Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

At a tradition-rich program like West High breaking any record is an accomplishment.

Last week Patrick McCaffery shattered one of the most prestigious marks in the West High record books.

McCaffery set the school single-game scoring record with 42 points in a 68-67 win over Cedar Rapids Washington, breaking the previous mark of 39 points shared by Brynjar Olafsson and Glen Worley.

“Any record at West High I am really proud of because there have been a lot of really, really good players at West High and there has been a lot of success here,” McCaffery said. “Knowing that I am going to be on the record board that means a lot to me.”

McCaffery ranks third in Class 4A in scoring at 27.6 points per game and had 30 in a win over City High earlier this season.

The 6-foot-9 senior had never had a performance like he did against the Warriors. At least not in a high school game.

McCaffery hit 14-of-20 field goal attempts including 6-of-8 from 3-point range and made all eight free throw attempts.

“I hit a couple of shot early and then the basket was really big I could put up anything and it was falling,” McCaffery said. “I’ve had nights like that before but just never in a high school game. It was really good to get my confidence from 3 going.”

McCaffery became the first play in West High history to crack the 40-point mark in a single game breaking the mark of 39 most recently set by Worley in 2000.

“Going into the season I was really keeping my eye on and hoping that I was able to accomplish that,” McCaffery said. “Knowing that I got one record out of the way is really important to me.

McCaffery has scored at least 19 points in all seven games for West High (6-1) and has scored 26 or more five times.

The scoring surge comes with McCaffery shooting a team-best 60 percent from the field and the senior also ranks fourth on team with 12 assists.

“The other night he had 42 and I said you aren’t going to have 42 every night but every night I’d like you to be responsible for 42,” West High coach Steve Bergman said. “Some nights that might mean eight assists but we’d like him to account for that every night.”

RVC South Division Race: The River Valley Conference season has yet to hit the halfway point but two teams have already pulled to the front of the pack in the South Division title chase.

Those two teams happen to be well acquainted with one another.

West Branch (8-1) and Regina (6-2) enter 2019 as the leaders in the RVC South Division title chase as the only South Division teams with conference records over .500.

The South Division title will likely come down to the head-to-head matchups between the long-time rivals.

Regina hosts West Branch on January 8 and the Bears close the regular season at home against Regina on February 5.

3-point Efficiency: West High has a headliner in Patrick McCaffery who ranks third in Class 4A in scoring at nearly 28 points per game.

The Trojans also have a lineup full of players capable of knocking down shots and they have the stats to back that up.

Despite not having a player with more than 10 3-pointers West High leads 4A in 3-point percentage shooting 42.5 percent from beyond the arc.

McCaffery leads the team with 10 treys and is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range.

Four other players (Nick Pepin, Brayden Adcock, Marcus Morgan and Jacob Klein) have all made between six and eight 3-pointers.

Pepin (8-of-14) is shooting a team-high 57 percent from 3-point range while Adcock (8-of-17) is shooting 47 percent from 3.  

Area Stat Leaders: McCaffery leads area players in scoring at 27.6 points per game and Regina junior Masen Miller is the only other area player averaging better than 20 points per game.

Miller is averaging 21.1 points per outing.

Clear Creek Amana sophomore TJ Bollers is the top rebounder in the area at 8.7 per game.

Performances of the Week: City High senior Antonio Turner had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in a 59-56 loss to Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

Regina senior Luke Stein had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 61-58 loss to Cascade.

West Branch senior Ted Bridges had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an 81-57 loss to Camanche.

Clear Creek Amana sophomore Christian Withrow had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a 69-53 win over Williamsburg.

Solon junior Cam Miller had 13 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a 73-67 loss to Marion.