ihsaa recaps
Basketball Great opening rounds lead to surreal Finals Friday as COVID-19 crisis clears arena DES MOINES, Iowa – A thrilling and action-packed state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena gave way to crisis concerns as the coronavirus (COVID-19) canceled sporting events around the world as Iowa high school boys' basketball wrapped up its 2019-20 season from March 9-13. An excellent quarterfinal round led a semifinal round that would ultimately be overshadowed by off-the-court news of other professional and collegiate events ending early because of the virus. The 32 state qualifiers and four eventual champions played on, eventually in front of restricted crowds for the finals on Friday. All entrants were limited and walked into a quiet arena (see P. 19) for free for what is usually the most crowded day of the basketball season, including just 100 attendees (players and coaches included) per school. Despite the lack of usual buzz and the surreal emotions of concluding a basketball season as a global pandemic was starting its spread in Iowa, the eight finalists performed admirably well and posted the highest-scoring finals round since
Class 4A
Tournament Results
the state tournament moved to Wells Fargo Arena in 2006. Details from each class continue below. CLASS 4A The large-school class delivered drama as top-seeded Ankeny Centennial and two-time defending champion Cedar Falls escaped their quarterfinals by just two points each. Ankeny showed its potential early, ousting perennial power Iowa City, West on Wednesday morning behind a 41-point outburst from guard Braxton Bayless. The Hawks kept up their hot-shooting to top Cedar Falls, and eventually met a tall and talented Waukee squad in the final. The Warriors fiercely tried to rally on Friday night, pouring in 39 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn't keep Ankeny from winning its first state title since 1995. CLASS 3A Norwalk swallowed a painful defeat in the 2019 final
Class 3A
Tournament Results
Quarterfinals Waukee 58, North Scott, Eldridge 50 Ankeny Centennial 53, Davenport, North 51 Ankeny 68, Iowa City, West 54 Cedar Falls 64, Dowling Catholic, W.D.M. 62 Semifinals Waukee 68, Ankeny Centennial 62 Ankeny 71, Cedar Falls 57 Consolation Cedar Falls 65, Ankeny Centennial 58 Championship Ankeny 78, Waukee 70
Quarterfinals Norwalk 72, Harlan 37 Ballard 54, Center Point-Urbana 48 Clear Creek-Amana 59, Mount Vernon 45 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 58, Pella 43 Semifinals Norwalk 79, Ballard 61 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 55, Clear Creek-Amana 46 Consolation Clear Creek-Amana 76, Ballard 73 (OT) Championship Norwalk 70, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 68
All-Tournament Team Braxton Bayless, Ankeny (captain) Tucker DeVries, Waukee Landon Wolf, Cedar Falls Cody McCullough, Ankeny Centennial Payton Sandfort, Waukee
All-Tournament Team Bowen Born, Norwalk (captain) Tyler Johnson, Norwalk Tyler Schrepfer, Clear Creek-Amana Connor Drew, Ballard Daniel Wright, Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Class 4A: Ankeny
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Class 3A: Norwalk IHSAA Bulletin
