Western Christian wins 'Retirement Game,' edging Cascade for 2A hoops championship

DES MOINES — They played good enough defense to win Friday night. Anyone who has watched Al Marshall coach over the past five decades knew they would.

But the Cascade Cougars couldn't quite make enough shots to slay the giant.

It was Jim Eekhoff and Western Christian who took the 'Retirement Game' and another Class 2A boys' basketball title instead, 42-35, at Wells Fargo Arena. It's the eighth championship for the school and its coach, who surpassed the legendary Paul Moon of Davenport for most championships in state history.

'I feel kind of almost guilty because there are so many great coaches in this state who don't even get a chance to coach at a state tournament,' Eekhoff said. 'To win one is the ultimate. To win eight is almost unfair (considering) all the guys who don't get that chance.'

Marshall would be one of them. He retires with 738 victories in 47 seasons at Cascade and Cascade Aquin, third all time.

Eekhoff won 680 games in 34 seasons at Western.

'I'm not thinking about the 47 years,' Marshall said. 'I'm thinking about losing this game. I'm pretty compartmentalized. I only focused on (this) game. That was it.'

This game was played at Cascade's tempo, for sure. It was halfcourt all the way, with the teams slugging out long possessions.

The Cougars' patented 2-3 zone defense gave Western (25-2) a lot of problems, even though it had a significant size advantage, as usual, with 6-foot-7 Josh Van Lingen and 6-6 Dustin Marra inside. Van Lingen, named the 2A all-tournament team captain, was limited to 10 points, eight under his average, and was outplayed by Cascade's big man Devin Green.

Green, facing Van Lingen-Marra double teams in the post, had 17 points, finishing his fine career tied as Cascade's all-time leading scorer.

'It was definitely something different we hadn't seen all year. Facing guys that size,' Green said. 'They were really physical with me, and I struggled early. But I thought my teammates did a great job in the first half taking open shots, making open shots.'

It was a 10-10 game after a quarter, but Cascade went over eight minutes between points, allowing Western to assume a 17-14 halftime edge. It was 32-25 WC after three.

A Gannon O'Brien 3-pointer and pair of Trace Hoffman free throws made it a 32-30 game with 6:13 remaining, and Cascade nearly had a turnover on Western's ensuing possession. But the Wolfpack came up with the ball after a scramble, and Ben Gesink splashed a trey to make it a 35-30 game.

Essentially, that was it.

'Congratulations to Western Christian. They are an outstanding team,' Marshall said. 'Obviously if they beat us, they have to be an outstanding team. They are the gold standard program in 2A. I thought we battled really well. I was really proud of our kids' efforts. We were right there. A couple of plays one way or the other.'

Cascade finished with 28.6-percent shooting, including going 3 for 15 from 3-point range. No one could step up to help out Green with the offense.

'Good looks were hard to come by,' said Cascade guard Jarrett Knepper. 'They played pretty good defense.'

'I thought we missed some open shots tonight. That's an element of basketball,' Marshall said. 'I thought they were good shots, I was happy when those players took those shots. They weren't shots you didn't want to take. We just didn't make them. Points were hard to come by out there tonight. It was hard to find a good shot at each end, I think.'

This was the first time Cascade has made it to the finals, an accomplishment that shouldn't be ignored. No, they didn't win it all, but they definitely made Marshall's last season a special one.

'At the beginning of the year, Coach told us to enjoy the year, enjoy your teammates,' Knepper said. 'I definitely think we did that.'

'I was always told to leave the program better than you got it,' Cascade's Kurt Trumm said. 'And that's what we did.'

Others selected for the 2A all-tournament team via media vote were Cascade's Green and Hoffman, Western's Jesse Jansma, Anamosa's Kyle Schepanski and Pella Christian's Levi Jungling.

AT DES MOINES

WESTERN CHRISTIAN (42): Jesse Jansma 4-8 5-7 15, Dustin Marra 1-2 1-2 10, Josh Van Lingen 4-11 2-3 10, Taylor Miedema 2-5 1-2 7, Ben Gesink 2-3 1-3 7, Joey Horstman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-31 10-17 42.

CASCADE (35): Kurt Trumm 2-9 1-3 5, Devin Green 6-13 5-5 17, Trace Hoffman 1-5 2-2 5, Jarrett Knepper 1-5 0-0 3, Johnny Supple 0-4 0-0 0, Gannon O'Brien 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 12-42 8-10 35.

Halftime – Western Christian 17, Cascade 14. 3-point goals – Western Christian 6-13 (Miedema 2-5, Gesink 2-3, Jansma 2-3, Horstman 0-2), Cascade 3-15 (Knepper 1-3, Hoffman 1-3, Supple 0-4, O'Brien 1-5). Rebounds – Western Christian 28 (Marra 10), Cascade 24 (Green, Trumm 7). Total fouls – Western Christian 10, Cascade 16. Fouled out – None. Turnovers – Western Christian 13, Cascade 8.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com