Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Matchups

No. 1 Norwalk (21-3) vs. Harlan (18-6)

Norwalk returns to the state tournament for the third consecutive season seeking its first state title following a runner-up finish a year ago.

The Warriors bring a 10-game winning streak into state tournament play as they attempt to return to the 3A title game after falling to Oskaloosa 48-44 in the championship game last season.

Norwalk is led by senior point guard Bowen Born who leads the state in scoring at 37.5 points per game and has the state single season scoring record within his reach this week.

Born is the fifth player in state history to score 900 points in a season and needs to score 103 points at the state tournament to break the record for most points in a single season set by Brooks McKowen of Wapsie Valley in 2003.

Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-4 senior, has been the top running mate for Born this season averaging 14.7 points and a team-high 6 rebounds per game.

Harlan is making its first state tournament appearance since 2014 and will attempt to stretch its opening-round winning streak at state to 11.

The Cyclones qualified for the state tournament 10 times between 1998 and 2014, winning their opening round contest in each of those trips while reaching the title game six times.

Harlan hasn’t lost a state tournament opener since 1984.

Getting past the opening round will be no easy chore for Harlan this season but the Cyclones enter winners of six of their last seven games.

Half of the six losses for Harlan this season have come to out of state or Class 4A competition with the other three losses coming to 3A qualifier Ballard and ranked 3A opponents Glenwood and Carroll.

Senior Connor Bruck leads a trio of Harlan double digit scorers with 17 points per game while Michael Heithoff and Johnathan Monson each average 11.7 per game.

Center Point-Urbana (18-6) vs. Ballard (18-6)

Just as expected the four vs. five seed matchup on the 3A bracket features a pair of teams dead even on paper.

Center Point-Urbana secured its second ever state tournament trip and first since 1996 with a 78-70 triple overtime win over seventh-ranked Marion in the substate final.

The Stormin’ Pointers will seek to add another chapter to their historic season with their first ever win at the state tournament.

Center Point-Urbana opened the season with back-to-back losses to Marion and Class 4A Liberty High during a 2-3 start to the season but has won 16 of 19 since with two of those losses coming to 3A qualifiers Mount Vernon and Clear Creek Amana.

Senior Kole Tupa is the lone player scoring in double digits for Center Point-Urbana, averaging 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while senior Caleb Andrews adds 9.4 points per game.

Ballard returns to the state tournament for the second consecutive season after being bounced by Norwalk in the first round 61-39 a year ago.

Like its opening-round opponent, Ballard started the season 2-3 with losses to state qualifiers Norwalk and Pella but has won 16 of its final 19 games.

The Bombers have won 10 of 11 entering state tournament play after a substate final win over fourth-ranked Clear Lake.

Ballard is 3-6 all time in state quarterfinals and is seeking its first trip to the state semifinals since 2005.

Junior Connor Drew leads the way for Ballard averaging 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while 6-foot-3 sophomore Ashton Hermann adds 15.8 points per game.

No. 2 Mount Vernon (22-2) vs. Clear Creek Amana (19-5)

The lone regular season rematch among the Class 3A quarterfinals should be one of the best opening-round games in any class this week as a couple of WAMAC rivals hook up on the state’s biggest stage.

Clear Creek Amana opened the season with back-to-back losses and was 4-3 at the holiday break but has won 15 of its last 17 including a 79-66 win over third-ranked Davenport Assumption in the substate final.

The second of the back-to-back losses to open the season was a 69-52 home loss to Mount Vernon back on December 6.

Clear Creek Amana is making its third ever state tournament appearance and first since the second of back-to-back trips in 1992 and 1993.

The Clippers feature three players averaging in double figures and have six players averaging at least 5.8 points per game.

Junior Christian Withrow averages a team-high 15.8 points per game while seniors Tyler Schrepfer (11.5) and Nick O’Connor (11.1) each score in double figures.

Mike Potter is averaging 8.9 points per game but has scored in double figures four straight games while averaging 15 points per game over that span.

Mount Vernon is making its fifth ever trip to state and its first appearance since winning the Class 2A title in 2012.

The Mustangs haven’t won a game at the Class 3A state tournament since reaching the semifinals in 2003.

Mount Vernon lost games to Dyersville Beckman and Marion during a stretch of three games in four days in January but hasn’t lost since, rattling off 13 straight including a 52-50 win over Central DeWitt in the substate final.

Junior Keaton Kutcher leads the Mustangs with 20 points per game while senior Noah Erickson averages 13.9 points per game.

Senior Derek Jordan adds 9.3 points per game, on 70 percent shooting, and leads Mount Vernon with 7 rebounds per game.  

No. 10 Pella (19-5) vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (14-10)

A couple of programs familiar with the state tournament meet up in the opening round with the winner earning their first trip to the semifinals since 2017.

Pella returns to the state tournament for the first time since making three consecutive appearances from 2015 to 2017.

The Dutch were runner-up in their last trip to 2017 and reached the semifinals in 2016.

All five losses for Pella this season have been by five points or less.

Pella has a pair of losses to Class 4A Indianola by a combined seven points as well as one-point losses to state qualifiers Norwalk and Pella Christian.

Senior Logan Shetterly leads a trio of double digit scorers for the Dutch with 19.3 points per game while 6-foot-4 senior Treyton Sturgeon averages 15 points per game and John Oltman adds 12.8 per game.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton is the most experienced team in the 3A field, making its fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament.

The Warriors were runner-up in 2017 falling to Cedar Rapids Xavier in the title game and have lost in the opening round each of the past two seasons, falling 59-54 to Winterset in a quarterfinal last season.

Don’t be distracted by the losses. Sergeant Bluff-Luton reached the state tournament with nine losses in both 2017 and 2018 and annually faces a challenging schedule

This year the Warriors lost five straight early in the season and were 7-10 on February 4 before winning seven straight including a substate semifinal win over sixth-ranked Carroll to return to state.

Seven of the 10 losses have come to Class 4A or out of state competition.

The Warriors are led by its frontline of 6-8 senior Daniel Wright (14.8 points) and 6-7 junior Jake Layman (11 points) while senior guard Deric Fitzgerald adds 10.4 points per game.

The Players

CLEAR CREEK AMANA: Christian Withrow, 6-2, Jr., A versatile offensive weapon Withrow leads the Clippers in scoring at 15.8 points per game and steals (1.3) and ranks second on the team in rebounds (5.8) and assists (2.7).

PELLA: Logan Shetterly, 5-11, Sr., Leads the Dutch in scoring at 19.3 points per game while ranking ninth in Class 3A with 4.9 assists per game.

NORWALK: Bowen Born, 5-11, Sr., A Northern Iowa recruit, Born leads the state in scoring at 37.5 points per game while shooting 56 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line.

CENTER POINT-URBANA: Kole Tupa, 6-5, Sr., WAMAC West Division player of the year leads the Stormin’ Pointers with 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

MOUNT VERNON: Keaton Kutcher, 6-2, Jr., The ninth highest scorer in 3A this season with 20 points per game and ranks third in 3A with 75 3-pointers.

SERGEANT BLUFF-LUTON: Daniel Wright, 6-8, Sr., Wisconsin quarterback recruit averages team-highs in points (14.8), rebounds (10) and assists (3.6).

HARLAN: Connor Bruck, 6-0, Sr., The top scorer for Harlan at 17 points per game, Bruck averaged 27.3 per game in three substate wins including 41 in a semifinal win over No. 9 Glenwood.

BALLARD: Connor Drew, 6-6, Jr., A 40-percent 3-point shooter, Drew leads Ballard with 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

The Favorite

Top-ranked Norwalk possess everything it takes to enter as the favorite.

The Warriors have experience on the big stage after a runner-up finish last season, momentum with a 10-game winning streak and perhaps most importantly the most dynamic scorer in the state in Bowen Born.

Norwalk is 2-1 against 3A qualifiers splitting a pair of regular season games with third-seed and potential finals opponent Pella and defeating Ballard by 27 in its season opener.

The Underdog

In a Class 3A tournament that is as balanced from one to eight as any of the four state tournament fields this week picking a true underdog is no easy task.

However, keep an eye on sixth-seeded Sergant Bluff-Luton which has won seven in a row after sitting at 7-10 a month ago.

The Warriors have state tournament experience, an imposing front line and are battle tested by a challenging schedule.

The Darkhorse

As the seven seed Clear Creek Amana could fit the underdog role but the Clippers are simply playing too well to be overlooked.

Clear Creek Amana is as dangerous offensively as any team in the 3A field and enters the state tournament playing its best basketball of the season on both ends of the court.

The Clippers are averaging 76 points on 53 percent shooting during their current four-game winning streak and have had six different players scored double figures during that stretch.

The Focus

Bowen Born.

The Norwalk senior and Northern Iowa recruit has all but locked up the Mr. Basketball awards this season and will be among the top attractions at Wells Fargo Arena this week.

A dynamic scorer that averages a state-best 37.5 points per game, Born scored 55 in a game against Pella Christian earlier this season.

The 5-foot-11 senior is shooting 56 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the line.

Five Fast Facts

*- Norwalk senior guard Bowen Born currently ranks sixth all-time in state history in scoring with 2,411 career points.

*-Harlan senior guard Connor Bruck ranks fifth in the state in free throws made with 135 and is shooting 83 percent from the foul line. The Cyclones rank second in the state as a team with 528 trips to the free throw line.

*- The WAMAC conference has three state qualifiers with Center Point-Urbana, Clear Creek Amana and Mount Vernon all in the 3A field. In the past eight seasons nine different WAMAC teams have reached the 3A state tournament.  

*- Center Point-Urbana is the top defensive team in Class 3A this season holding opponents to just 40.4 points per game.

*- Clear Creek Amana is averaging 77 points per game during the postseason and scored at least 76 points in all three substate wins. Mount Vernon is holding teams to 50.3 points during the postseason and has allowed more than 68 points once in 24 games.

The Schedule

Tuesday’s Quarterfinals

Norwalk (21-3) vs. Harlan (18-6), 11:15 a.m. 

Center Point-Urbana (18-6) vs. Ballard (18-6), 1 p.m. 

Mount Vernon (22-2) vs. Clear Creek Amana (19-5), 2:45 p.m. 

Pella (19-5) vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (14-10), 4:30 p.m. 

Thursday’s Semifinals

Norwalk/Harlan winner vs. Center Point-Urbana/Ballard winner, 2 p.m. 

Mount Vernon/Clear Creek Amana winner vs. Pella/Sergeant Bluff-Luton winner, 3:45 p.m. 

Friday’s Championship

Semifinal winners, 6:35 p.m. 

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