Iowa high school boys’ state basketball 2024: Championship Friday schedule

Here is a look at Championship Friday at the Iowa high school boys’ state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

And an in-depth look at the games involving Gazette-area schools.

Class 1A championship game

No. 1 North Linn (25-1) vs. No. 3 Bellevue Marquette (27-1)

Time: 1 p.m.

In this tournament: North Linn has posted a pair of 16-point victories here.

Mason Bechen scored 25 points and Ty Pflughaupt 15 as the Lynx knocked off Woodbine, 75-59, in the quarterfinals. Bechen was even better in a 67-51 semifinal win over No. 5 Winfield-Mount Union, pouring in 30 points. Pflughaupt had 18.

Things have been tougher for Marquette. The Defenders were down two points at halftime and tied after three quarters before brushing past Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 45-36. Marquette outscored G-R from the free-throw line, 20-3.

Kannon Still’s jumper with six seconds left gave Marquette a 59-57 win over No. 4 Lake Mills in the semifinals. Spencer Roeder had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Defenders.

Game synopsis: It’s an all Tri-Rivers Conference final between the East Division champion (Marquette) and the West Division champion (North Linn).

North Linn handed Marquette its only loss late in the season, winning at Bellevue, 59-50. The Lynx blew out to a big lead, including 15 at halftime, with Marquette rallying before NL righted its ship.

Obviously there is much familiarity here. Marquette has faced North Linn’s press defense, which is an advantage.

Still had five 3-pointers in the regular season and 17 points. Six-foot-5 forward Spencer Roeder has been Marquette’s best offensive player all season, coming into the tournament averaging 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Bechen has been as good and probably better than any player in this tournament. He and Pflughaupt are an ideal 1-2 offensive punch.

Class 2A championship game

No. 1 Western Christian (22-3) vs. No. 2 Hudson (25-2), 3 p.m.

Class 3A championship game

No. 9 Davenport Assumption (18-8) vs. No. 2 Waverly-Shell Rock (22-3), 5 p.m.

Recommended Reading

Excruciating end to special boys’ basketball season for Decorah

Class 4A championship game

No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (25-0) vs. No. 2 West Des Moines Valley (20-5)

Time: 7 p.m.

In this tournament: Cedar Rapids Kennedy had a slow start but eventually got things going and beat Dallas Center-Grimes, 66-45, in Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals. The Cougars outscored Ankeny in the first quarter, 27-10, in Thursday’s semifinals and went on for a 63-51 victory.

Valley brushed past Central Iowa Metro League rival Johnston in the quarterfinals Wednesday, 64-57. The Tigers then ran through Bettendorf in Thursday night’s semifinals, 66-46. Valley, of course, was last year’s 4A champion.

Game synopsis: Kennedy hasn’t won a state boys’ basketball championship since 1984. It also won one in 1972 and lost the 1988 4A final to Fort Dodge. This was the second straight Kennedy team that went to the state tournament with an unbeaten season. Last year’s quarterfinal game went awry, as Pleasant Valley upset the Cougars in a 1-8 game. Revenge has been exacted from this team.

What Kennedy has shown in its two wins here is that it can get scoring from multiple players. Micah Schlaak had 13 first-quarter points and 17 first-half points against Ankeny. Cyrus Courtney also had 17 points, with 11 of his coming in third quarter.

Joe Bean and Trey McKowen both added 13 points for Kennedy. In the win over Dallas Center-Grimes, Bean had a game-high 18, his 3-point shooting in the second quarter helping his team get out of an offensive malaise.

Valley surprised a ton of people by winning last year’s 4A championship with an all-underclass, very young lineup. The team’s two best players are guard Zay Robinson and forward Curtis Stinson Jr., and they have missed parts of the season with injury and haven’t played together a whole lot. Robinson has an ankle injury he has been playing with since suffering it in a substate final.

Kennedy won a regular-season encounter between the teams by 17, but Stinson didn’t play. Almost guaranteed this game will be much closer.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com