Iowa City West wins historic third straight title

DES MOINES – From a Moon Shot to a Bergy Bomb.

When old Davenport High School won state basketball championships in 1950, 1951 and 1952, the local press called it a Moon Shot, in honor of legendary coach Paul Moon.

That was the only three-peat for a big school until these Iowa City West Trojans came along.A 57-45 win Saturday night over West Des Moines Valley assured West's third Class 4A championship in a row. Considering his coaching career is at the very least approaching legendary status as well, whether he believes it or not, Bergman deserves to have his own three-peat moniker.

Hence, a Bergy Bomb. Might even have to upgrade that if West can somehow get consecutive championship number four next season and set the big school record for most straight titles.

"Fifth time, what you thinking?' Bergman kidded a misspeaking reporter who asked what it felt like the third time.

This actually was the coach's fifth state championship at the school, a pretty amazing number.

'It's hard to get a smile out of me,' he said. 'I'm still worried with 30 seconds to go after they rained in three 3s. I was like 'Oh, boy.' It's just one of those things where we're up all night watching tape last night. Been up all week with my coaches, just really working hard. The players did their part, obviously. It's kind of a blur, and it's almost a relief. I know I appreciate it (more) a week later."

Bergy has long appreciated the other constant during this run. Guard Wyatt Lohaus was one of four players to lead the Trojans in scoring Saturday night with 13 points.

David DiLeo, who nailed a pair of fourth-quarter lead-stretching 3s, Chike Ukah and Nick Gallagher were the others. Ukah also had 13 rebounds.

"This year's team was under the radar, I think, most of the year,' said Lohaus, named captain of the 4A all-tournament team. 'We were a lot different personnel wise from the last two teams we had. So coming to the state tournament and not be heavy favorites and be able to pull it off, it feels really great."

"He's a great leader,' DiLeo said. 'Starting all four years, he had the most experience of anyone down here. He kept us together, kept us calm so we didn't get nervous."

Lohaus, a Northern Iowa signee, set the school's career assist record this season, surpassing former West teammate and future UNI teammate Jeremy Morgan. He went 94-9 in his four-year varsity career, ascending to the Mount Rushmore of leaders in the West program over the years.

Morgan had his face chiseled last season, right next to Ali Farokhmanesh.

"I thought the program was pretty good before he got here,' Bergman said. 'But he has certainly carried it.'

Lohaus helped lead a relatively inexperienced club to a 23-3 record. West had a 60-game win streak snapped in January at Dubuque Senior, lost in overtime to a team from Minneapolis and had a late regular-season defeat at 3A championship Dubuque Wahlert.

That had you wondering if the Trojans really could three-peat, but when the chips were down, they elevated their play. A semifinal win over top-seeded Bettendorf got them to the cusp of history, with them firmly grasping it via a win that perhaps wasn't the prettiest.Offensive flow was just a suggestion for the most part, especially for seventh-seeded Valley (17-9), which shot just 34 percent and was limited to 13 first-half points.

The Tigers played strong defensive games to shock Dubuque Senior and upset Sioux City North in their first two games here.

But West actually outdefensed a defensive club.

"They're just really athletic and long. We knew that,' Bergman said. 'But we've really been a good defensive team, and we actually got better these last three or four games. Our guys kind of figured out how to guard different styles a little bit. Who to help off of and who not to help off of. We played good defense tonight. I thought if we played good defense and held our own on the boards, we'd be fine."

DiLeo was named to the all-tournament team with Lohus, Bettendorf's Nicholas Baer, North's Daniel Tillo and Valley's Turner Scott. Trei Mitchell and Tyler Williams scored 11 points apiece to lead the Tigers, whose coach, Jeff Horner, was inducted into the IHSA Basketball Hall of Fame at halftime of the team.

"Our intensity was good,' Bergman said.'I just thought we were almost a little anxious. But I've got a lot of guys who haven't really played much in these kind of games. I'm sure Jeff will say the same. So it was kind of ugly basketball at times, but I'll take an ugly win any day.'

Lohaus will be very difficult to replace next season, as will starting center Ukah and guards Gallagher and Garrett Grimsman. But McCaffery will return at point guard, where did an awesome job considering he was a freshman.

DiLeo is a junior who has some sort of college career ahead of him. Youngsters like freshman Devonte Lane and sophomore Tanner Lohaus also are expected to improve their games and become good players.

'This is special because we've got freshmen out there, we've got sophomores, we've got juniors, we've got seniors,' Bergman said. 'We had some growing pains, and we had a lot of heart-to-heart talks and meetings. So I appreciate what these guys did maybe even a little more. But (championships) are all good."

"I'm happy for all our coaches,' DiLeo said. 'Coach Bergman, he works us hard in practice. Our assistant coaches are always pushing us. It's nice to see that hard work pays off in the end."

ICW by Jeff Johnson