Bettendorf hangs around, knocks off Iowa City West in overtime, 55-52

CEDAR RAPIDS — There were so many times Iowa City West appeared poised to put this thing away. Yet it never happened.

And the Trojans’ season is done because of it.

Ben Kerkhoff’s four free throws in the final 1:17 of overtime were enough for unranked Bettendorf to knock off No. 7 West, 55-52, in a Class 4A substate final Tuesday night at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

West scored only one point in OT, that a Kareem Earl free throw.

“Our lack of depth really caught up to us,” said West Coach Steve Bergman. “Really wanted to win in regulation. I thought overtime was going to be tough on us.”

This game was tight throughout, with West up a point at halftime and by five after three quarters. The Trojans had as big as a seven-point edge in the final minute of the quarter.

It was still a five-point West lead with 2:36 left. But Asher Wade of the Bulldogs had an inside layup, West turned it over, then guard Tre’Von Coney hit a deep 3-pointer from the NBA line to suddenly tie things at 49.

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TaeVeon Stevens had a nice baseline drive for two to put West ahead 51-49 with 31 seconds left, but Caden Wilkins (Bettendorf’s all-time leading scorer) tied it with a driving shot. West had the final attempt in regulation, running an out-of-bounds play perfectly, but Jack McCaffery’s 15-footer went in and out.

“We had a couple of ideas, and went back to that one,” Bergman said. “Thought we ran it good. Took one dribble, got a good shot, halfway down. Goes in and we’re all feeling a little better.”

McCaffery, who had a game-high 17 points, fouled out in overtime reaching for a loose ball on the baseline. That was important.

Wilkins had 15 points to lead Bettendorf (17-6), which is the 6-seed at next week’s state tournament.

The Bulldogs have won 10 in a row and 12 of 13.

“I think it’s about our coaches, my teammates,” said Kerkhoff, who made only one of his nine field-goal attempts but clutched up at the free-throw line in OT. “They trusted the process, had good preparation and set us up to win.”

“We had no business winning this game,” said Bettendorf Coach Curtis Clark. “Because I thought we missed a couple of easy bunnies, layups, missed some free throws up to the point where we had to make them. And we didn’t rebound overly well. That’s a recipe in a substate final to lose ... I think this just speaks volumes about the toughness of the group. It was just next play, next play.”

An incredibly tough end for a West team that was ranked No. 2 in 4A going into the final week of the regular season. The Trojans end 19-4.

“They’re hurting in there,” Bergman said. “They played their butts off. We didn’t play so smart all the time, but we played hard. They competed. Things just didn’t work out.”

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Photos: Iowa City West vs. Bettendorf in Class 4A boys’ basketball substate final

Bettendorf 55, Iowa City West 52 (OT)

AT ALLIANT ENERGY POWERHOUSE

BETTENDORF (55): Cole Odefey 1-5 3-3 5, Caden Wilkins 5-15 2-3 15, Asher Wade 5-7 1-3 11, Ben Kerkhoff 1-9 4-4 7, Tre’Von Coney 4-10 1-4 11, Amari Washington 1-4 4-4 6, Jackson Laver 0-0 0-0 0, Charlie Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-50 15-21 55.

IOWA CITY WEST (52): Jack McCaffery 7-15 3-4 17, Kareem Earl 5-10 3-4 13, Julian Manson 1-3 0-0 2, Jacob Koch 1-7 1-4 3, Canaan Barnes 2-4 0-0 4, TaeVeon Stevens 3-12 1-2 9, Jack Wallace 2-2 0-0 4, Ethan Headings 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 8-14 52.

Halftime - West 25, Bettendorf 24. End of Regulation - 51-51. 3-point goals - Bettendorf 6-14 (Kerkhoff 1-7, Odefey 0-1, Wilkins 3-4, Coney 2-2), West 2-18 (McCaffery 0-3, Earl 0-3, Koch 0-4, Barnes 0-2, Stevens 2-6). Rebounds - Bettendorf 33 (Wade 9), West 35 (McCaffery 9). Total fouls - Bettendorf 18, West 19. Fouled out - McCaffery. Turnovers - Bettendorf 10, West 8.

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