Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal recap: Sophomores propel underdog Unity Christian past Underwood (3/5/2024)

Underwood entered the game undefeated

DES ,MOINES, IOWA - Unity Christian is officially a giant slayer. After  beating Class 2A No. 1 West Lyon at substate, the Knights upset perviously undefeated Underwood Tuesday afternoon in a Class 2A quarterfinal game at Wells Fargo Arena. 

Unity Christian (21-4), the No. 6 seed in the tournament, had an answer every time No. 3-seeded Underwood (24-1) made a run in the 59-55 victory. 

UC, who lost two starters for the season, relied on two sophomores Tuesday. Dylan Bosma poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed four rebounds with 2 assists and Austin Wieringa added 21 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists. One of the starters lost was Bosma's junior brother, Braeden. 

Underwood, making their first state basketball tournament appearance in school history, fell behind from the beginning and trailed by as many seven in the first quarter tied the game in the second quarter but trailed 29-25 at halftime.

Underwood tried to whittle the lead away in the second half but each time they did UC answered. UC grew the lead to nine early in the third period, but Undewood cut it down to five but Dylan Bosma hit a three and the lead was back to five going into the third quarter. 

Dylan Bosma again came up big in the fourth quarter with less than a minute left when his triple pushed the lead to 57-52. He sealed the win two free throws with 8.1 seconds to make the score 59-55.

Underwood was led by Jack Vanfossan and Owen Larsen, who both scored 13 points. Larsen added 10 rebounds. Mason Boothby had 12 and Josh Ravlin 11. 

See previous live updates below. 

Final: Unity Christian 59-55

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 59-55, :8.1

Bosma, the sixth-best free-throw shooter in Class 2A, is fouled immediately and hits both free throws. 

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 57-55, :8.9

Underwood hits a three to cut it to two and UC can't inbound the ball, so they all a time out. 

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 57-52, :20

After a steal,  Boothby missed both free throws and Van Fossan misses the put back. 

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 57-52, 49.6

Underwood had the lead lead down to three again, but Bosma answered with a three. Underwood does counter with a two. Ever time Underwood threatens, UC makes a big shot. 

Underwood is 3-for-15 from the three-point line. They entered the game  as the third-best three-point shooting team in Class 2A. 

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 53-46, 4:07

Traevin Van Beek hits a three from way beyond the arc after a miss and kick out to extend the lead again. 

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 50-46, 4:47

The lead is four now after Boothby scores following a nifty pass in the paint and Larsen, who has been plagued with foul trouble, scores inside. UC calls a time out to regroup.  

4th Qtr: Unity Christian, 47-38, 6:11

Wieringa, a 24-percent three-pointer, hits a huge one to help UC on a 5-1 run to start the quarter. 

End of 3rd Qtr: Unity Christian 42-37

Underwood gets to within four, but Bosma hits a three-pointer after a shot fake. He has 20 points for the day. Underwood adds another basket on its final possession but misses a big opportunity when Jack Vanfossan's half-court shot with less than a second is waved off because he is called for traveling. 

3rd Qtr: Unity Christian 39-31, 2:49

Tyce Van Donge's three-pointer gives UC its biggest lead of the day. 

3rd Qtr: Unity Christian 36-29, 4:44

Underwood's Josh Ravlin sores on a layup to cut the lead to two, but Bosma's three-pointer is part of a 5-0 run to push the lead back up to seven with a time out on the floor.   

We are underway in the second half. 

Underwood leading scorers

*Owen Larsen, 9

*Mason Boothby 6

Unity Christian leading scorers

*Austin Wieringa, 10

*Dylan Bosma 9

Halftime team stats:

*Unity Christian is shooting 40% from the field. 

*Underwood is shooting 36% from the field.

*Unity Christian is out-rebounding Underwood, 21-17

*Unity Christian is only 1-for-8 from the 3-point line.

*Unity Christian has scored 20 points in the paint. 

Halftime: Unity Christian 29-25

It has been back and forth the past two minutes, but Unity Christian scores four unanswered points to push its lead to five. However, Underwood hit a free throw on its final possession to cut the lead to four. 

2nd Qtr: 21-21, 2:30

Underwood takes its first lead on a three-pointer by Owen Larsen,  but we are tied again.  

2nd Qtr: 18-18, 4:27

Here comes Underwood. Jackson Vogel hits a layup and Jack Vanfossan scores in the paint and is fouled. He misses the free throw, but we are tied.

2nd Qtr: Unity Christian 18-13, 5:50

A flurry of scoring early in the period but UC holds the five-point lead. 

End of 1st: Unity Christian 15-8

Unity Christian finishes the quarter on a 5-2 run, including a tip-in by Austin Wieringa on a missed three as the quarter ends. 

1st Qtr: Unity Christian 10-6, 2:42

Traevin Van Beek scores in the paint to extend the lead. 

1st Qtr: Unity Christian 8-6, 3:43

Unity Christian playing solid defense and has the early lead with a time out on the floor. 

Good afternoon. We are underway. 

--Nate Olson | nate@scorebooklive.com | @ndosports 

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