Iowa boys’ state basketball 2023: A closer look at Tuesday’s games

DES MOINES — Capsules for Tuesday’s games involving area teams at the Iowa high school boys' state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

Class 2A quarterfinals

Monticello (17-6) vs. No. 5 Western Christian (20-3)

Time: 12:15 p.m.

Top players: Tate Petersen is a rare four-year starter at the state tournament. An even rarer four-year starting point guard at the state tournament. The senior has played a lot of this season with a shoulder injury, yet has averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He and junior forward Preston Ries are Monti’s primary scorers. Ries averages 23.4 points per game, which leads the 2A state tourney field. Western Christian’s top scorers are 6-foot-5 senior forward Tate VanRegenmorter (14.4 ppg) and sophomore Kaden VanRegenmorter (13.0 ppg).

The teams and their seasons: Coach Tim Lambert has done a great job of building the Monticello program into a consistent winner. Four straight state tournament appearances don’t lie. This team was riddled with injuries much of the season, which helped contribute to six losses. But it’s healthy now. There isn’t a program with more state tournament history than Western Christian. The Wolfpack have won 10 championships, the last one in 2021. Two of this team’s losses were to schools from South Dakota, the other to 3A state tournament qualifier Sioux City Heelan. A last-second shot in a substate final sent Western past West Lyon, 67-66.

Biggest question: Monticello won its state tourney quarterfinal last year. Can the Panthers take the next step and get into the finals? If not win it all?

Other games

10:30 a.m. — No. 2 Roland-Story (24-1) vs. Carroll Kuemper (18-6)

Class 3A quarterfinals

No. 4 Marion (19-5) vs. No. 10 Sioux City Heelan (18-6)

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Top players: Brayson Laube is a returning all-stater averaging 22.5 points per game. He had 37 in Marion’s substate final win over Charles City, 35 in his team’s overtime loss to Winterset at last year’s state tournament. That’s clutch. Heelan has a terrific player of its own in 6-8 junior Matt Noll. He averages 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and could cause undersized Marion issues.

The teams and their seasons: Marion expected to be back at state, and got the job done. The Wolves’ losses include to 3A top-ranked Bondurant-Farrar (by two points) and 4A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Marion lost its regular-season finale to a very good Williamsburg team, but has regrouped in the postseason. Heelan edged Le Mars by two points in its first substate game, then posted double-digit wins over Carroll and Webster City. The Crusaders finished third in the Missouri River Conference behind 4A schools Sioux City East and Council Bluffs Lincoln.

Biggest question: Can Marion win a state tournament game for the first time since 1952?

No. 5 Cedar Rapids Xavier (18-6) vs. Des Moines Hoover (15-9)

Time: 7:15 p.m.

Top players: Xavier had a pair of first-team All-MVC Mississippi Division picks in senior wing Aidan Yamiloski and junior Joe Bean. Yamilkoski averages 17.9 points per game and shoots the 3-pointer at a 42.7-percent clip. Bean is a slashing-type player who averages 14.4 points per game. Hoover senior guard Chase Henderson is one of the top players in this tournament. A University of Montana signee, Henderson averages 21.7 points and 5.0 assists. He and second-leading scorer Elijah Vos (13.5 ppg) shoot free throws at or near an 80-percent clip, which could be important late in the game.

The teams and their seasons: Xavier won its first nine games to become the school’s first top-ranked boys’ basketball team. The Saints avenged one of their losses by beating Dubuque Wahlert, 48-44, in overtime in a substate final last week. The only other loss to a 3A school was to Mount Vernon. Hoover definitely is not your ordinary seventh seed. The Huskies won their division in the Iowa Alliance Conference and have not lost this season to a 3A school. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is a common opponent here: the Cougars beating Hoover early in the season, 81-53, and Xavier late in the season, 70-43.

Biggest question: How and how successfully does Xavier defend Henderson?

Other games

2 p.m. — No. 1 Bondurant-Farrar (23-0) vs. Algona (17-7)

3:45 p.m. — No. 6 Newton (17-6) vs. No. 7 North Polk (19-5)

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com