Class 1A District Semifinal Preview

District semifinals in Class 1A and 2A take place on Thursday night. We took a look at some of the top games in Class 1A action here, and picked all 32 matchups.   The Top Five Games   Gehlen Catholic (14-8) at South O'Brien (16-6)   War Eagle foes renew pleasantries in this one, with Gehlen Catholic looking to upset South O'Brien, ending their season and getting revenge for a 64-50 loss from two weeks ago. In that first meeting, South O'Brien got 25 points each from [player_tooltip player_id='2721643' first='Derek' last='Paulsen'] and Jaden Kreber, shot 52% from the floor, and turned it over just 9 times. While Gehlen took good care of the ball themselves (10 turnovers) against the SOB zone, they struggled to shoot it, shooting just 34.5% from the floor and 7-28 (25%) from the 3-point line. They'll need to try to make a more concerted effort to get the ball into the teeth of the 2-3 zone if they want to have better results this time around. Look for sophomore wing [player_tooltip player_id='2407451' first='Mason' last='Small'] and junior guard Carson Arens to do whatever they can to exact revenge here.   Lake Mills (16-5) at Northwood-Kensett (20-3)   Lake Mills dominated the second half in the regular season meeting, taking the second 16 minutes by a 38-21 margin en route to an 11-point win. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2721756' first='Kane' last='Koch'] netted 20 points, including going 6-14 from the arc, while Keaton Wempen (18) and [player_tooltip player_id='1641849' first='Jackson' last='Gaul'] (15) were also strong offensively. The Bulldogs did a great job competing on the glass against a better Northwood-Kensett team, losing the rebounding battle by just a 31-28 margin. If they rebound that well again, they should come away with another road win. Northwood-Kensett will need big efforts from their stars - [player_tooltip player_id='1436503' first='Colby' last='Eskildsen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1587315' first='Kooper' last='Julseth'] - a pair of 6-5/6-6 weapons who can do a bit of everything if they want to protect their home court and beat a Lake Mills team and coaching staff that has a ton of experience playing in big postseason games.   Keota (19-3) at Hillcrest Academy (20-3)   Hillcrest Academy won the regular season meeting between these teams, 68-52, back on January 11. In that game, Hillcrest pretty much let Keota standout [player_tooltip player_id='2511617' first='Billie' last='Kindred'] get his and took away the rest of the Eagles' options. Look for a similar gameplan in this one. With [player_tooltip player_id='2511490' first='Seth' last='Ours'], [player_tooltip player_id='2519950' first='Rowan' last='Miller'], Bryce Bailey, and Mason Bender, the Ravens have more offensive options than Keota, are the better shooting team, play in a more difficult league, and perhaps most importantly, get this game at home. Edge Hillcrest.   WACO (18-5) at Holy Trinity Catholic (18-4)   These teams met in the season opener, a dominant 57-35 Holy Trinity win. WACO is playing significantly better now than they did in that game and will be a dangerous team in this rematch, especially with Mount Pleasant move-in [player_tooltip player_id='1978109' first='Christian' last='Stacy'] now fully acclimated with the team. The Crusaders have the best player on the floor in 6-5 senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1622174' first='Luke' last='Hellige'], a dominant and efficient three-level scorer, and WACO will need to figure out a way to control him if they want to go down to Fort Madison and pull off the upset.   Baxter (14-8) at North Mahaska (19-3)   These teams met in a non-conference game back on January 13, a 59-57 North Mahaska home win. Neither team shot in particularly well in that game (North Mahaska 24.1% from 3, Baxter 33.3%), but the Warhawks dominated the glass to the tune of 40-26, including 17 offensive rebounds. That type of production on the glass, garnering over a dozen second chances, is something that Baxter will need to control in the rematch. For Baxter, in addition to a more concerted effort on the glass, they'll need a big showing from star junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1460951' first='Eli' last='Dee'], a big-time three-level scorer. North Mahaska has gotten consistent production out of Gabe Hora, [player_tooltip player_id='2721760' first='Asher' last='DeBoef'], and Lucas Nunnikhoven, and if they control the glass again, they should advance.   Upset Alert   South O'Brien: As mentioned in the top games, Gehlen Catholic didn't shoot it well in the regular season meeting and should go into the rematch with a better gameplan. The Wolverines are the better team and have the best player on the floor, but with conference rivals meeting in the postseason, anything can happen.   North Mahaska: The Warhawks beat Baxter by just 2 in the regular season in a game that saw Bolts' star [player_tooltip player_id='1460951' first='Eli' last='Dee'] not make a single 3. A bigger effort from him could send the Warhawks home.   Northwood-Kensett: By seed, it would be an upset if the Vikings lost. But Lake Mills already got them by 11 points a little under a month ago, so is it really an upset if the 'Dogs win again?   Prince of Peace: The Irish have a big-time scorer in [player_tooltip player_id='1759934' first='Hakeal' last='Powell'], who has a 60-point game under his belt this year, but they also have a tendency to play in some high-scoring, wild games without much defense. Bellevue has a number of weapons who can score, and have played a much more difficult schedule than PoP, so they won't be intimidated.     Picking All 32 District 1: Boyden-Hull over Kingsley-Pierson, South O'Brien over Gehlen Catholic District 2: MMCRU over North Union, Newell-Fonda over GTRA District 3: Bishop Garrigan over West Fork, Lake Mills over Northwood-Kensett District 4: St. Edmond over North Butler, Newman Catholic over Janesville District 5: Marquette Catholic over Wapsie Valley, Bellevue over Prince of Peace District 6: Don Bosco over Kee, Maquoketa Valley over South Winneshiek District 7: North Linn over Springville, Hillcrest Academy over Keota District 8: Notre Dame over Winfield-Mt. Union, Holy Trinity Catholic over WACO District 9: North Mahaska over Baxter, Montezuma over Sigourney District 10: Gladbrook-Reinbeck over Waterloo Christian, Dunkerton over Colo-Nesco District 11: Southeast Warren over Ankeny Christian, Earlham over Martensdale-St Marys District 12: Madrid over Moravia, Lynnville-Sully over Collins-Maxwell District 13: Coon Rapids-Bayard over Stanton, Mount Ayr over East Mills District 14: Woodbine over Southwest Valley, Bedford over Sidney District 15: ACGC over Audubon, Ar-We-Va over IKM-Manning District 16: St. Mary's, Remsen over Westwood, St. Albert over Logan-Magnolia

District semifinals in Class 1A and 2A take place on Thursday night. We took a look at some of the top games in Class 1A action here, and picked all 32 matchups.