High School

3A semifinal field complete on day two of boys state tournament

Cedar Rapids Xavier advances, deals Knoxville first loss of season

Dana Becker

MOC-Floyd Valley posted a quarterfinal round win over Ballard to advance in the Class 3A state tournament Tuesday.
MOC-Floyd Valley posted a quarterfinal round win over Ballard to advance in the Class 3A state tournament Tuesday. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tuesday at the Iowa high school boys state basketball tournament brought with it the conclusion of the Class 3A quarterfinals from Des Moines and Wells Fargo Arena.

After Clear Lake and ADM advanced late Monday night, Cedar Rapids Xavier and MOC-Floyd Valley joined them in the final four on Thursday. Clear Lake and ADM square off at 10:30 a.m. while Cedar Rapids Xavier plays MOC-Floyd Valley after.

AJ Evans scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds with four blocked shot as Xavier topped Knoxville, 52-37. Leading nearly throughout, Xavier put Knoxville away with a 16-5 fourth quarter.

Lorenzo Pino added 12 points and Zander Murray had 11 with six rebounds. Kaleb Wilgenbusch recorded 10 rebounds and eight points with three assists and two steals.

For Knoxville, who entered state a perfect 24-0, Landen Norris scored 14 points. Drake Larson and Kaiden Smith both had seven rebounds.

Class 3A Quarterfinal Roundup

MOC-Floyd Valley 55, Ballard 51

Blake Aalbers shined bright, scoring 24 points while going 12 of 14 from the free throw line to help MOC-Floyd Valley eliminate Ballard, 55-51.

Ahman Langton and Carter Van Gelder both scored 12 with Van Gelder grabbing seven rebounds. Aalbers also had six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Jude Gibson scored 22 points with Easton Erland adding eight points, 11 rebounds and six blocks for Ballard. The Bombers mounted a late rally, outscoring MOC-Floyd Valley in the second half, 39-30.

Class 2A Quarterfinal Roundup

Western Christian 69, Jesup 38

The defending champion moved into the semifinals with a convincing win, as Western Christian eliminated Jesup, 69-38.

Kaden VanRegenmorter scored 15 with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Karsten Moret was nearly perfect, going 10 of 13 from the field with three 3-pointers in scoring 23. As a team, the Wolfpack sank 11 triples.

Ryan Treptow had 15 with 10 rebounds and four steals to lead Jesup while Parker Masteller grabbed 11 rebounds.

Grand View Christian 61, Treynor 46

Brayden Hoben scored 26 and Emiliano Barrantes had a double-double to lead Grand View Christian past Treynor, 61-46.

Hoben was 10 of 16 from the floor and added seven rebounds in the win while Barrantes had 13 points, 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. 

Treynor’s Jared Schwarte posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Alec Lovely added 10 points. 

West Lyon 81, Union 50

Jorden Meyer scored 25 and Jared Ciesielski put together a double-double as West Lyon rolled past Union, 81-50. 

Ciesielski scored 15 with 11 rebounds while Meyer had five rebounds and four steals. West Lyon scored 24 in the opening quarter and had 45 by the half.

Ben Meyer scored 14 points off the bench and Carson Hoogeveen chipped in 11 as West Lyon shot 55 percent from the field.

Caden Sorensen scored 12 and Cameron Mullen had eight to lead Union.

Unity Christian 48, Grundy Center 46

Braeden Bosma’s old-fashioned 3-point play with just over a minute left pushed Unity Christian to a 48-46 victory over Grundy Center and into the state semifinals.

Bosma knocked down a layup to put Unity Christian up by one and was fouled, converting the free throw for his 12th point of the game. 

Jackson Vogel led Unity Christian with 14 and eight rebounds while Dylan Bosma added nine points.

For Grundy Center, Ryker Thoren had 14 and Judd Jirovsky 11. Tiernan Vokes chipped in nine points with six rebounds. 

What’s on deck

That completes the first three classes of action, as 1A finishes things off with four quarterfinals on Wednesday. We will also have the first two semifinals between the four remaining 4A programs. High School Sports on SI will have complete recaps from all those games.

Published |Modified
Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

Home/Iowa