Greiner shot helps Keota rally past Easton Valley

DES MOINES - It wasn't pretty. Very little Kolton Greiner does on the basketball floor is aesthetically pleasing.It just works.Like his 3-point shot at the end of the third quarter Monday morning at Wells Fargo Arena. It wasn't what was drawn up by the Keota coaching staff, was hurried and off balance from near the top of the NBA arc.Yet it splashed through and proved to be a case of game-changing clutchness."I was just glad to get a shot off," Greiner said after the Eagles' 56-47 win over Easton Valley in a Class 1A state tournament quarterfinal. "I didn't have anyone to pass it to, so I just kind of launched it up there in desperation. It went in."Greiner's shot brought his team within 41-39 going to the final quarter and shut off momentum Easton Valley (21-3) had gained seconds earlier on a one-handed dunk by Logan Wilhelm. The 6-foot-8 center gathered in a flashy behind-the-back pass from teammate Chase Zaruba on a two-on-one break and went over Greiner, who fouled him."Yeah, I got posterized there by Wilhelm," Greiner said. "They had all the momentum. But Coach said 'That's just two points.'"It seemed two points was about all Keota (25-1) allowed in the fourth quarter to advance to a Thursday morning (10:30 a.m. tip) semifinal against Newell-Fonda/West Lyon. Actually, it was six, but the point is the Eagles' strong man negated Easton Valley's size advantage.Keota isn't physically imposing, with 6-4 Nate Owen and 6-2 Luke Lyle its biggest players. But you can't measure heart, as they say."It's just the guts and desire of our kids," said Coach Dan Stout."We've always been undersized," said Lyle, who had 10 points and 15 rebounds. "We just pride ourselves on playing tough defense. Play in-your-face 'D.' I guess it works."Easton Valley shot just 17.9 percent in the second half. Wilhelm finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds but made just 4 of his 23 shots from the field.Leading scorer Chase Zaruba had 16 points, but that was five under his average. Greiner's 21 led Keota, with 15 coming via the 3-point line.That includes his buzzer-beating heave at the end of the third quarter."That was definitely huge," Stout said. "I think that gave our kids the confidence of 'Hey, we can go get this thing.' I think that was definitely the turn."Here is the official boxscore and a short video interview with Keota's Stout:

Box by

Jeff Johnson