Moa's Arc lifts Wash past Jeff, 49-41

CEDAR RAPIDS - Three by three, Moa's Arc lifted Cedar Rapids Washington's boys' basketball team out of the deluge and to safety.

That's as in guard Cybryan Moa, whose five 3-pointers and team-high 16 points helped the Class 4A No. 10 Warriors to a 49-41 upset of No. 3 Jefferson last night at the Wash gym.

"In these games, everyone is going to key on all these big names," said Wash Coach Brad Metzger. "But it's crucial for the team who is going to win to have someone step up and make big shots in a big-time atmosphere. That's what Cybryan did. He's hands down the player of this game."

Jefferson (5-1) employed a triangle-and-two defense on Washington's big guns Josh Oglesby and Wes Wasphun, which left guys like Moa wide open for shots. He was 0-for-9 from distance coming in, but was sure dialed in for this one, with the only 3 he didn't make going in and out.

"I had to step it up. Coach told me I had to," said Moa, who was averaging just over two points a game. "We knew they were going to key on Josh and Wes, so I just had to do what I had to do."

Washington (4-1) led most of the way, though it was tied early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors got just enough points, mostly from Oglesby and Washpun, and put the clamps down big time defensively to put Jeff away.

A huge key was limiting Jeff big man Jarrod Uthoff to 5-of-13 shooting and 17 points. The Wisconsin recruit - who was coming off games of 44 and 40 points - was surrounded by defenders and muscled whenever he touched the ball inside.

Unlike Washington, the J-Hawks had no one step up to take the pressure off the 6-foot-8 center.

"Double-teamed him, fronted him, had someone in the back," said Oglesby, the Iowa recruit who finished with 14 points. "We left one or two of their shooters wide open. I mean, we're not going to let Uthoff beat us. We're going to let the other guys beat us."

"We played man to man for probably a little over half the game and played zone about half the game," Metzger said. "We were aware of who was on the court. Your team can't be clueless as to what you've got to do to win the game, as far as stopping people. We were just in position all night, that's the best thing."

Washpun added 12 points for Washington, which faces unbeaten Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Tuesday night. Taylor Olson had 12 points for Jefferson.

Here is the game boxscore and a short video interview with Oglesby:

AT C.R. WASHINGTON

C.R. JEFFERSON (41): Jarrod Uthoff 5-13 6-8 17, Alec Saunders 1-7 2-3 5, Ky Kramer 2-5 0-0 5, Alec Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Olson 5-12 1-2 12, Tyler Meiborg 1-4 0-1 2, Alex Denny 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Larson 0-3 0-2 0, Michael Rooney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 9-16 41.

C.R. WASHINGTON (49):Josh Oglesby 4-11 4-4 14, Sean Bredl 2-3 1-2 5, Wes Washpun 3-11 6-11 12, Alex Carr 0-3 0-0 0, Cybryan Moa 5-7 1-2 16, McCauley Todd 1-2 0-1 2, Heath Clark 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-38 12-20 49.

Halftime- Washington 27, Jefferson 20.

3-point goals - Jefferson 4-16 (Uthoff 1-2, Saunders 1-3, Kramer 1-3, Olson 1-5, Larson 0-3), Washington 7-20 (Oglesby 2-7, Washpun 0-4, Carr 0-2, Moa 5-6, Clark 0-1).

Rebounds - Jefferson 28 (Uthoff 15), Washington 32 (Oglesby 10).

Total fouls - Jefferson 20, Washington 14.

Fouled out - Saunders, Kramer.

Turnovers - Jefferson 12, Washington 15.