Cedar Rapids Prairie deploys defense, earns boys’ state basketball tournament trip

CLINTON — It would probably be bad form to start booking state tournament hotels after the first quarter.

Cedar Rapids Prairie fans certainly could have Tuesday night.

The Hawks blitzed the Mustangs of Dubuque Hempstead, racing out to a 17-2 lead, and winning, 41-20, at Clinton High School.

“All five guys were locked in on the defensive end,” Prairie Coach Jeremy Rickertsen said. “Don't let them be comfortable. I thought we did that all the way around.”

Prairie (17-6) did it with suffocating defense. Prairie put Iowa State football recruit Gabe Burkle, all 6-foot-7 of him, on 6-11 Hempstead center Cameron Fens, who came in averaging 19.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

“We had Gabe pushing him around,” senior guard Jake Welter said. “We wanted to keep him off the blocks, make sure he got no easy looks.”

Fens finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Hempstead (14-11) probably suspected trouble when Burkle won the tip against Fens, despite giving up 4 inches.

“I was prepared for that,” Burkle said. “I have a trick. You go up right after they throw the ball up.”

From there, a fierce defense kept the Mustang guards from getting entry passes to Fens, and that pressure also turned the ball over. That 17-2 run included a steal and layup from Dionte Fliss and a fast-break dunk by Burkle.

“Our main plan was to prevent the pass from coming in easily,” Burkle said. “And if (Fens) got it, D-ing up, and make him shoot over you.”

A 3-pointer at the buzzer by Reed Strohmeyer made it 17-5. The Mustangs shot 3-of-13 that first quarter, and had 10 turnovers.

“They had us in scramble mode right away,” Fens said. “They pressured us and we got careless with the basketball.”

The Prairie defense continued to tighten the screws, giving up just two points in the second quarter. The Hawks led, 23-7, at halftime.

“It was amazing,” Burkle said. “We were all pumped up. But the main thing was, the job's not finished.”

Fens enjoyed a brief renaissance in the third quarter, making three baskets as part of a 6-1 run, but the Mustangs didn't keep any momentum.

By the fourth quarter, Prairie started to take the air out of the basketball. It led by 21, 36-15, when Hempstead called a timeout with 6:42 remaining. The reserves were sent in to play the final two minutes.

Burkle finished with a game-high 13 points in the low-scoring affair.

“Gabe was phenomenal,” Rickertsen said. “He was banging in there every possession. Offensively he showed some quickness tonight we have not seen in a while.”

Fliss added eight points and six rebounds. Walter also had eight points. Elijah Ward returned from injury and played some big minutes off the bench.

“Having him back is just a bonus,” Rickertsen said.

Prairie returns to the state tournament for the first time since 1998. The Hawks play at 2 p.m. March 9 against Cedar Falls (19-2), the No. 2 seed. The two teams split games during the regular season, each winning at home.

“We haven't really accomplished anything yet,” Burkle said. “We're still on a mission to go as far as we can.”

Rickertsen just watched his team — which beat Hemsptead, 66-61, in double overtime back on Dec. 21 — limit the Mustangs to 20 points.

“If we play defense like that, we can hang with anybody,” Rickertsen said.

DUBUQUE HEMPSTEAD (20) — Derek Leicht 0-5 0-0 0, Kellen Strohmeyer 1-5 0-0 2, Noah Pettinger 0-2 0-0 0, Michael Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Fens 4-8 0-0 8, Reed Strohmeyer 3-5 0-0 7, Nathan Kaesbauer 0-0 0-0 0, Reggie Porter 0-0 0-0 0, Charlie Besler 0-1 0-0 0, Jonny Muehring 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 9-27 0-0 20.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (41) — Jake Walter 3-7 2-2 8, Jack Wagemester 0-2 0-0 0, Everett Koch 0-2 0-0 0, Dinte Fliss 4-9 0-0 8, Gabe Burkle 6-8 1-2 13, Reid Burkle 1-2 0-0 2, Elijah Ward 2-2 0-0 5, Makelie Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Brayden Duerksen 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Lopez 0-1 0-0 0, Nic Servey 1-1 0-0 3, Ethan Boerschel 0-0 0-0 0, Moses Each 0-0 0-0 0, B.J. Boerschel 0 0-0 0, Lonnie Melvin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-38 3-4 41.

Dubuque Hempstead 5 2 6 7 — 20

Cedar Rapids Prairie 17 6 9 9 — 41

3-point goals — DH 2-14 (Leicht 0-4, K.Strohmeyer 0-4, Pettinger 0-1, R.Strohmeyer 1-3, Jonny Muehring 1-1, Charlie Besler 0-1), CRP 2-10 (Walter 0-1, Wagemester 0-2, Koch 0-1, G.Burkle 0-1, Ward 1-1, Taylor 0-1, Melvin 0-1, Servey 1-1, Lopez 0-1). Rebounds — DH 16 (Fens 10), CRP 24 (Koch 6, Fliss 6). Turnovers — DH 12, CRP 6. Total fouls — DH 7, CRP 11.