Waukee vs. Valley lived up to the anticipation on Tuesday, as the Warriors won in thrilling fashion 59-55. Waukee’s Tucker DeVries went off for 24 points, and teammate Payton Sandfort added 15. The Tigers were led by Jake Auer, who…
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Waukee’s Tucker DeVries went off for 24 points, and teammate Payton Sandfort added 15.
The Tigers were led by Jake Auer, who scored a game-high 25 points. Drew Jirak added 10 points, and Ty Walker scored nine.
After heading into the fourth quarter tied at 32 a piece, both teams combined to score 50 down the final stretch. Valley’s press antagonized Waukee, and the Warriors — who nursed a double-digit lead — quickly saw things turn into a one-possession game.
Walker drained a huge 3-pointer for the Tigers with 1:18 left in the game, trimming the Warriors lead to just two points. Waukee would be called for a 5-second violation, resulting in a turnover, but Valley couldn’t tie the game. The Tigers went to the line, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Waukee closed out the game from the free-throw line.
Here’s how the five best prospects performed in the 4A substate final.
Jake Auer scored 15 points in Valley’s loss to Waukee.Jake Auer (Valley 2020)
Auer was Valley’s offense on Tuesday. His confidence on the court was great; he stepped up and fueled the slight comeback in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, his shooting range is great. Auer hit shots from all over the gym, including a couple of deep triples (he finished with five 3-pointers). His game as a facilitator stood out as well. If Auer wasn’t scoring, he was setting a teammate up with a quality look. Valley’s offense was at its best when it flowed through the senior.
He’s not super quick, but Auer has some speed to his game. The first highlight below shows him out running a Waukee player to steal an inbounds pass, then passing it off to a teammate — just one example of his game.
DeVries scored a team-high 24 points in Waukee’s win over Valley.Tucker DeVries (Waukee 2021)
Earlier, I wrote how if Valley wanted to beat Waukee, it needed to slow the Warriors down from the start, much like Lincoln did in the second round of the substate bracket. Against Lincoln, DeVries didn’t score his first points till the second half, and it was almost the same story on Tuesday. DeVries started things with a scoreless first quarter and a very quick offensive foul, but he battled through.
DeVries scored his first points on a 3-pointer from just inside half court in the second quarter. Not even a minute later, he drained another long-range triple with a defender draped in front of his face, giving Waukee a 3-point lead at the half.
The second half, though was when DeVries went to work, scoring 18 points including some major and-one buckets late. DeVries never shies away from the big shot, and his constant aggression — even through his first-quarter struggles — was sensational. He possesses a great first step and has some crafty handles for being one of Waukee’s tallest players (6′ 6″). One word to describe his offensive style: relentless.
Tuesday was a DeVries-Auer second-half showdown, which was well worth the price of admission.
Payton Sandfort scored 15 points in Waukee’s win over Valley.Payton Sandfort (Waukee 2021)
Sandfort was arguably Waukee’s most consistent threat; he was the only Warrior to score in all four quarters, scoring 15 points. At times, it seemed as though Sandfort was trying to do too much. Shots didn’t fall with regularity early, and he had a couple turnovers. But Waukee did a great job continuing to work him into the offense. Sandfort can move with the ball fairly well, but that part of his game still needs some work. I’d like to see him move off the ball more, especially when defenses focus on DeVries as the ball handler. He runs the floor well, though, as his best bucket of the night came on the fast break. Sandfort pump-faked and his defender fell onto him, but he powered through contact for the hoop plus the harm to bump Waukee’s lead to 10 in the final quarter.
Pryce Sandfort (Waukee 2024)
Sandfort, Payton’s younger brother, might end up being Waukee’s dark-horse player this postseason. While Payton’s game has a higher ceiling (when he’s clicking, he’s almost impossible to stop), Pryce’s is more consistent. Sandfort lets the offense come to him, and while part of that could lie with being a bit tentative as a freshman and the third scoring option, he makes the most out of his touches. He moves very well without the ball, sneaking into the corner for 3-point attempts. He scored 10 points against Valley.
Valley’s Ty Walker scored nine points and hit some crucial 3-pointers against Waukee.Ty Walker (Valley 2021)
Walker scored all of his points in the second half on Tuesday, and each one seemed to claw Valley out of its hole.
Walker is a quick junior guard with good dribbling skills and quality vision. While he wasn’t always decisive (he passed up a couple seemingly open 3-pointers), he stepped up in the fourth quarter. Losing Auer to graduation will hurt the Tigers, but Walker will take over that role. He doesn’t boast the crazy shooting range like Auer does and he’s not a big guard at all (5′ 11″), but Walker is a better athlete and a similar facilitator. He’ll definitely be a prospect to keep an eye on next season.
