At the class 4A quarterfinals of the Boys’ State Basketball Tournament, top-seeded Iowa City West got 31-points from James Ebert to stay unbeaten with a 55-33 win over Muscatine. Ebert says as always for West it started with defense as they played great team defense.Waterloo East survived a seven-minute first half scoring drought and rallied for a 67-57 win over Dubuque Wahlert. East sophomore Carlton Reed says they lost their focus and were rushed on offense before getting things together. Reed had a game high 21-points and hit all three of his three pointers in the second half. He says he struggled for a time during the regular season, but worked hard to get his shot back.Wahlert coach Craig Wurdinger felt his team got tired against East’s pressure defense and it took its toll on the offensive end.Ankeny’s defense stymied Mason City sharp shooter Jeff Horner and the Hawks drained 10 three pointers to shock the Mohawks 62-52. Aaron McCombs had 22-points to lead Ankeny and said the game plan played out perfectly. He says going up by 11 at halftime put the pressure on Mason City and help boost his team’s confidence. Horner finished just five of 17 from the field and two of ten from three-point range in a disappointing finish to a brilliant high school career. He says, “It was a bad time to play a bad game and Ankeny capitalized.” Horner says Ankeny played a great ballgame and he wished them luck the rest of the tournament.
