Waukee NW upsets Cedar Falls, Valley earns thrilling OT victory in 4A

Balanced Waukee Northwest too much for Cedar Falls in 4A semifinals

Waukee Northwest knocked off Cedar Falls in a 4A semifinal Wednesday night. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Four players reached double figures as Waukee Northwest knocked off top-seed Cedar Falls in the Class 4A semifinals in Des Moines from Wells Fargo Arena Wednesday night.

Mack Heitland, the star quarterback for the Wolves this past fall on the football field, had 14 while Colin Rice added 12 with 10 rebounds. Landon Davis chipped in 11 and Peyton McCollum scored 10.

Bode Goodman added nine points with seven rebounds while Davis also had nine boards, four blocks and two steals.

Cedar Falls was led by Keegan Steege and William Gerdes who both scored 11. Jaydon Kimbrough finished with 10. Gerdes also had nine rebounds while Leyton Wolfe recorded five steals to go along with four points and seven rebounds. 

Waukee Northwest used a 19-10 second-quarter to gain control of the contest, as Cedar Falls would mount a comeback in the third, cutting the deficit from 13 to eight. 

Valley back in title game following thrilling OT win

Jayden McGregory had the game-winning basket for Valley vs. Linn-Mar. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jayden McGregory is one of the top football recruits in the Class of 2026. But on Wednesday night, he was the star for the Valley basketball team.

McGregory’s jumper in the lane with two seconds left lifted the Tigers to a 58-56 overtime victory vs. Linn-Mar in an instant class. McGregory finished with a game-high 23 points to lead four Valley players in double figures.

Trevin Jirak added 15 points with 13 rebounds and four assists while both Kiki Deng and Zay Robinson each scored 10. Robinson, a future Iowa State football player, also had 11 rebounds. 

Jirak, who is headed to Northern Iowa, tied the game with a second left on a tip-in to force overtime. 

For Linn-Mar, Davis Kern had 16 points with nine rebounds, Tyler Hilton added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Trey Wright scored 13. 

What’s on deck

The remaining six semifinals will comprise Thursday starting with the 3A games followed by 2A and 1A. Games begin at 10:30 a.m. and continue through the final one at 7:15 p.m.

All four championships will be on the court Friday starting at 1 p.m. with the 4A contest. In that 4A game, two-time defending champion Valley will seek a three-peat against Waukee Northwest.