DES MOINES — With its season hanging in the balance, two unlikely players steadied Sioux City East with some clutch 3-point shooting Wednesday.

Junior Quenton James matched his season total in 3-pointers with back-to-back treys in the final 4:21, and senior Alex Kleene's 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining gave the Black Raiders the lead for good in a 51-43 Class 4-A state quarterfinal win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Wells Fargo Arena.

East dug itself out of an early 15-2 hole, and then outscored Jefferson 13-2 in the final 2:32 for the win. However, East coach Jeff Vanderloo wasn't thrilled with his team's play.

“We were awesome, weren't we?” he said sarcastically. “I'd say that first quarter was probably the worst that we've played all season long. Maybe it was us, maybe it was them, but whatever it was, it was good to see us overcome that.”

The prize for fifth-seeded and sixth-rated East (21-3)? A date with defending 4-A champion Ames (25-0), which is rated fourth in the nation by USA Today and first in Iowa, and features the nation's top-rated player in North Carolina recruit Harrison Barnes.

“It's quite an honor, and if you could knock them off, it's something to tell the whole state of Iowa,” Vanderloo said. “We're excited about it. I'm not telling you we're winning. I'm telling you we're going to bring it.”

On Wednesday, East brought it just long enough to reach the semifinals.

The Black Raiders trailed the entire second half until the 6-foot-1 James drained a 22-footer with 4:21 left to put his team up 37-36.

Taylor Olson's layup put Jefferson ahead 41-38 with 2:32 to play, but James answered with another trey to tie the game with 2:22 left.

James, a prolific football receiver who had 65 catches for 910 yards last season, had made just 2 of 5 from 3-point range while carrying a 3.1 scoring average into the game.

“Quenton believes in himself,” Vanderloo said. “He's one athletic dude. You ought to see the havoc he creates in practice some days. We lost two games without him, and that really hurt us. He makes some things go. Once in a while they're bad, but most of the time they're good.”

Tyler Meiborg made 1 of 2 free throws to put Jefferson back up one. Then the 6-foot Kleene, who averages 4.4 points a game, found himself open straight away, about 23 feet from the basket. He didn't hesitate.

Swish.

“I would say the last eight games, he's been probably one of the best shooters around,” Vanderloo said. “He's really in a good groove.”

Kleene said he didn't realize how far out he was on the court on such a critical possession.

“I just saw I was wide open,” he said. “I felt like I was at the top of the key.”

Kleene followed with two free throws to put East ahead 46-43 with 1:17 left. After a Jefferson miss, Jordan Thomas split a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game with 40 seconds to go.

The J-Hawks didn't score again.

Adam Woodbury, East's promising 6-11 sophomore center, finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Quinton Behlers added 10 points. Meiborg led Jefferson with 13 points, 10 more than his average.

Woodbury said he's excited to challenge Ames, a team many already are calling the best Iowa team ever.

“(If) we're the Cinderella story of the tournament, I'll be fine with that,” he said.

Sioux City East (21-3)......................6 16 8 21—51

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (18-5).......................15 11 8 9—43

• SCE: Jordan Thomas 0-8 3-4 3, Alex Kleene 1-2 2-2 5, Quinton Behlers 3-7 3-4 10, Adam Woodbury 7-8 3-5 17, Jeff Sponder 2-3 0-0 4, Quenton James 3-5 1-2 9, Ben Moes 1-2 1-2 3, Jordan Menard 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Krantz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-35 13-19 51.

• CRJ: Teyshawn Campbell 0-2 2-2 2, Joby Frey 1-5 0-2 3, Taylor Olson 5-8 2-3 12, Alec Saunders 1-4 0-0 2, Jarrod Uthoff 4-11 2-3 11, Mike Rooney 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Meiborg 4-9 3-6 13, Logan Ruffridge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-39 9-16 43.

• 3-point goals: SCE 4-10 (James 2-3, Kleene 1-2, Behlers 1-4, Thomas 0-1), CRJ 4-11 (Meiborg 2-4, Frey 1-3, Uthoff 1-3, Campbell 0-1). Total fouls: SCE 17, CRJ 21. Fouled out: Olson, Saunders. Technical fouls: none. Rebounds: SCE 26 (Sponder 8), CRJ 25 (Frey, Uthoff 7). Assists: SCE 12 (Kleene 6), CRJ 5 (Campbell 2, Uthoff 2). Steals: SCE 4 (four with 1), CRJ 3 (three with 1). Turnovers: SCE 14, CRJ 13.

Contact the writer:

444-1055, kevin.white@owh.com

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