Historic three-peat still within West's grasp

DES MOINES - Even teams from arguably the best boys' basketball program in the state lose confidence every now and then.   Coach Steve Bergman sensed that was the case with his Iowa City West Trojans late last month, shortly after a loss to Dubuque Wahlert. He wanted them to realize there were special things to accomplish if they dialed it up and dialed it in.   The opportunity for three consecutive state championships doesn't come along often, only once at the big-school level. Do everything you can to take advantage.   "So I got a little passionate after practice one night," Bergman said. "I just said 'Hey, look, I'm not a historian, but I know this is a pretty big deal. You guys can do it.' I just didn't think they believed in themselves then. I was trying to convince them that it was a wide open field."   A Class 4A field West is a game away from topping again. A 49-46 win Friday afternoon over Bettendorf in a state tourney semifinal ensured a historic three-peat is very much possible.   No way you should use the word 'probable,' though the Trojans (22-3) are favored in Saturday night's 8:05 title tilt. Seventh-seeded West Des Moines Valley (17-8) continued its improbable run with a semifinal win over Sioux City North.   Davenport, from 1950 to 1952 is the only large school to go back to back to back.   "Last year was great, but I think this year, it feels a little bit better, to be honest," said West's Chike Ukah. "It does."   "To get this opportunity is unreal," added West's Wyatt Lohaus. "You really can't describe it. Having played in both of those games on Saturday (consolation and championship), playing on Saturday night is definitely a lot more fun."   Lohaus has been the constant in what has been four years of pretty incredible West basketball. The Northern Iowa signee and possible Mr. Basketball led the way again Friday, scoring 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half as the Trojans built a 10-point halftime lead.   It was just as much, if not more, about defense, though, as West players got out on Bettendorf shooters Dylan Sortillo and Cole Clearman and took away leading scorer Nicholas Baer on the interior. The 6-foot-7 Baer, the Mississippi Athletic Conference's most valuable player, got his three first-half points in the final minute, which was a sign of much, much more to come.   He scored his team's first 10 points of the second half, as Bett (23-2) got back into it. His inside bucket made it a 47-44 game with 1:45 left, then Kendall Jacks made a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game with 56.2 to go.   "I thought we got after them good defensively," said West's Connor McCaffrey. "There were a couple of stretches where we let Baer get a little bit too much of what he wanted. But I thought we were pretty good overall."   McCaffery, the freshman son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, clutched up by swishing two free throws off a one-and-one with 37 seconds left to make it 49-46. Bettendorf turned it over at 24 seconds, got the ball right back with an off-the-ball McCaffery foul on an inbounds play, but Clearman missed two game-tying treys in the final 10 seconds.   The rematch went to West. The teams played in last year's championship game, with the Trojans winning easily to give Bettendorf its only loss.   The Bulldogs lost just three times in two years, twice to West.   "I think this just speaks to our team and how we've been the last few years," Lohaus said.   "The next couple practices (after Bergman's speech) were about being mentally tough. Just be tougher," Ukah said. "That's something we've really worked on. That really helped us out today."   Ukah and McCaffery accounted for all eight Trojans points in the fourth quarter. DiLeo and Nick Gallagher also were huge with six combined 3s and 22 points.   This was truly a team effort, from a team that's a win away from history.   "We didn't play perfect today, but we're still playing," Bergman said. "That's what's important."   Here is the official game boxscore:

ICW by Jeff Johnson