Iowa high school boys’ state basketball 2024: Wednesday’s games

Here is a look at Wednesday’s schedule 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 4A quarterfinals

No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (23-0) vs. Dallas Center-Grimes (20-3)

Time: 10:30 a.m.

State tournament history: This is the 18th state tournament appearance for Cedar Rapids Kennedy, its third in a row. The Cougars lost in last year’s 4A quarterfinals to Pleasant Valley. Kennedy (and Cedar Rapids Regis) are the last Cedar Rapids schools to win a state title, those coming in 1984. Dallas Center-Grimes is making its eight trip to state, all since 2010. The school was the 3A state champion in 2022.

Game synopsis: Kennedy’s closest game came in its substate final last week, as the Cougars eked past North Scott, 57-55, on a pair of free throws from Joe Bean with 4.6 seconds left.

Bean is part of a balanced Cougars offensive attack. All five starters score average between 8.8 points per game (senior forward Cyrus Courtney) and 13.5 (junior guard Trey McKowen).

Senior guard Bean (who played in the 3A state championship game last year for Cedar Rapids Xavier) averages 12.9 ppg and a team-best 4.7 rebounds. Senior forward Micah Schlaak averages 10.7 ppg and shoots 61.2 percent from the field. Senior forward Trevan Krumrei is at 10.2 ppg. As a team, Kennedy shoots 52.9 percent from the field, which is a testament to the Cougars averaging nearly 15 steals a game. Lots of transition buckets.

Dallas Center-Grimes won the Little Hawkeye Conference, which consists of mostly 3A schools and a 2A. The Mustangs lost to fellow-4A qualifier Johnston by four, Norwalk by three and Waukee Northwest by 10 in the regular season. It upset fifth-ranked Waukee in a substate final, 66-59.

Six-foot-5 senior forward Calix Cahill lead DC-G in scoring at 16.2 points nd 8.1 rebounds per game. Senior gurd Jackson Green is next at 16.1 ppg, then it’s senior forward Jonathan Howard (12.4 ppg).

Waukee is the only common opponent here. Kennedy beat the Warriors in the regular season on a neutral court, 65-54.

Other quarterfinals

No. 6 Dubuque Senior (21-2) vs. No. 8 Ankeny (17-6), 12:15 p.m.

No. 2 West Des Moines Valley (18-5) vs. Johnston (14-9), 2 p.m.

No. 4 Cedar Falls (20-3) vs. Bettendorf (17-6), 3:45 p.m.

Class 1A semifinals

No. 1 North Linn (24-1) vs. No. 5 Winfield-Mount Union (21-2)

Time: 5:30 p.m.

In the quarterfinals: North Linn pulled away in the second half for a 75-59 win over Woodbine. Mason Bechen led the Lynx with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Ty Pflughaupt had 15 points, and Jake Van Etten 11.

A big second-half run also lifted Winfield-Mount Union past No. 7 Lynnville-Sully in its quarterfinal, 54-37. Iowa football recruit Cam Buffington had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Wolves. Carter Loyd added 12.

Game synopsis: The pace battle will be important. North Linn will press defensively and seek to get up and down the court. Winfield-Mount Union will want to play a half-court game and use its size advantage (Starters Abram Edwards, Jake Edwards and Cam Buffington are 6-foot-6, 6-4 and 6-4, respectively.)

Buffington scores at a 19-point-per-game clip for the Wolves, while Abram Edwards came into the state tournament averaging a double-double of 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. W-MU is coached by former Iowa State player Klay Edwards, who was a player in a program at W-MU that qualified for state five straight years from 1992 to 1996, winning it all in 1995.

Bechen and Pflughaupt are averaging 20-plus points per game for North Linn, which has been in a state semifinal eight years in a row. The Lynx are seeking a seventh consecutive championship game appearance.

Other semifinal

No. 3 Bellevue Marquette (26-1) vs. No. 4 Lake Mills (25-1), 7:15 p.m.

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