Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament: Hudson, Western Christian advance to 2A final

Hudson holds off Unity Christian; Wolfpack blow out Treynor

DES MOINES, IOWA – Two years ago, the Hudson boys basketball team went out with a whimper, losing a second-round Class 2A district game to Alburnett, 67-47, to finish at 7-16. 

But of the eight boys who saw action that night, six were sophomores and one was a freshman. They vowed to reverse their fortunes through long hours in the gym.

That dedication bore more fruit Thursday, as the second-seeded Pirates held off a furious rally from sixth-seeded Unity Christian for a stirring 54-51 2A state semifinal victory at Wells Fargo Arena.

Treynor's Ethan Konz scands the court while being defended by Western Christian's Caleb Douma during a Class 2A state tournament semifinal at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)

“Since that day, they’ve done everything that they’ve needed to do to get to this point,’’ Hudson coach Sean Leonard said. “I’m just really happy for them.’’

Hudson improved to 25-2 and advanced to its second state-championship game in school history, following its 1993 title team. The Pirates will meet top-seeded Western Christian (22-3) back here Friday at 3 p.m. for the 2A crown.

Leonard was hoping his team wouldn’t need any last-second heroics, but it did. Hudson grabbed a seemingly safe 49-37 lead with 5:55 remaining on Tanner Michael’s mid-range jumper.

But then Unity Christian freshman Tyce Van Donge made his bid to become the most unlikely hero of the week. Entering the game with modest averages of 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds, the 6-foot-2 Van Donge took over. He scored eight straight points over the next four minutes, pulling the Knights within 49-45 with 1:46 left.

Dylan Bosma’s three-point play cut the Hudson lead to 51-49 with 1:09 showing, and then Van Donge stepped forward again, adding a steal with 45 seconds left and the tying basket at the 33-second mark with a nifty move off an inbounds play.

Van Donge finished 24 points and 10 rebounds.

“I even told him yesterday in practice, ‘You be ready to go,’’’ Unity Christian coach Cody Harskamp said. “He was ready. We thought we had some areas that we could take advantage of with him, his length and his ability to get to the rim. Just happy for him, because he works extremely hard at this game.’’

Michael was fouled with 5.4 seconds remaining, and the 89.7% free-throw shooter hit the second of two to put the Pirates up 52-51. Michael also hit two free throws with 2.8 seconds left in the quarterfinals to give his team a four-point lead in a 55-51 victory over Grundy Center.

“I was glad I was there,’’ Michael said. “My teammates trusted in me and I trusted in myself.’’

Hudson shoots 82.8% from the line, No. 1 in the state among all classes by more than seven percentage points.

“We do streak free throws in practice, and a lot of our guys will get 20 or 30 in a row,’’ Michael said.

A long pass from Unity Christian sailed out of bounds, and Camden Davis made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left for a 54-51 Hudson lead. The Knights’ half-court heave was well off the mark, touching off the Pirates’ celebration.

Davis led the winners with 16 points and nine rebounds, Michael added 15 points and Lyle Olsen pitched in 14.

“There’s no style points at this point,’’ Leonard said. “I’m not happy with how we played in those last five minutes. We dang near gave that one away, but we get a chance to play in the state title game.’’

Unity Christian was down by as many as 14 in the first half. Austin Wieringa added 11 points and six rebounds for the Orange City-based school, and Bosma finished with 10. They’re both sophomores.

“We were able to give ourselves a chance, after being down 14,’’ Harskamp said. “Those guys are competitors. They keep fighting and they’ve got a lot of heart.’’

Western Christian ousts Treynor with rebounding

With only two starters taller than 6-foot-1 in 6-3 Kaden Van Regenmorter and Karsten Moret, Western Christian isn’t known as a devastating rebounding team.

On Thursday, however, the Wolfpack were.

Top-seeded Western Christian outrebounded fifth-seeded Treynor 38-25 in a 76-45 Class 2A boys state semifinal basketball victory at Wells Fargo Arena.

“It’s an emphasis, just because we don’t have a lot of size,’’ Western Christian coach Derek Keizer said. “We have to rebound by committee.’’

Western Christian's Kaden Van Regenmorter dribbles up the court against Treynor during a Class 2A state tournament semifinal at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)

The top-rated Wolfpack (22-3) extended their remarkable record by advancing to their 13th championship game in 24 state appearances. They will seek their Iowa-record 11th championship against second-rated, second-seeded Hudson Friday at 3 p.m.

“I think we believe in the work that we’ve put in,’’ Keizer said. “We know it’s never easy. It’s a blue-collar mentality that you just fight. We play a really tough strength of schedule all year, and I think that helps us. Even if we get beat. Playing against Sioux City East this year, we got our butts kicked. But we learned from it, and it helps us in situations like this.’’

It wasn’t just that Western Christian out-rebounded Treynor, it was what resulted from the rebounding advantage. The Wolfpack had a commanding 23-2 advantage in second-chance points. That was never more evident than the third quarter, where Western Christian had no less than 13 second-chance points. They used a 27-4 run to turn a 33-27 lead into a 60-31 advantage.

It’s not just grabbing offensive rebounds by using size and brute strength. It’s perimeter players flying to the basket, snatching rebounds and instantly turning them into great shots.

“What’s hard is that they’re all on the perimeter, so we’re running downhill,’’ Keizer said. “It’s really hard to box a team out like that. If we can get guys going downhill and getting boards in space, good things happen because we typically shoot it pretty well.’’

Van Regenmorter led the Wolfpack with 21 points and five rebounds. Ty Mantel added 16, Moret had 15 and Uchan Harberts had 10 points, four assists and four steals.

“Obviously we’re not the biggest team, so it’s just about effort for us,’’ Van Regenmorter said. “When we’re all working hard out there, the sky’s the limit.’’

In its ninth semifinal appearance in 17 state trips, Treynor settled into the game nicely. The Cardinals led 24-21 with 4:30 left in the second quarter after Corbin Thien’s basket. But Western Christian closed the half on a 12-1 run and then broke it open in the third, as Treynor finished with 22 turnovers.

“We went cold and we had some turnovers,’’ Treynor senior Jace Tams said. “It got away from us a little bit. Even though they weren’t the biggest team, they really got after us on the boards.’’

Sophomore Alec Lovely led Treynor with 17 points and three steals. The Cardinals graduate senior starters Tams, Karson Elwood, Ethan Konz and Aaron Ehmke.

Treynor coach Scott Rucker knows how difficult it is to reach the state semifinals.

“I’m not sure they know how hard it is,’’ he said of his team. “I think I’m probably biased, but I’m not sure there’s a harder class than 2A. As much as this hurts, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. We had such a blast these last two weeks. We came out and were able to get to the final four. That’s not what our goal is around here, but their growth from their sophomore year has been really extraordinary, and I’m really proud of them, the players and the men that they’ve become.’’

--Kevin White | @SBLiveIA