There were no tournament jitters for second ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Rebels raced out to a 12-0 lead to start the game and finished 11 of 22 from three point range in an 80-57 win over Nodaway Valley in a class 1A quarterfinal game at the boys’ state tournament.

Sophomore guard Joe Smoldt led Gladbrook-Reinbeck with 31 points, including six of seven from behind the arc. “We jus told everybody it’s just another basketball game, just because there’s a bigger venue with more people there, we’ve got to forget about that. We all felt comfortable and that’s a big part of it,” Smoldt says.

Smoldt scored 12 points for the Rebels in a decisive first quarter that saw them lead 17-3 at the end of one. He says shooting in the bigger arena is a little different, but after hitting a few shots he felt good.

While the Rebels were clicking on offense Nodaway Valley struggled in the opening half by making only seven of 28 shots.

“It wasn’t anything that we weren’t used to, we just didn’t get into the flow at first, second half we definitely started moving the ball more,” Nodaway Valley guard David Schweitzer says. He ended his career with 10 points. The Wolverines finish the season with a record of 19-7.

Jackson Lamb led the Wolverines with 19 points. Gladbrook-Reinbeck takes a 26-0 record into Thursday’s 1A semifinals.