Day one is in the books at the Boys State Basketball Tournament as all four 3A first round games were played and two 4A games were played.
We have been creating several Shows on the Dr. Bowser Basketball Podcast on all four classes.
Class 3A Quarterfinals
Ballard 70, Gilbert 40 – The Bombers got up on Gilbert early and ran away with an easy victory. They looked like the Number One seed from the opening tip. Jude Gibson led the Bombers with 20 and his speed on the court on both ends tore Gilbert apart.
Carroll 50, Pella 49. Carroll and Pella played the closest game of the day. Jared Mohr had 17 to lead Carroll, and Jack McGuire had 24 in the comeback that fell just short for the Dutch on 10 – 14 shooting. Both teams struggled mightily from 3 with Carroll going 3 for 19 and Pella shooting 3 for 18.
ADM 68, Xavier 59 Hudson Lorensen (Upper Iowa Commit) put on a show with 34 to lead ADM. His grandfather the legendary PCM boys basketball coach is going into the Iowa High School Hall of Fame this weekend and he put on a show to honor his grandpa.
Storm Lake 68, Solon 60 This was an uneven opening game as the Tornadoes won in overtime. Jaidyn Coon led Storm Lake with 20 points on 6-16 shooting, and Solon struggled shooting only 34% from the field with Tate McCollum going 3 for 18 in a tough shooting day. Somehow, Solon stayed in the contest with grit, but in the end, the Tornadoes advanced.
Class 4A Quarterfinals
Dowling Catholic 63, Dubuque Senior 45 Most of our team was off in this game predictions as Dowling led comfortably from start to finish. Dubuque Senior had a stellar 21-2 record coming in but without these teams facing each other or many common opponents it was hard game to read. Dowling made a statement for themselves and the CIML in a game they dominated. Kolee and Crane were dominate inside and Martens was solid taking care of the ball and adding guard scoring. Dowling took care of the ball with only 6 TO’s and got good looks.
As an SGI team with our predictions we had a strong day on every game except the below.
We underestimated the Maroons…by a lot. They were dominating.
Cedar Falls rolled and made it look easy. They got up early, and this game was never in doubt. Will Gerdes Dominated Inside on 13-14 shooting for 28 points and 15 rebounds. Jaidyn Kimbrough had 28 on 8-14 shooting. Jake Paregon had 30 and left it all on the floor for Urbandale.
Of the Winning Teams only ADM was solid from distance
ADM was more than solid from deep at 43.5% but most of the teams struggled on the day shooting the 3.
Looking ahead in 3A ADM and Storm Lake looks interesting. The variance from game one to game two is often big at state, but ADM looked like they should be favored in the semifinals.
Carroll battled and gutted out a good win today over Pella, but Ballard looked like the number one team and has size and speed that will be a tough matchup for Carroll.
If those predictions come to fruition, the ADM vs. Ballard game will be a great one and bring alot of local fans to the Casey’s Center for the game.
All five of our preview shows (All classes have their own prediction) are on Spotify, Apple and YouTube at Sports Guys Iowa.
Day 2 has some big games with 2 4A games in the morning and all four 1A games in the afternoon and evening.
We appreciate your support and comments.
