Clutch free-throw shooting late lifts Iowa City Regina past Alburnett in Class 2A district final

MOUNT VERNON — He’s 83.8 percent from the free-throw line this season. Tuesday night, Michael Martin was even better than that.

The Iowa City Regina senior guard drained huge free throw after huge free throw after huge throw, especially in the final minute, which allowed his Regals to come away with a 55-51 win over Alburnett in a tense Class 2A boys’ basketball district final.

Martin made 11 of 12 shots from the charity stripe in the game. He clutched up for three in a row after a foul was called on his 3-point attempt from the top of the circle with 42.1 seconds left.

Those put Regina up 50-48. An Alburnett turnover ensued, as did two more Martin free throws with 22.2 to go.

“I practice them a lot,” Martin said. “That helped a lot (tonight). It’s big at tournament time because every point matters.”

Martin finished with a game-high 29 points as Regina advanced to a 2A substate final Saturday night at Iowa City Liberty against fifth-ranked Pella Christian (18-5). Not a bad debut as head coach for Paul Rundquist, in his first season at the school after a stint as co-head coach at Iowa City West.

“It’s been very positive, fantastic,” Rundquist said. “It helps when you win, obviously. But, again, I think we’re winning the right way.”

What Rundquist means by winning the right way is playing strong defense and being patient on offense. Regina (16-6) worked the shot clock down regularly Tuesday night, taking a 28-21 halftime lead on a Lucas Schechinger inside hoop right before the buzzer after an offensive rebound on a missed free throw.

When you play 35 seconds of defense and can’t get a stop, that frustrates an opponent, for sure.

“Execution,” Rundquist said. “We’ve kind of talked to the kids all season long about we feel our style of play is tournament style of basketball. You’ve got to value each possession. This team in November wouldn’t have even been in this game. We’ve come a long way in valuing the ball. They play well together.”

Regina still led by six after three quarters, 40-34, with Alburnett (19-4) chipping away and taking a 42-41 lead (its first since the first quarter) midway through the fourth quarter on a Braydon Osborn trey. The teams traded leads down the stretch, with an Andrew Neighbor lane bucket giving Alburnett a 48-47 lead with 57 seconds left.

Neighbor had a team-high 19 points.

But that’s when Martin was ruled to have been fouled on his 3-pointer, though the shot nearly bounced in and it appeared Osborn, the Alburnett defender, didn’t touch him. Ya gotta have breaks like that sometimes.

“It is what it is,” said Alburnett Coach Jeff Christopherson. “You’ve got to be able to live life with bad calls, bad things that can happen. How do you react to it? I think our kids did a nice job. They basically stayed calm and collected.

“I’m so proud of these kids. Before Christmas, they very well could have (quit). But they beared down, did the things we asked them to do in practice and games. They won 15 in a row.”

Unfortunately Alburnett needed 16 in a row to keep playing.

Iowa City Regina 55, Alburnett 51

AT MOUNT VERNON

IOWA CITY REGINA (55): Tate Wallace 3-8 1-2 8, Michael Martin 8-11 11-12 28, Drew Streb 1-2 2-2 4, Connor Nicpon 0-0 0-0 0, Eddie Petersen 1-7 3-4 6, Lucas Schechinger 2-6 3-6 7, Will Litton 1-1 0-0 2, Andrew Greve 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-36 20-26 55.

ALBURNETT (51): Braydon Osborn 5-14 1-1 13, Matthew Neighbor 7-12 5-7 10, Rylen Kozek 1-2 0-0 3, Payton Baker 0-4 0-0 0, Jordan Caton 3-7 1-2 8, Brayden Smith 4-7 0-0 10, Josiah Steen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 7-10 51.

Halftime - Regina 28, Alburnett 21. 3-point goals - Regina 4-15 (Wallace 1-3, Martin 2-4, Petersen 1-5, Schechinger 0-3, Greve 0-1), Alburnett 6-17 (Osborn 2-6, Neighbor 0-1, Rozek 1-2, Baker 0-3, Caton 1-2, Smith 2-3). Rebounds - Regina 28 (Petersen 8), Alburnett 26 (Neighbor 13). Total fouls - Regina 17, Alburnett 15. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Regina 8, Alburnett 7.

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