Class 2A District Semifinal Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Top Three District Semifinal Games</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Beckman Catholic (12-10) at Alburnett (14-8)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These teams played a thriller just a few weeks ago, a 75-72 overtime win for Alburnett on February 5. In that game, Beckman star wing [player_tooltip player_id='2419787' first='Jake' last='Wegmann'] (13.1), who has battled injuries all year, was great, scoring 29 points on 12-19 shooting with 10 rebounds. The Pirates may not have an answer for the 6-5 wing who can score from anywhere on the floor. The rest of the Blazers shot 40% from the floor in that game, and they'll need to get a bit more production out of [player_tooltip player_id='2754692' first='Tayveon' last='Barnhart'] (12.8) and [player_tooltip player_id='1765519' first='Brady' last='Gogel'] (10.0, 6.8 assists), who shot a combined 5-18 in the loss, if they're going to go on the road and pull off the upset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An area of concern for Beckman from that game should be the play of Alburnett senior forward Hayden Gustafson (9.7, 5.1 rebounds), who had 27 points and 10 rebounds on 12-13 shooting. Seven of those 10 boards were on the offensive end of the floor, giving the Pirates plenty of second chances. The Blazers will need to find a way to keep his offensive rebounding limited in this rematch. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2754658' first='Laken' last='Caves'] (12.7) and senior [player_tooltip player_id='2886808' first='Caiden' last='Bueckers'] (16.9, 44.2 3P%) are potential mismatches in the backcourt, both athletic, quick guards who can score from all three levels. This should be another thriller, and it likely comes down to whether or not Beckman can find a way to get more production alongside Wegmann.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Valley (14-8) at Hinton (16-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is another rematch of a recent regular season game, won by Hinton, 52-51, on February 5. Neither team shot it well from 3 – Rock Valley 3-15 (20%), Hinton 4-19 (21.1%) – with turnovers being a significant factor. Hinton gave it away just six times, while Rock Valley doubled that, committing 12 turnovers. Giving six extra possessions to a team in a one-point game is obviously huge, and will need to be an area of focus for the Rockets in this rematch. Rock Valley is led by junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2405597' first='Layton' last='Snuttjer'] (14.5) and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1765545' first='Kaden' last='Van Schepen'] (12.6). Those two combined to score 25 points against Hinton, but shot just 10-26. Some regression to their average (44.8%) should be in store here, and if that's the case, that's great news for the Rockets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hinton is led by one of the most dynamic scorers in 2A – [player_tooltip player_id='2413648' first='Logan' last='Kempema'] (24.1, 51.0 FG%). He's a big wing who can create his own look or play off the ball, and he also leads the Blackhawks in rebounding. Junior guard Dawson Spies (6.7, 4.5 assists) will have a lot of pressure on him here against the length and athleticism of Rock Valley. He'll need to protect the ball again, like he did in the regular season meeting, as will [player_tooltip player_id='2731835' first='Karver' last='DeGroot'] (10.2), their second leading scorer and secondary ball-handler.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grand View Christian (13-9) at Centerville (16-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This isn't your typical Grand View Christian team, but the Thunder are still dangerous because of the presence of senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2287857' first='Brayden' last='Hoben'] (20.6, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 blocks), who is still one of the best individual players in 2A. The 6-6/6-7 athlete has the size, length, athleticism, and talent to dominate and control games on both ends of the floor. With juniors Colton Hoben (8.7, 36.8 3P%) and Emmanuel Maciel (7.1, 39.7 3P%), the Thunder have some shooting to put around Hoben. Will Centerville have the size to slow him down?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the flip side, can Grand View Christian find a way to slow down Centerville star guard [player_tooltip player_id='2731635' first='Malachi' last='Rice']? Rice, averaging 30.1 points per game, is a highly athletic 6-2/6-3 guard who can create his own shot and score from all three levels in bunches. Do the Thunder have the type of athlete to slow him down on the perimeter, or will they try to throw some sort of junk defenses at him? How they try to defend Rice will be a fascinating watch. Sophomore wing [player_tooltip player_id='2772325' first='Abram' last='Decena'] (11.5) has been a reliable secondary scorer, and he'll need to have a big game if the Thunder find a way to slow down Rice. The back-and-forth between Hoben and Rice should be a lot of fun to watch and will ultimately determine who advances to face either Pella Christian or Albia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Picking all 32 Games</span><br>District 1: Unity Christian over Okoboji, West Lyon over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn<br>District 2: Southeast Valley over Pocahontas Area, Sioux Central over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows<br>District 3: Forest City over Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, Roland-Story over Osage<br>District 4: Kuemper Catholic over Manson-Northwest Webster, South Hardin over Woodward-Granger<br>District 5: Grundy Center over Pleasantville, Van Meter over PCM<br>District 6: Denver over North Fayette Valley, Beckman Catholic over Alburnett<br>District 7: Aplington-Parkersburg over Dike-New Hartford, Crestwood over Waukon<br>District 8: Monticello over West Branch, Cascade over Wilton<br>District 9: Regina over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, West Burlington over Central Lee<br>District 10: Northeast over Durant, Mid-Prairie over Mediapolis<br>District 11: Union over Sumner-Fredericksburg, Columbus Catholic over Hudson<br>District 12: Pella Christian over Albia, Grand View Christian over Centerville<br>District 13: Underwood over Missouri Valley, OABCIG over West Central Valley<br>District 14: Treynor over Red Oak, Ridge View over Shenandoah<br>District 15: Tri-Center over Ogden, Cherokee over South Central Calhoun<br>District 16: Western Christian over Sheldon, Rock Valley over Hinton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->