Anamosa's first boys' state basketball tournament game is a winner

DES MOINES — There were times down the stretch Tuesday morning that Kevin Barnes admitted he didn't trust his players the way he should have.

Someone would take a shot and internally he was thinking the worst. It's just a head coach being a head coach.

'You get to a point as a coach where it's 'OK, guys, don't screw this up,'' Barnes said.

But then he caught himself. Anamosa didn't get to the boys' state basketball tournament for the first time by luck.

This is a team with good players, most of whom have been playing together since early elementary school. They've earned the benefit of the doubt.

'These kids just played through it, just like they've done all season,' Barnes said, after Anamosa staved off a late Des Moines Christian comeback attempt to post a 74-60 win in a Class 2A quarterfinal at Wells Fargo Arena. 'They have such an ability to make the right play on the floor.'

This was a 61-56 game with just under two minutes to go, with full-court pressure defense seeming to wilt Anamosa some. Or at least put it on its heels.

But relatively unheralded guard Kyle Sayre responded with a drive to the hoop for a three-point play. A few seconds later, backup guard Ryan Krapfl stepped to the free-throw line, where he was a subpar 47.8 percent, and drained two shots.

Then it was reserve guard Cole Jamison leaking out for back-to-back layups that officially put Anamosa's tourney debut in the win column. The Blue Raiders (21-5) play Western Christian (23-3) in a semifinal Thursday afternoon at 3:45.

'We all believe in each other, all knew we could do it,' said Anamosa's Kolin Schulte. 'We just had to keep attacking the rim and score points.'

For its first time on the biggest stage, Anamosa showed surprisingly little to no fear. A 20-4 lead after the first quarter was fueled by a 15-0 run that included a trio of treys from guard Kyle Schepanski.

He finished with 18 points before fouling out late.

'I remember people telling me it's a lot tougher to shoot in this environment,' Schepanski said. 'But I went out and took my first few shots in warmups and knew I liked shooting here right away. I liked the back drop. Sometimes you make shots in warmups, but not games. Luckily that wasn't the case today.'

Des Moines Christian (21-4) gained traction the rest of the game, but its huge early deficit proved impossible to come back from. That's despite the heroics of guard Ben Juhl, who had 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.

'Anamosa came out and threw the first punch,' Des Moines Christian Coach Todd Miller said. 'And it turned out to be a knockout punch, really.'

'All along the tournament trail, we had a pretty tough district and substate, the kids have played well,' Barnes said. 'They've sure seized the moment. We think the tempo we play with helps take nerves out. We don't think much. We just play, and we try to move on to the next play.'

Versatile 6-foot-6 forward Tyler Zumbach led Anamosa with 19 points. Schulte added 14, Sayre 12 and Jamison nine in just nine minutes.

'We try and push the ball as much as we can, so a lot of our points come off fastbreak opportunities,' Sayre said. 'When you have open shots, you've got to take what you have.'

'It exceeded all my expectations,' Zumbach said, when asked what he and his school's first state tournament game was like. 'Anamosa travels amazing, but when we came out for the first time and saw our crowd, it felt like we had a home game.'

The Blue Raiders are guaranteed two more of those home games. After Thursday, it'll be either a championship or consolation encounter.

Might as well make the first trip to state a long one.

'These kids have dreamed of this,' Barnes said. 'That's what makes them special.'

AT DES MOINES

ANAMOSA (74): Kyle Sayre 5-9 1-1 12, Kolin Schulte 5-14 3-4 14, Tyler Zumbach 8-16 2-2 19, Austin Hunt 0-2 0-0 0, Kyle Schepanski 7-11 0-0 18, Brian Sayre 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Krapfl 0-0 2-2 2, Cole Sander 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Jamison 4-5 0-0 9, Gabe Finn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 8-9 74.

DES MOINES CHRISTIAN (60): David Fellers 4-7 1-2 9, Keaton Van Soelen 3-12 0-0 6, Ben Juhl 8-13 9-12 26, Isaac Prewitt 4-10 0-0 9, Nathan Herbers 2-9 0-0 4, Alec Nicolet 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Loverude 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Veurink 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Mona 1-1 4-5 6, Tommy Shisler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 14-19 60.

Halftime — Anamosa 29, Des Moines Christian 17. 3-point goals — Anamosa 8-20 (Sayre 1-2, Schulte 1-4, Zumbach 1-5, Schepanski 4-5, Hunt 0-1, Sander 0-1, Jamison 1-2), Des Moines Christian 2-10 (Herbers 0-2, Prewitt 1-3, Juhl 1-3, Van Soelen 0-2). Rebounds — Anamosa 30 (Schulte 6), Des Moines Christian 30 (Juhl, Van Soelen 7). Total fouls — Anamosa 16, Des Moines Christian 14. Fouled out — Schepanski. Turnovers — Anamosa 8, Des Moines Christian 10.

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