Uthoff lifts Jeff past I.C. West in OT, 67-63

CEDAR RAPIDS - Just so you know, Iowa City West's boys' basketball team makes one more trip north to Cedar Rapids this regular season, later this month to Cedar Rapids Prairie.You'll have to excuse the Trojans if they're dreading it because the City of Five Seasons has been the City of Crushing Defeats for them this week.A super effort in crunchtime by Jarrod Uthoff helped Cedar Rapids Jefferson survive West's upset bid, 67-63, in overtime last night at the J-Hawk gym. This coming three days after Cedar Rapids Washington beat West (4-4) on a buzzer-beating 30-footer.“I have no idea,” West Coach Steve Bergman said, when asked if his snake-bitten club returned to Cedar Rapids.The same could be the answer for how West (4-4, 2-4 Mississippi Valley Conference record) can actually finish off one of these games. The Trojans led this one by five points with 50 seconds left but fell victim to a really good player having a really good night.Uthoff, the 6-foot-7 Wisconsin signee, hit clutch back-to-back 3-pointers, including an off-balance job from out front with 10 seconds left that tied it at 57-57 and sent it to extra time. He finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds, scoring the first five points of OT to give Class 4A ninth-ranked Jeff (7-1) a lead it wouldn't relinquish.“I thought Jarrod's performance was one of the most competitive performances I've seen in 32 years of coaching,” said Jeff Coach Stu Ordman. “I thought he was absolutely sensational tonight. He put us on his back and carried us.”“I just happened to be open, my teammates got me the ball and I ended up making the shots,” Uthoff said with typical modesty.But how about that tying shot, Jarrod? West's Dondre Alexander was all over him, yet he still made it.“On that last one, I was hoping for a foul,” Uthoff concurred. “That's what I thought, that he fouled me. But it went in either way. I was pretty pumped ... Quite surprised it went in.”Jeff had as much as an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, only to have West rally primarily behind sophomores Alexander and Jeremy Morgan, who finished with 17 and 11 points, respectively. The Trojans made 9 of 15 from 3-point land, including 7 of 10 in the second half.Alexander had a chance to win it in regulation, taking an inbounds pass underneath his basket with 6.9 seconds left, matriculating down court but missing a driving reverse layup that Uthoff seemed to alter.“My heart dropped when he shot that,” Uthoff said. “I thought it was going in, thought the game was over.”Tyler Meiborg added 14 points for Jefferson, which got every point from its starters. Okey Ukah and Jacob Gylten added 10 points each for West.Here is the game boxscore and video of Uthoff's tying 3-pointer:

AT C.R. JEFFERSON

IOWA CITY WEST (63): Jeremy Morgan 4-12 0-0 11, Wyatt Lohaus 1-2 0-0 2, Dondre Alexander 6-16 3-4 17, Jacob Gylten 4-6 1-3 10, Okechukwu Ukah 4-8 2-2 10, John Seyfer 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Swank 1-3 0-0 2, Leo Franz 3-4 0-0 9, Corey Staten 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-55 6-9 63.

C.R. JEFFERSON (67): Alec Saunders 2-9 4-6 8, Tyler Meiborg 5-7 3-5 14, Taylor Olson 2-6 0-0 4, Ky Kramer 3-5 0-0 7, Jarrod Uthoff 9-15 13-16 34, Alec Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Denny 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Rooney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 20-27 67.

Halftime - Jefferson 23, West 22.

End of regulation - West 57, Jefferson 57.

3-point goals - West 9-15 (Morgan 3-6, Lohaus 0-1, Alexander 2-4, Gylten 1-1, Franz 3-3), Jefferson 5-11 (Saunders 0-1, Meiborg 1-3, Olson 0-2, Kramer 1-2, Uthoff 3-4).

Rebounds - West 26 (Alexander 8), Jefferson 28 (Uthoff 10).

Total fouls - West 18, Jefferson 13.

Fouled out - Morgan.

Turnovers - West 8, Jefferson 10.