Rob's Class 3A Postseason Recap 2-28-23

IOWA CITY, Iowa – All but one of the Class 3A state tournament berths were decided Monday night. The Solon-Newton contest for the final spot was pushed to Tuesday night to accommodate Solon, whose girls team played Monday night at…

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – All but one of the Class 3A state tournament berths were decided Monday night. The Solon-Newton contest for the final spot was pushed to Tuesday night to accommodate Solon, whose girls team played Monday night at its state tournament.

Here’s a look at what happened in 3A Monday night:

SUBSTATE 1 CHAMPION – BISHOP HEELAN

Tenth-ranked Bishop Heelan (18-6) took down Webster City (18-4), 63-50, at Fort Dodge Middle School. The Crusaders jumped out to a 10-0 lead that Webster City could not overcome.

Matt Noll paced Heelan with 19 points with teammates Carter Kuehl Carter Kuehl 5'11" | PG Bishop Heelan | 2023 State IA (13) and Beau Chamberlain Beau Chamberlain 6'2" | SG Bishop Heelan | 2024 State IA (11) also scoring in double figures for the victors. Webster City’s Ty McKinney Ty McKinney 6'0" | PG Webster City | 2023 State IA led all scorers with 23 points with Jayce Neuroth adding 10 and Briar Klaver scoring nine and pulling down eight rebounds for the Lynx.

SUBSTATE 2 CHAMPION – ALGONA

Unranked Algona (17-7) punched its ticket to the state tournament with a 61-58 victory against No. 3 MOC-Floyd Valley (21-3) at Spencer. The Bulldogs clinched a trip to Des Moines for the first time since 1999.

Sophomore Ben Helmers Ben Helmers 6'4" | PG Algona | 2025 State IA led Algona with 18 points with Alex Manske Alex Manske 6'3" | SG Algona | 2025 State IA adding 15 and Tristin Larsen 11 for the winners. MOC-Floyd Valley junior Jesse Van Kalsbeek Jesse Van Kalsbeek 6'0" | SG MOC-Floyd Valley | 2024 State IA led all scorers with 23 points, while teammate Ayden Klein Ayden Klein 5'11" | SG MOC-Floyd Valley | 2023 State IA contributed 15.

SUBSTATE 3 CHAMPION – NORTH POLK

Seventh-ranked North Polk (18-5) took down No. 2 Clear Lake (22-2), 52-43, at Ames. The Comet’s defense was the story in holding Clear Lake to its lowest scoring output of the season. North Polk outscored the Lions, 34-20, in the second half.

SUBSTATE 4 CHAMPION – MARION

No. 5 Marion (19-5) proved to much for Charles City (17-6) in a 73-56 triumph at Waterloo East. The Wolves secured their second trip to state in a row.

Senior Brayson Laube Brayson Laube 6'2" | PG Marion | 2023 State IA poured in 37 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Marion, sinking 6 of 11 shots from behind the three-point arc. Myles Davis Myles Davis 6'1" | SG Marion | 2024 State IA chipped in 11 points, and Alex Mota Alex Mota 6'1" | SG Marion | 2023 State IA pulled down 12 rebounds to go with six points, three steals and two blocks for the victorious Wolves.

SUBSTATE 5 CHAMPION – XAVIER

Fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier (18-6) edged Mississippi Valley Conference foe Dubuque Wahlert (13-11), 48-44, in overtime at West Delaware. The Saints punched a ticket to Des Moines for the first time since ’18.

Junior Joseph Bean Joseph Bean 6'3" | PG Kennedy | 2024 State IA led the them with 17 points while Iowa Football recruit Aidan McDermott Aidan McDermott 6'2" | SF Xavier | 2023 IA added seven for the winners. Duke Faley Duke Faley 6'5" | C Wahlert Catholic | 2023 State IA paced Wahlert with 16 points and eight rebounds.

SUBSTATE 6 CHAMPION – TBD

No. 6 Newton (16-6) faces Solon (18-5) Tuesday night at Oskaloosa.

Cole Plowman Cole Plowman 6'4" | PF Newton | 2023 State IA (14.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG), Brody Bauer Brody Bauer 6'2" | SG Newton | 2023 State IA (12.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG) and Jake Ingle Jake Ingle 5'7" | PG Newton | 2023 State IA (10.3 PPG, 4.2 APG) have been leading the Cardinals this winter. The Spartans have been paced by juniors Jake Benzing Jake Benzing 6'2" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA (18.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG) and Gehrig Turner (9.9 PPG, 2.5 APG) in ’22-23.

SUBSTATE 7 CHAMPION – DES MOINES HOOVER

Unrated Des Moines Hoover (15-9) took down No. 8 Waverly-Shell Rock (17-6), 59-44, at Nevada. The Huskies celebrated the victory as you would have expected.

SUBSTATE 8 CHAMPION – BONDURANT-FARRAR

Top-ranked Bondurant-Farrar (23-0) advanced with a 74-53 statement win against Harlan (17-6) at Creston. The Bluejays secured their fifth-ever state tournament berth and first since ’06.

Reed Pfaltzgraff Reed Pfaltzgraff 6'4" Bondurant Farrar | 2024 IA racked up 24 points for Bondurant-Farrar with his teammates Colby Collison Colby Collison 6'4" | SF Bondurant-Farrar | 2023 State IA (17), Everett White (11) and Jaxson Fried Jaxson Fried 6'6" | SF Bondurant- Farrar | 2023 State IA (9) also getting in on the act.