Storylines from State Tournament-Day 1

Todd Miller

March 9, 2021 @ 12:59 PM

It’s no secret that North Linn wants to get their opponents sped up and they did just that in day 1 against South Winneshiek forcing 22 turnovers. Along with their intense defense, they use a nice, balanced attack to go at opponents on the offensive end. Led by Junior Austin Hilmer Austin Hilmer 5'10" | PG North Linn | 2022 State IA , and the way he manages the offense and finds the open man and also his ability to take the shot when he needs to. Sophomore Tate Haughenberry has been a player that jumps off the page all season, and he didn’t disappoint on Monday putting in 19 points on 8-13 shooting and a nice baseline dunk to cap off his day. For South Winn, Trey Kriener was impressive, but picked up his 3rd foul early in the 2nd quarter which resulted in the Lynx extended their lead and never looking back. Kriener would finish with 12 points and 7 rebounds. North Linn was victorious 77-52.

#4 Martensdale St. Mary’s over #5 Easton Valley in a nail biter

What a thriller this game was, finalized in overtime by a score of 51-45 with some clutch free throw shooting from Senior Trey Baker Trey Baker 6'4" | SF Martensdale-St. Mary's | 2021 State IA . Even with a missed call at the end of the game that would gift Easton Valley two free throw shots by the wrong player to send it to overtime, the Blue Devils would prevail. Baker would finish the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The hero of the day came with Martensdale only up one possession, and on a missed free throw Jack Franey Jack Franey 5'7" | PG Martensdale-St. Marys | 2021 State IA , who had 0 points at the time dove through the lane to get an offensive rebound and get to the free throw line himself. Carson Elbert Carson Elbert 6'3" | SF Martensdale-St. Marys | 2021 State IA would finish with 19 points and was big for the Blue Devils. Porter Fuegen and Kaleb Cornilsen Kaleb Cornilsen 6'5" | PF Easton Valley | 2021 State IA were good on the day for the Riverhawks. Fuegen showed tough to stop on Monday from the perimeter and was a good source of offense.

#7 Montezuma over #2 Lake Mills

This game was one for the history books. A matchup which would’ve been a good matchup at any stage but had the feel of a semi-final game. Senior Trey Shearer Trey Shearer 5'10" | PG Montezuma | 2021 State IA showed why he’s one of the best players in the state dropping in 25 points, and a shot heard around the state right before half from the logo. Fellow Senior Cole Watts Cole Watts 5'10" | SG Montezuma | 2021 State IA showed why he’s heralded as one of the best shooters in the state ending the game with 18 points and the one who got the Braves started. For Lake Mills they were led by a surprise player in his first year of starting, Ryan Huston. Huston was impressive with 19 points and pretty good on-ball defense against Shearer when the Bulldogs switched to man. Junior Wyatt Helming put in 16 and Senior Caleb Bacon Caleb Bacon 6'4" | PF Lake Mills | 2021 State IA had 17 for the Bulldogs. Montezuma proved to have maybe been underrated by the state and is going to be a tough out in Class 1A. Final in OT was 64-61.

#3 Grand View Christian hits enough Free Throw’s to advance over #6 Remsen St. Mary’s

The first half was taken over by the offense of Junior Manny Hammonds Manny Hammonds 6'2" | SG Grand View Christian | 2022 State IA , and the defensive prowess in the middle of the lane by Sophomore Daniel Tobiloba Daniel Tobiloba 7'0" | C Grand View Christian | 2023 State IA . The second half was another story as the Hawks saw a statistic they might be able to use to their advantage, getting the Thunder to the Free Throw line. They would finish the game 10-29 from the free throw stripe, and would get just enough to advance. Hammonds would finish with 20 points to lead all scorers, and Tobiloba would have 11 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Remsen’s Jaxon Bunkers and Austin Jensen Austin Jensen 6'2" | PF St. Mary's, Remsen | 2022 State IA would each score 12, mostly from inside taking it at Tobiloba. The final score was 54-49.

#1 Boyden Hull tops #8 South Central Calhoun

The defending champs showed why they are defending champs on Monday as they flexed their way to a win over South Central Calhoun by a score of 74 to 49. South Central Calhoun came out swinging with Brennan Holder Brennan Holder 6'1" | SG South Central Calhoun | 2021 State IA and Cole Corey hitting shots, but they would run out of gas to compete with the Boyden Hull offense. Tanner Te Slaa Tanner Te Slaa 6'5" | SF Boyden-Hull | 2022 State IA , future DI player, showed his sweet stroke and offensive awareness to get the ball to the hot hand, which was Marcus Kelderman Marcus Kelderman 6'1" | SG Boyden-Hull | 2021 State IA most of the game. The two would combine for 45 points together and got some good contributions from their teammates to help extend the lead.

#4 Aplington-Parkersburg gets big performance to beat #5 Van Meter

Going into the game Junior Jayden Mackie Jayden Mackie 6'2" | PG Aplington-Parkersburg | 2022 State IA was averaging just over 13 points on the season, granted battled an injury early in the season. Nonetheless, I don’t think anyone but maybe his teammates, coaches, and himself saw him having a game like he did last night. Inside, outside, off the dribble, off the catch, Mackie would pour in 34 points on 13-14 shooting. When he’s clicking like that, defenses are going to be paying more close attention to him and the Falcons have the pieces to compete in Class 2A young and experienced. Van Meter’s offense was stymied by the zone pressure defense of the Falcons. A-P would blow this game out by a score of 68-41 in the nightcap on Monday.