Jesup’s unexpected postseason run comes to a conclusion

DES MOINES - Don’t be sad that it’s over. Be happy that it happened in the first place.

Whatever sappy, cliche-ish way you want to put it, this boys’ basketball season at Jesup was a success.

No, the J-Hawks didn’t win their Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena. Top-ranked Western Christian is a heavy favorite to repeat as champion, another stitch of evidence being this 69-38 win.

But that Jesup made it to this game really was something.

It had to win four postseason games to make the state tournament because it wasn’t a top-two seed in its district. It put together a string of upsets: first over MFL MarMac, then over eighth-ranked Cascade, then over an undefeated North Fayette Valley team in dramatic fashion in a substate final.

A state tournament berth was accomplished despite losing Jack Miller to graduation. He is playing every game as a freshman this season at Upper Iowa University, finished his career as the school’s career scoring leader.

So, yeah, a major accomplishment here.

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“We were happy to make it to this point,” Jesup’s Ryan Treptow said. “People wrote us off, that we wouldn’t be very good this year, that we might be below .500. It was rewarding to be here. The game didn’t go how we wanted, but we’re still all smiles.”

Western Christian (23-3) scored the first nine points of the game and went from there, getting the continuous clock rolling in the third quarter. Karsten Moret had 23 points, Kaden Van Regenmorter 15 for the Wolfpack, whose losses were to Class 4A state tournament qualifier Waukee and to a pair of really good out-of-state teams.

Moret and Van Regenmorter were key pieces of last year’s 2A championship team. Western actually is seeking its third consecutive appearance in a title game.

“We knew we’d be in a tough situation today,” said Jesup Coach Joe Smeins, who has led his program to state three times in the last 10 years, twice in the last four. “You’re hopeful they don’t shoot it as well as they did ... To their credit, they shot the heck out of the ball.”

At a 57.1-percent clip from the field, to be specific. That included 11 of 16 from 3-point range.

Treptow led Jesup (16-10), as he did all season, with 15 teams and 10 rebounds. The senior forward finished with over 1,000 points in his career, the 11th player in school history to hit that mark.

Sophomore forward Parker Masteller had six points and 11 rebounds.

“This provides a lot (of motivation),” Masteller said. “Get back in the gym. Get a lot of the young guys in there.”

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AT DES MOINES

JESUP (38): Ryan Treptow 5-13 4-4 15, Nic Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Parker Masteller 2-8 2-2 11, Landon Vogel 1-6 2-2 4, Paxten McHone 2-6 2-2 6, Gage Wymore 0-7 0-0 0, Brennan Ochsner 0-1 2-2 2, Abe Sullivan 1-1 0-0 2, Jaxon Andreaassen 0-2 0-0 0, Bradley Pint 0-0 0-0 0, Braylen Seehase 0-1 1-2 1, Eli Hagarty 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Weber 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Clayberg 0-1 0-0 0, Brendan Woodward 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Weber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-49 13-14 38.

WESTERN CHRISTIAN (69): Landon DeStigter 3-7 0-0 8, Lane Maassen 1-3 1-2 3, Kaden VanRegenmorter 6-7 0-0 15, Karsten Moret 10-13 0-1 23, Kaden DeJager 2-4 0-0 5, Tayden Moret 1-2 0-0 2, Kolby Heemskerk 0-2 0-0 0, Noah Hilbrands 0-1 0-0 0, Preston Louters 2-3 0-0 6, Barret Bleeker 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Van Meeteren 2-3 0-0 4, Brody Van Kley 1-2 0-0 6, Lane Jacobsma 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Brands 0-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-49 2-5 69.

Halftime - Western Christian 42, Jesup 16. 3-point goals - Jesup 1-9 (Treptow 1-3, Vogel 0-1, Wymore 0-2, Ochsner 0-1, Andreaassen 0-2), Western Christian 11-16 (K. Moret 3-4, DeJager 1-1, DeStigter 2-3, Maassen 3-3, Van Kley 0-1, Louters 2-2, Hilbrands 0-1, Van Meeteren 0-1). Rebounds - Jesup 27 (Masteller 10), Western Christian 32 (Maassen 8). Total fouls - Jesup 8, Western Christian 17. Fouled out - None. Assists - Jesup 4 (Masteller 2), Western Christian 17 (VanRegenmorter 6). Turnovers - Jesup 18, Western Christian 19.

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