Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The boys state basketball tournament will tip off in less than 24 hours.

Monday morning the state tournament action gets underway with 32 qualifiers across four classes seeking to end the season with a state title.

Your Prep area teams West High and Clear Creek Amana are among those headed to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines in search of state gold.

Before looking ahead at the paths for the two area teams to a state title we take a look back at the season that has been in area boys basketball and highlight some of the top performances, players and coaches from a memorable season.

Best Individual Performance: Masen Miller against West Branch. Miller had higher scoring efforts during a stellar senior season but may not have ever been better than he was in the first of two meetings with rival West Branch. Miller scored 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting, was 8-of-12 from 3-point range and had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Best Team Performance: Clear Creek Amana against Davenport Assumption. The performance itself stands out. The Clippers scored 79 points on 55 percent shooting against the third-ranked team in the state that had previously allowed more than 60 points twice in 23 games. However, coming up with the best performance in the biggest game with a state berth on the line is the more impressive feat.

Best Team Performance Part 2: West High vs. Pleasant Valley. Sure, the Trojans were expected to take care of 13-10 Pleasant Valley in their substate final, which they did with relative ease by a score of 55-36. But take a look at the numbers and this performance deserves a mention on this list. West High shot 61 percent from the field, had 18 assists on 19 field goals and held the Spartans to 38 percent shooting.

Comeback Player of the Year: West Branch senior Tanner Lukavsky. After missing all of last season while recovering from a shoulder injury Lukavsky returned to post the best season of his career averaging 8.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.  

Coach of the Year: Clear Creek Amana’s Brandon Clubb. In four seasons leading the Clear Creek Amana program Clubb has directed one of the state’s best rebuilding efforts going from two wins in his first season to a 19-5 mark and the program’s first state tournament berth since 1993 this season. The 19 wins this season are just three fewer than the Clippers had the previous three seasons combined.

Coach of the Year Part 2: West High’s Steve Bergman and Paul Rundquist. West High has long been known for its prowess on the defensive end but this year’s bunch may be the best defensive high school group I’ve ever watched and much of that credit needs to go to Bergman, Rundquist and Gordon Rundquist. The Trojans aren’t the most talented team in the state but head to their 10th consecutive state tournament a serious title contender.

Best game: Solon against Regina. What else would you expect when these two long-time rivals hook up but a thriller decided in the final seconds? This one had it all. Seven ties, 10 lead changes, a second-half rally, and  a 90-second final possession that ended with Solon junior Carson Shive grabbing a loose ball and canning a buzzer-beating 10-foot jumper for the win. The pace was fast, the atmosphere electric and the product exciting. The teams combined to shoot 48 percent and had nearly as many made 3-pointers (15) as turnovers (18).

Biggest upset: Solon over Clear Creek Amana. The Spartans were close to several big wins under first-year coach Matt Lesan falling to then top-ranked Marion in overtime and by two points to state qualifier Mount Vernon. Solon finally got its signature win in its regular season finale with a 62-53 upset over the eventual 3A qualifying Clippers.

Breakthrough performer: Liberty High junior Kelby Telander. Telander took one of the biggest jumps of any area player this season going from a little-used reserve as a sophomore to an honorable mention all-MVC selection this year. The 6-foot-5 forward ranked second on the team with 11.8 points, on a team-best 53 percent shooting from the floor, and grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game after scoring 26 points and grabbing 18 total rebounds last year.

Best Clutch Performance: Mike Potter against Davenport Assumption. It doesn’t get much more clutch than coming up with the best game of your career in the substate final against the third-ranked team in the state. That’s what Potter did against Assumption scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out two assists in a 79-66 win over the Knights.

Biggest shot: Byron Benton against Liberty High. The City High junior scored the final six points of the game in a 41-38 win over cross-town rival Liberty High but the biggest shot by Benton was a driving layup that turned into a 3-point play and gave the Little Hawks a 40-38 lead with 11 seconds left.

Most versatile player: Clear Creek Amana junior Christian Withrow. The 6-foot-2 Withrow has always been a problem for opponents on offense but this season Withrow showed off a more well-round game. Withrow led the Clippers in scoring with 15.8 points per game but also averaged 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a team-high 1.3 steals per game.

Unsung hero: West High senior Tate Crane. Every good team needs a glue guy and Crane gives the Trojans the very definition of the term. The 6-foot-3 senior gives West High 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game but its his effort and attitude that is most valuable for fifth-ranked West High.

Best under the Radar performer: West Branch senior Matt Whaley. Whaley didn’t put up huge numbers but the senior point guard is the guy that made it all go for a West Branch team that claimed the River Valley Conference South Division title. A team-first guy, Whaley averaged 7.7 points and led the Bears in assists (3.2) and steals (1.5).

Defensive player of the year: West High senior Nick Pepin. The Trojans have been exceptional defensively all season and Pepin has been a big reason why. The senior guard embodies one of the best defensive teams at West High in recent memory, undersize but gritty Pepin has helped West High hold opponents to 40.9 points per game, second in Class 4A.

Newcomer of the year: City High sophomore Jamari Newson. In his first season of extended action Newson flashed impressive potential averaging 8.1 points, 5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Freshman of the year: It’s no easy task for a freshman to make an impact at the varsity level but Liberty High’s Savion Taylor did just that averaging 3.4 points while shooting 54 percent from the field in his first taste of varsity action.

Most improved player: West High senior Even Brauns. It might seem like an odd award for a Division I signee and multi-year starter but the 6-foot-9 Brauns has simply taken his game to another level this season. After averaging 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his first season at West High the Belmont recruit is putting up 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this year and ranks third in 4A with 55 blocks all while facing constant double teams.

Bench player of the year: West High senior Ben Vander Leest. Vander Leest played starters minutes and spent time in the starting lineup for the state-bound Trojans this season but carved a niche as an impact player off the bench averaging 7.1 points and 3 rebounds per game on 52 percent shooting while handing out nearly twice as many assists (47) as turnovers (24).  

Most valuable player: Regina senior Masen Miller. Despite facing a seemingly different defensive plan each night that often included double or even triple teams Miller produced at an elite level leading the Regals with 26.2 points, 6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

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