Second rated Cedar Rapids Kennedy held off a furious fourth quarter rally by Southeast Polk for a 47-43 win. Kennedy coach Bob Fontana says sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good as they didn’t play very well. He says it was hard playing with two of his best defenders on the bench with foul trouble.
The game featured a controversial ending. The Rams Kody Ingle was called for an offensive foul as he drove towards the basket with seven seconds remaining and Southeast Polk trailing by two. Rams coach B.J. Windhorst says from his vantage point Ingle had an angle to the basket and if anything there shouldn’t have been and call. "That’s the way it goes, we’re gonna be on the other end of those hopefully sometime too, and we have been. You just hate to see a great basketball game come down to something like that," Windhorst says.
Fourth ranked Davenport Central overcame some early jitters then took control against Waukee. The Blue Devils outscored the Warriors 25-12 in the second quarter enroute to a 60-45 victory in a class 4A quarterfinal. Junior guard Hale Bateman says they came out strong with the butterflies gone in the second quarter. Bateman finished with 11 points. The game was tied at 11 at the end of one quarter before Central used an 18-2 run to take command. Senior center L.A. Pomlee led Central with 12 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Linn-Mar standout Grant Gibbs may be playing with a fractured wrist but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his shooting stats. The senior scored 17 points and made al seven of his shots as the Lions held off Marshalltown 54-48 in overtime in a class 4A quarterfinal. Gibbs says it’s not fully healed, and only hurts when it is snapped back. He says shooting doesn’t bother him.
Marshalltown had a chance to win the game in regulation. The Bobcats worked for the final shot but Chanse Creekmur misfired on a fade away along the baseline. Creekmur says he thought they played well, but unfortunately things didn’t go their way. Creekmur finished with 16 points to lead the Bobcats.
Hot shooting Iowa City High showed why it is the favorite in class 4A. The Little Hawks scorched the nets for 61 percent from the field in the opening half and cruised to a 68-46 win over Sioux City North. City High forward Matt Gatens was one of four Little Hawks in double figures. he had 14 points.
Harlan held off a fourth quarter comeback by Union of LaPorte City to post a 67-55 victory to close out the opening round in class 3A. Harlan built a 13 point second half advantage but the Knights rallied to within two at 50-48.