Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament: Assumption takes lead in final seconds to get past Waverly-Shell Rock for 3A title

Davenport Assumption claimed its first state championship in 24 years

DES MOINES, IOWA – Davenport Assumption claimed its first state championship in 24 years Friday night, winning a 46-45 thriller over Waverly-Shell Rock. 

Navon Shabazz scored the game-winning point when he broke a tie game on a free throw with 4.2 seconds left and then got a steal in the back court to seal it in the Class 3A title game at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Knights’ high-pressure, man-to-man defense was a factor. Assumption turned the ball over just three times and forced 14 Go-Hawk turnovers – nine coming on steals.

Davenport Assumption's Navon Shabazz goes up for a dunk during the Class 3A state championship game against Waverly-Shell Rock on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)

“I thought our pressure there late was big, probably something I should have done sooner but our guys really ratcheted up the pressure there in the fourth quarter,” said Assumption head coach Joe Ewen. “They felt the pressure and kind of pushed it on them, and our guys did a nice job making them uncomfortable in the end, and we clawed back in it and found a way to win.

“We get a lot of credit for our offense, but I think defensively you see how good we can be too. We’ve been really locked in in the postseason.”

Go-Hawk head coach Nate Steege, who recently picked up his 300th win, knew the pressure was coming.

“We knew the closer we got to the end of the game the more they were gonna crank up the pressure,” said Steege. “I wish we didn’t have to burn all those timeouts, but I felt we were better off getting our guys in the right position, and we were trying to do it on the fly. But give credit to them. They made it happen.”

Assumption had three players score in double figures with Shabazz leading the way with 16 points. Damyen Jackson scored 15 and Kayvion Hodges added 11.

Waverly-Shell Rock's Cole Marsh dribbles up the court against Davenport Assumption during the Class 3A state championship game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Friday. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)

Cole Marsh led the Go-Hawks with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Benny Remker added 10 points. Standouts Luke and Noah Frazell were held to a combined 12 as Noah played only 16 minutes and fouled out with five points.

The game was close throughout with neither team leading by more than six points.

Waverly-Shell Rock got out to a fast start, holding early advantages of 9-2 early and 19-11, which was their biggest lead of the game. It came on a Noah Frazell 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Knights trailed 27-21 but put together an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to go up 31-29 at halftime.

Assumption, ranked 21st in SB Live’s all-class top 25 and ninth by the IHSAA in 3A, took its biggest lead at 35-29 on a layup by Shabazz with 1:53 left in the third quarter, but Marsh nailed a 3 and driving layup late to cut the gap to 37-36 after three.

The second-seeded Go-Hawks – ranked 15th by SB Live and second in 3A by the IHSAA – led 44-41 on a layup by Jude Landers. Then the Knights came back to go back up 45-44 when Jackson got a steal off the press, missed a contested shot, and Shabazz was there for the putback with 33 seconds left.

Marsh then made one of two free throws to tie it with 12.6 seconds on the clock, and Shabazz was fouled on a drive and sank a game-winning free throw with 4.2 ticks left.

Shabazz, who received an offer from Iowa recently, then put the game on ice with a steal.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” Ewen said. “There’s no better feeling. I’ve dreamt about it for a long time and finally did it. It’s an unbelievable feeling to finally get to that mountain. I’m excited for our guys, community, and school.”

“This feels amazing. When I go back to school I can look at the board and see state champs,” Jackson said. “We’ve carved our name in history.”

The Go-Hawks finished 22-4 in its fourth championship game appearance at the state tournament.

Assumption, which came into the tournament as the fourth seed, claims its fourth championship with a 19-8 record.

All-Tournament Team

Assumption: Kayvion Hodges

Waverly-Shell Rock: Cole Marsh

MOC FV: Jesse Van Kalsbeek

Waverly-Shell Rock: Luke Frazell

Captain: Damyen Jackson

--Chris Short | @SBLiveIA