A pair of Mississippi valley conference teams advanced in class 3A at the boys’ state basketball tournament. Ninth ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier got 23 points from Adam Mcdermott to beat top ranked Pella 65-61 and Cordell Pemsl had 18 rebounds to go along with 17 points as Dubuque Wahlert ousted third ranked Waverly-Shell Rock 60-50.
Adam Klein got some state tournament experience when he played at Iowa City West and he used to his advantage on Tuesday. The Williamsburg senior guard scored 29 points on 10 of 14 shooting as the second ranked Raiders beat Glenwood 65-40 in a class 3A quarterfinal. “I think it helped a lot playing at West last year and getting some playing time here on this court, but also I think what helped is we actually went to Carver Hawkeye Arena for a practice,” Klein says.
The Raiders shot 62 percent in the second half as they improve to 24-1 on the season. Glenwood close out an unlikely post season run with a 12-13 record. The Rams were making their first appearance at the tournament in 63 years.
In the class 3A quarterfinals fourth ranked LeMars roared out to 32-16 halftime advantage in a 59-51 victory over Dallas Center-Grimes. “We make our money on our defense and that’s what we pride ourselves on,” LeMars senior Tyler Paulson says. He led the Bulldogs with 21 points. LeMars took command by outscoring the Mustangs 17-7 in the second quarter.
Unranked Pella Christian raced out to a 14 point first half lead then held off a furious rally by second ranked Western Christian for a 70-69 victory. David Kacmarynski had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles. Pella Christian made 10 of 23 from three point range to improve to 17-7 on the season. Kacmarynski says the Eagles were confident despite play the second ranked team.
Junior forward Josh Van Lingen had 32 points and 17 rebounds to lead Western Christian.