Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Over the course of his senior season Nick O’Connor proved to be the most valuable for Clear Creek Amana on the defensive end of the court.

In his final prep game O’Connor came up with the best offensive performance of his career.

O’Connor tied a school-record with eight 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 28 points in his final prep game helping Clear Creek Amana to a 76-73 overtime win over Ballard in the consolation game at the Class 3A state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“My goal is to help the team no matter what whether it’s offensively or defensively or both,” O’Connor said. “I came into the state tournament knowing it would help my team out if I did my best job on defense and the offensive part ended up working out pretty well.”

It was the work that O’Connor did on the defensive end earlier in the week that allowed Clear Creek Amana to close its season with a win.

O’Connor locked down Mount Vernon junior all-stater Keaton Kutcher in the quarterfinals, holding the Mustangs’ top scorer to 13 points on 3-of-20 shooting.

In the win 59-45 quarterfinal win over second-ranked Mount Vernon O’Connor scored 11 points and had three assists to go along with his defensive work on Kutcher.

“Going into that Mount Vernon game we knew we wanted that one badly,” O’Connor said. “Not only would it advance us but guarantee us two more games.”  

O’Connor had three points on 1-of-3 shooting in a semifinal loss to Sergeant Bluff-Luton but bounced back big time in the consolation win.

The 6-foot-1 senior went 8-of-14 from 3-point range in the win over Ballard to push his season 3-point total to 64.

“Nick stepped up and did what he does best and knocking down 3s and being a great 3-pointer shooter but I think all year he was unsung as our best defender,” Clear Creek Amana Brandon Clubb said. “We put him on the best guy and he just goes out and does what he does.”

O’Connor had five points in the opening half of the consolation win, hitting one of his first three 3-pointer attempts.

Something changed for O’Connor at halftime.

“Being his last game he knew he wasn’t going out like that and you could just kind of see it in his eyes,” Clubb said. “Once he made that first one you could just see it.”

O’Connor went 4-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 14 points in a 24-point Clipper third quarter.

He made 3-of-4 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, scoring 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half.

“Going into halftime I knew it was my last half ever and I had to do something to impact the game,” O’Connor said. “I went out and I hit my first one or two and I knew my shot was on and I kept shooting and it worked out. It was a really good ending to my last game.”

O’Connor closed the season averaging 11.4 points and shooting 43 percent from 3-point range for 20-5 Clear Creek Amana.

The 64 made 3-pointers for O’Connor tie the single season school record.

“He is unique I that he can shoot it that well but I don’t think he hunts shots,” Clubb said. “There were a lot of nights where we were after him about going and finding a shot because if he makes that first one it’s boom, boom, boom and that’s how it was on Friday.”

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