Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The boys basketball postseason got rolling last week with Class 1A and 2A teams tipping this off. 

On Monday the big schools hit the court for the first time in postseason play with Class 3A and 4A opening round substate games taking place across the state.

The ultimate goal for every team taking the court this week is to secure a spot at the state tournament that runs from March 9-13 at Wells Fargo Arena.

As the postseason really gets rolling for Your Prep Sports here are five things to keep an eye on between now and March 3 when the final spots at the state tournament are decided with 4A substate finals.

A Decade of Trips to Des Moines  

In the first postseason this decade West High will be seeking to stretch its string of state tournament appearances to double digits.

West High has reached the 4A state tournament each of the past nine seasons, advancing to the title game six times and winning four championships during that stretch.  

The road to a 10th straight state tournament doesn’t take the fifth-ranked Trojans far from home.

West High (19-2) hosts the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal between Burlington and Ottumwa on Friday with the Substate 5 final set for March 3 at Liberty High.

Davenport Central (15-6) is the second seed and the favorite to meet West High in the substate finals for a second consecutive season.

West High defeated Davenport Central 72-46 in the substate final last season at Muscatine.

Lightning Looking For Postseason Push

There may not be a more dangerous 9-12 team in the state than Liberty High.

The Mississippi Valley Conference schedule is always daunting but Stu Ordman’s crew has run the MVC gauntlet this season with road games against top-end conference teams Waterloo West, Cedar Falls, Dubuque Hempstead, Cedar Rapids Prairie, West High and Dubuque Senior.

A slate like that will toughen any crew and the Lightning are hoping the payoff for a rugged regular season comes in the postseason.

Half of the 12 losses for Liberty High have come by five or fewer points, including a pair of overtime losses, and all but four of the losses for the Lightning have been by single digits.

Liberty High hosts Clinton (3-18) in its Substate 4 opener on Monday and then has a daunting but familiar road ahead.

Dubuque Hempstead (14-7) awaits the quarterfinal winner and two-time defending Cedar Falls is the top seed and a likely opponent in the Substate final at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

Liberty High lost at Hempstead 69-66 in overtime last month and fell at fourth-ranked Cedar Falls 63-51 on January 14.

Clear Creek Amana and Solon Take 2

There is business to take care of first in the form of opening-round matchups with Keokuk and Fort Madison but a rematch between the two WAMAC conference rivals is a possibility in the semifinals of Class 3A, Substate 5.

Solon (7-14) closed the regular season with back-to-back wins including a 62-53 upset of Clear Creek Amana in its regular season finale.

The Spartans face a stiff test in their Substate opener against Keokuk (15-7) in the first game of a Monday double header at Clear Creek Amana.

Clear Creek Amana (16-5) is fresh off a win over Benton Community that locked up its first conference crown since 2001 and hosts Fort Madison (6-15) in the nightcap on Monday.

The Clippers can get to a substate final without leaving home, hosting the Solon/Keokuk winner in a semifinal on Thursday with an opening round win.

Third-ranked Davenport Assumption (17-4) is the top-seed in Substate 5 with the final set for March 2 in Muscatine.

West Branch Two Wins Away

An opening-round bye and a 50-37 win over Mediapolis last Thursday has West Branch (18-4) two wins away from a historic trip to the state tournament.

The road to Des Moines won’t be easy for the Bears.

Up first is a Class 2A, District 10 title game matchup with West Burlington (13-8) on Tuesday in Washington. West Burlington is coached by former Regina athletic director Ryan O’Hern.

A win over West Burlington would likely set up a rematch with sixth-ranked Camanche (19-3) in the Substate 5 championship.

Camanche has been conference kryptonite for the Bears over the past several years handing West Branch season-ending losses two of the past three seasons.

The Indians are 6-0 against West Branch over the past four seasons including a substate final win in 2017 and a 61-60 district final victory last season.

Camanche defeated West Branch 79-54 in the regular season finale for both teams this year in a meeting of RVC division champs.

Numbers Game

Looking for a few players to keep an eye on in the postseason? Here are a few area players putting up impressive numbers along with a few players from opposing teams in substates and districts featuring area teams.

Even Brauns – The 6-foot-9 West High senior is averaging 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

Keshawn Christian – Explosive 6-foot-3 City High senior is putting up 15.9 points, and 7.7 rebounds per game

Andre Brandon – Liberty High’s 6-foot-5 swing man is averaging team-highs of 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game

Tyler Schrepfer – Clear Creek Amana senior point guard is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range (51-109) while averaging 11.5 points per game

Christian Withrow – The 6-foot-2 junior forward leads Clear Creek Amana in scoring (15 points per game), rebounding (5.7) and assists (2.9).  

Sean Peeters – A 6-foot-4 senior guard Peeters ranks fifth in 3A in scoring at 22.4 points per game while grabbing 8.9 rebounds per contest.

Michael Duax – 6-foot-5 Dubuque Hempstead junior is averaging 20.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

Emarion Ellis – A junior at Davenport Central the 6-foot-4 Ellis is averaging 17.9 points, 8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game

Caleb Delzell – One of three players averaging double figures for Camanche, the 6-foot-8 Delzell leads the Indians with 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.

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