Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Half of the state tournament field is set.

Class 1A and 2A teams clinched spots at the state tournament on Saturday with substate finals for the two smallest classes in the state.

Now it’s the big schools turn to secure spots at the state tournament set for March 7-11 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Class 3A substate finals will be held Monday around the state with Class 4A set for Tuesday.

Here is a quick look at the Class 3A substate finals featuring Your Prep Sports area teams as Solon and Clear Creek Amana each aim for trips to state.

Class 3A, Substate 4

Solon (15-9) vs. Central DeWitt (17-6)

When: Monday, 7 p.m.

Where: Mount Vernon High School

Top players: Solon – Jake Benzing, 6-2, Soph. 9.7 points, 3 rebounds. Kinnick Pusteoska 6-5, Sr. 8.4 points, 7 rebounds. Central DeWitt – Shawn Gilbert, 6-9, Sr. 23.7 points, 10.2 rebounds. Gibson McEwen, 6-1, Sr. 13.6 points, 4 rebounds, 3.7 assists.

About the Spartans: Solon has avenged each of its back-to-back losses to close the regular season in its first two postseason games to return to the substate finals for the second consecutive season.

The Spartans closed the regular season with losses to Center Point-Urbana and Washington by a combined nine points.

Solon defeated Center Point-Urbana 42-32 in its postseason opener and downed fifth-ranked Washington 48-44 in overtime in the semifinals on Friday.

It has been defense that has carried Solon most of the season.

The Spartans have allowed more than 50 points just four times this season and have held teams under 40 points eight times.

Solon doesn’t have a double-digit scorer but has seven players scoring between 4.2 and 9.7 points per game.

Sophomore Jake Benzing leads the way with 9.7 points per game while Kinnick Pusteoska is averaging 8.4 and senior Jake Quillin 6.8 points per game.

About the Sabers: Central DeWitt is seeking its first state tournament appearance since 2014 after downing Cedar Rapids Xavier 82-75 in the substate semifinals.

The Sabers lost three straight games following an 11-2 start to the season but responded by winning six of its last seven to reach the substate title game.

The lone loss for Central DeWitt over its last seven games is a six-point setback to Class 4A second-ranked Pleasant Valley.

Everything for the Sabers revolves around 6-foot-9 senior center Shawn Gilbert who ranks second in 3A in scoring (23.7) and fourth in rebounds (10.2).

Gilbert had 45 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the semifinal win over Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Senior Gibson McEwen is averaging 13.6 points per game while junior Matthew Watters adds 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

What to Watch: How well can Solon slow Gilbert.

Completely shutting down the 6-foot-9 standout is a tall task in itself but the Spartans must be able to slow Gilbert enough to keep the Saber offense from getting rolling.

Solon has been stellar on the defensive end most of the season holding opponents to a Class 3A-low 42 points per game.

The Spartans have allowed 32 and 44 (in overtime) points in a pair of postseason wins and haven’t given up more than 50 points in a game since a loss to Maquoketa on January 11, a span of 12 games.

Meanwhile Central DeWitt is averaging 59.9 points per game and has scored 50 or more in eight of its last nine games and in all but three games this season.

Class 3A, Substate 5

Clear Creek Amana (16-7) vs. Marion (18-5)

When: Monday, 7 p.m.

Where: Liberty High School

Top players: Clear Creek Amana – Ben Swails, 6-2, Sr. 17.7 points, 5 rebounds. Kyle Schrepfer, 6-0, Sr. 14.1 points, 3.8 rebounds. 2.1 assists. Marion – Brayson Laube, 6-2, Jr. 19.3 points, 3 rebounds, 2.9 assists. Alex Mota, 6-1, Jr. 9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana has responded from a rough late-season stretch to move within a win of a second state tournament appearance in the past three seasons.

The Clippers started the season 9-1 but lost four of its next 10 games before getting rolling late in the season.

Following a win over Benton Community in its regular season finale Clear Creek Amana has won back-to-back substate games over Fairfield and eighth-ranked Fort Madison to return to the substate final.

Clear Creek Amana is led by the senior duo of Ben Swails and Kyle Schrepfer who combine to average 31.8 points per game.

Swails is averaging 17.7 points and 5 rebounds per game while Schrepfer is scoring 14.1 points per game and has made a team-leading 61 three-pointers.

About the Wolves: Marion has missed the state tournament each of the past two seasons after back-to-back trips in 2018 and 2019 falling to Center Point-Urbana in the substate final in 2020 and to Cedar Rapids Xavier in its postseason opener a year ago.

This season the Wolves have used the scoring of junior Brayson Laube and its usual stingy defense to move a game away from a state tournament return.

Laube is the only Marion player averaging in double-digits scoring a team-high 19.3 points per game.

The junior guard adds a team-high 2.9 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from three-point range.

Marion has been strong defensively holding opponents to 50.2 points per game and has lowered that to 43 points allowed in a pair of postseason wins.

What to Watch: These two WAMAC cross-divisional foes know each other well meeting eight times over the past six seasons.

Marion is 7-1 during that stretch including a 77-61 win over the Clippers this season back on February 1 in Marion.

The Wolves have averaged 75 points in the past four meetings with Clear Creek Amana scoring 77 points in three of the last four meetings.

While Marion has had success winning up-tempo games against the Clippers in the past Clear Creek Amana is certainly comfortable playing at a fast pace.

Schrepfer and Swails combined for 41 points in the regular season meeting while the rest of the Clippers totaled just 20.

If Clear Creek Amana can get some scoring punch from the likes of seniors Gage Freeman, Grant Kruse and Harrison Rosenberg in Monday’s rematch they could be in for a trip to state.

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