Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament: Assumption, Waverly-Shell Rock to meet in Class 3A final
DES MOINES, IOWA – Davenport Assumption Catholic had to dig deep with star player Navon Shabazz having an off night. And that they did.
The fifth-seeded Knights were able to rally late to pull out a 61-53 overtime win over top-seeded Decorah in Class 3A semifinal Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena.
It sets up a matchup Friday night vs. Waverly-Shell Rock, which beat MOC-Floyd Valley in the late game.
Shabazz got in early foul trouble and was held scoreless until he sank two free throws with 5:06 left in the regulation. He finished with seven points.
Juniors Damyen Jackson and Kayvion Hodges picked up the slack though, combining for 43 points – 17.5 above their averages – as Jackson hit for a game-high 23 and Hodges 20 points.
Davenport Assumption's Damyen Jackson takes a shot against Decorah's Trey McCain during a Class 3A state tournament semifinal game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)
Assumption coach Joe Ewen was thrilled that Jackson and Hodges were able to pick up the slack with Shabazz having an off night but was still pleased with how Shabazz played.
“That’s what makes him so special,” Ewen said of his 3-star recruit, who recently received an offer from Iowa. “It wasn’t his night. We drew some plays up to try to get him going, and they still didn’t fall. He just kind of sat back and did other things, which makes him so special.
“Those other guys recognize that, and they understood that ‘hey I’ve got to pick up this end of it, and I’ve got to score a little bit more,’ which maybe isn’t their role. They did a nice job of picking the team up, and that’s what makes us good.”
Jackson knew Shabazz would be there when it mattered down the stretch where he had all his points.
“We trusted him the whole time, that he’ll hit one and keep getting him the same spots where he can score,” he said. “It was just a matter of trusting each other and the game plan coach drew up for us.”
Many expected a high-scoring affair between two teams that combined to average 140 points per game. Holding the Vikings, ranked 10th in SB Live’s all-class top 25, to 18 points below their average was a big factor.
“We all needed to do one job, and we did it,” said Hodges, who had a game-high 13 rebounds. “We just had to make good stops. Both teams played well defensively, but we just had a better game at the end.”
The Knights held Decorah to just 32.2 percent (19 of 59) shooting from the field and were able to convert 44.7 percent (21 of 47) of their opportunities.
Trey McCain led the Vikings with 18 points, but leading scorer Ben Bockman and Cael LaFrentz – son of former Kansas and NBA player Raef LaFrentz – were held to half their averages. Bockman finished with 10 points and the 6-foot-10 sophomore LaFrentz eight.
After a third quarter produced two ties and eight lead changes with the last being a banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer by Jackson to give Assumption a 34-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The floodgates suddenly opened when the two teams combined for 14 points in 57-second flurry where Decorah bombed in three 3-pointers – two by McCain from the left wing and one by Bockman from the top of the key – to lead 46-42. But Assumption was able to tie it back up when Thomsen made a free throw, followed by Jackson swishing a 3 from the right corner with 1:08 left in regulation.
Decorah was able to play for one shot after a foul, and Driscoll drove and missed a contested drive in traffic with 2 seconds left.
“We had a good look at it, but the shot didn’t fall,” Decorah coach Jonathan Carlson said. “Sometimes that’s basketball. Give Assumption a lot of credit. They’re obviously a good ball club. They made few more shots than we did, and that’s what it boils down to.”
Assumption outscored the Vikings 15-7 in overtime thanks to an 8-0 run. Decorah’s last field goal was with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter until Zachary Driscoll hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 7 seconds left in overtime. It was horrible timing for the Vikings to go ice cold.
“Give them credit. They rationed up the pressure,” Carlson said. “They had a runout the other way, and that just happens sometimes.”
“We wanna score in transition, but we can also sit down and defend teams, sit down in the half court and get a good set it,” Hodges said. “It just shows we can get it done in multiple ways.”
“We got some easy buckets off steals in transition,” Ewen said. “Then we really got some separation, Navon hit a big three and got some stops down the stretch which led to some easy buckets.”
Decorah ends its best-ever season with a 23-3 record. They’ll graduate every starter but LaFrentz.
“I’m just proud of our group,” Carlson said. “Our seniors – those guys have been a great group. It was the best season the school’s ever had so they have nothing to hang their heads about. Obviously, I wish we could be playing tomorrow, but sometimes that’s not in the cards.”
Meanwhile, the Knights, who are ranked 21st in SB Live’s all-class top 25 and ranked ninth by the IHSAA, improve to 18-8 heading into Friday’s state title game, which tips off at 5 p.m.
Go-Hawks outscore Dutchmen
Second-seeded Waverly-Shell Rock advanced to the state championship with a 76-66 victory over third-seeded MOC-Floyd Valley.
Both teams were red-hot shooting, but the Go-Hawks were sizzling. They shot 60.9 percent from the field, converting 28 of 46 shots and made half of their 24 3-point field goals.
Waverly-Shell Rock 6-foot-6 junior Luke Frazell and MOC-Floyd Valley’s Jesse Van Kalsbeek each poured in 31 points to share game-high scoring honors. Frazell hit on 12 of 14 shots and buried 5 of 7 3-pointers. Van Kalsbeek did his work inside the arc, going 15 of 20 and only missed two shots inside the 3-point stripe.
Waverly-Shell Rock's Luke Frazell chases down a loose ball against MOC-Floyd Valley during a Class 3A state tournament semifinal at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday. (Photo by Ryan Timmerman)
The Go-Hawks, ranked 15th in SB Live’s all-class top 25 and second in 3A by the IHSAA, also got 17 points from senior Noah Frazell and 15 from Cole Marsh. Benny Ramker chipped in with nine points and dished out four assists.
“We did a much better job (tonight) of moving the ball,” said Go-Hawk coach Nate Steege. “We were moving the ball and were kicking when the help came. We missed some of those the other night, and I thought we made almost all the right reads tonight. Our guys are unselfish, and when we play unselfishly, and we're making shots, we're pretty tough.”
“We were able to take advantage of some of the things they were trying to do to Luke and Noah in the triangle-and-two. Our execution was really good. Our guys just executed but again it really came down to the guys making plays. They just stepped up and made big plays when we needed them.”
Ahman Langton was the only other MOC-FV player to reach double digits with 12 points, and Owen Vander Pol contributed nine.
The Go-Hawks led by eight twice in the first quarter and increased it to 43-30 at halftime on a Noah Frazell 3-pointer with 5 seconds left. It shot a blistering 75 percent from the field in the second quarter, making 9 of 12 attempts.
The Go-Hawks increased the lead to 52-34 on a trifecta by Luke Frazell halfway through the third quarter and took a 55-42 advantage into the fourth.
The Dutchmen closed to within eight twice in the fourth quarter, but that was the closest they could get. Every time they made a rally, the Go-Hawks seemed to have an answer.
“Sometimes a team hits shots and you just have to keep working,” Van Kalsbeek said. “They shot the ball really well as a team. It’s frustrating. You just gotta keep working and contesting. But sometimes the ball goes in.”
The Go-Hawks move on to the play Davenport Assumption for the 3A title at 5 p.m. Friday.
“We’re gonna enjoy this one, but we’ll get to work as a coaching staff in the next couple of hours and get the best plan together we can for guys,” Steege said.
--Chris Short | @SBLiveIA
