell</a></a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/">Landon Wolf</a></a> both chipped in 8 points. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/">Chase Courbat</a></a> didn't do a ton in the scoring department, but he had multiple blocks at the rim to frustrate the Mustangs. </p> <p>Junior wing <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-duax/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-duax/">Michael Duax</a></a> was phenomenal for Hempstead. The Northern Iowa recruit poured in a game-high 26 points, and did whatever he could to give his team a chance to win. </p> <p>Cedar Falls will look to win its third straight Class 4A state title. </p> <p>Let's take a look at some of the top performers. </p> <p><strong>2021 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-duax/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-duax/">Michael Duax</a></a> (Hempstead)</strong></p> <p>As mentioned earlier, Duax was the best player of the floor. The future UNI Panther was scoring at will. I was impressed at how Duax can create his own shot and the multiple ways he can score the basketball. Duax also gets after it on the defensive end, and doesn't take a play off. He was active on the boards and contesting shots without fouling. He's a sneaky good athlete and deceptively quick. He doesn't need a lot of space to get off a shot. High IQ basketball player. If Duax's shots aren't falling, he can find ways to impact the game in other ways. He's a special player that is a legitimate candidate for Mr. Basketball next season. Perfect fit for Northern Iowa.</p> <p><strong>2021 Jamari Smith (Hempstead) </strong></p> <p>It wasn't Smith's best outing in the scoring department, but he does a number of things well. Smith is quick and has good size at 6-foot-4. He can guard multiple positions and has an offensive game that's coming together. I'd like to see him be more aggressive at times. He and Duax can be a dangerous 1-2 punch next season. </p> <p><strong>2020 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ben-sernett/">Ben Sernett</a></a> (Cedar Falls) </strong></p> <p>Sernett came into this game averaging 6.0 points per contest, but when your star players are having an off night, role players like Sernett need to step up and he did just that. Sernett made a couple of big shots in various moments of the game where it looked like Hempstead was going to take the momentum. Sernett is a good athlete with some bounce to him. An All-District wide receiver as well. What makes Cedar Falls so dangerous is the depth they have. They go 9-deep, and all of those guys are capable scorers. </p> <p><strong>2020 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/josh-ollendieck/">Josh Ollendieck</a></a> (Cedar Falls)</strong></p> <p>The Truman State signee couldn't get much from beyond the arc, but was a calm and poised leader down the stretch to help his team get the win. Ollendieck will get those shots to fall most games. He was also tagged with guarding Duax for most of the night. That said, a lot of his energy was exerted on the defensive end, so that makes it tough to replicate that performance on offense. Duax was tamed for most of the second half, so kudos to Ollendieck for keeping him at bay. </p> <p><strong>2021 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-courbat/">Chase Courbat</a></a> (Cedar Falls) </strong></p> <p>Courbat didn't post the numbers in the scoring department, but he was vital to Cedar Falls' domination on the glass with his rebounding and also came up big with a few blocked shots. Courbat's offensive game is still coming together, but he had a couple of nice finishes downlow against Hempstead. Courbat has good bounce off the floor and good instincts. He's got a lot of tools to work with and a good base. He'll need to continue to add on more strength, but I was impressed with how he handled himself on defense on Tuesday. </p> <p><strong>The case for <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/">Landon Wolf</a></a> </strong></p> <p>I've seen Cedar Falls junior guard <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/landon-wolf/">Landon Wolf</a></a> three times live now, and I'm shocked that D1 schools haven't offered yet. Wolf didn't have his best game on Tuesday, but his size and athleticism mixed with his skill are impressive. He's a reliable ballhandler and a shot-maker. He has everything you want in a low/mid-major guard. He's strong, quicker than you'd expect, and can create for himself and others. Wolf will get the chance to display those intangibles next week in Des Moines. I'm expecting him to have a big week.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>