Game & Player Evaluations – Iowa City West @ Iowa City Liberty
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NORTH LIBERTY – Trojans came out hot in the first quarter and got out to an 11-3 lead that forced a Liberty timeout with 5:41 left in the opening quarter. Liberty missed some easy shots in the first, but West…
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Continue ReadingNORTH LIBERTY – Trojans came out hot in the first quarter and got out to an 11-3 lead that forced a Liberty timeout with 5:41 left in the opening quarter. Liberty missed some easy shots in the first, but West High’s defense looked to be a little too much for the Lightning. West High lead 24-10 after the first quarter, and never let up.
Liberty went on their own little scoring run after a West High timeout with 6:07 left in the second. The Lightning cut the lead to 9 at 30-21, but Pete Moe threw down a breakaway dunk to silence the crowd. Moe dominated the first half on both sides of the ball; he had 19 at the half. McCaffery added 8 first-half points for the Trojans but went to the bench with two early fouls. The Lightning had a pretty balanced scoring attack in the first half.
Not long into the third quarter Jack McCaffery hit his third three of the night to put the Trojans up 55-33. Liberty did a good job at penetrating the Trojan zone in the third quarter. The Lightning got a lot of good looks, just could not convert. The Trojans stretch their lead to 22 and lead 61-39 after three quarters. Moe, McCaffery, Earl, and Taylor all picked up their third foul, but sophomore guard Jacob Koch and junior Wyatt Dotson did a good job keeping the Trojans lead.
West High’s size and athleticism were just too much for the Lightning. Subs come in for both teams with just under three minutes to go. Pete Moe ends the night with 29, McCaffery with 15, and Kareem Earl Kareem Earl 6'5" | SF Iowa City West | 2024 State IA with 12. Very balanced scoring for the Trojans with three starters in double digits.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
Iowa City West | 24 | 18 | 19 | 12 | 73 |
Iowa City Liberty | 10 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 51 |
Very impressive night for the West High Trojans. Led by Pete Moe, Jack McCaffery, and Kareem Earl Kareem Earl 6'5" | SF Iowa City West | 2024 State IA tonight, this team will be at the top of the MVC and will be a tough out in the postseason. West High is able to spread the floor on offense, and their size makes it hard to score on them. The Trojans were without senior guard Christian Barnes Christian Barnes 5'10" | PG Iowa City West | 2022 State IA tonight, but add him to the trio of Moe, McCaffery, and Earl, and the Trojans will be an even more high-powered team.
Iowa City West: Peter Moe Peter Moe 6'9" | PF Iowa City West | 2022 State IA 28, Jack McCaffery 15, Kareem Earl Kareem Earl 6'5" | SF Iowa City West | 2024 State IA 12, Savion Taylor Savion Taylor 6'4" | SF The Burlington School | 2024 State NC 9, Jacob Koch 8, Brady Simcox 2
’22 Peter Moe Peter Moe 6'9" | PF Iowa City West | 2022 State IA , 6’9″ F – Moe can absolutely score the ball, both inside and out. He has solid shot from three, and an even better back to the basket game. As good as he is on offense, he uses his 6’9″ frame to play very good defense. Moe finished with 29, the majority of them from in the post. Still uncommitted, lots of upside for Moe that any college coach would be lucky to get.
’25 Jack McCaffery, 6’7″ F – Just a freshman, McCaffery plays like an upperclassman. Didn’t get much of a look at McCaffery’s post-game, but he can score off the drive, and knocking down three from behind the arc, he can shoot. The 6’7″ forward plays smart on both sides and handles the ball very well for his size. Just like his brothers, he’ll be very fun to watch for four years.
’24 Kareem Earl Kareem Earl 6'5" | SF Iowa City West | 2024 State IA , 6’4″ G/F – The 6’4″ sophomore can play both guard and forward, and has a very smooth game. Offensively, Earl is quick off the dribble and can finish at the hoop. Defensively, Earl can guard all five positions very well. He couldn’t get going from three tonight but has the ability to knock down shots from outside.
Iowa City Liberty: Griffin Kraft 10, Owen Swartzendruber 6, Graham Beckman 6, Luke Ramsey 6, Payton Johnston 5, Gage Kampman Gage Kampman 6'7" | PF Iowa City Liberty | 2024 State IA 5, Keadyn Leiss-Demus 4, Christian Barney 4, JaQuez Hall 3, CJ Miles 2
’22 Griffin Kraft, 6’2″ F – Kraft lead the Lightning with 10 points, doing a lot of his scoring down low. The senior forward plays hard on both ends of the floor and is always in on the boards.
’24 Graham Beckman, 6’2″ G/F – The sophomore guard only put up 5 points tonight but had 13 points and 6 boards in their opener. Beckman is a smart player on both ends of the floor, doesn’t force his shots, and doesn’t turn the ball over.