DES MOINES (AP) — Rock Valley had what it took to repeat in Iowa Class 1-A.
Jordan Dykstra and Marcus Heemstra dominated inside and guards Nic Bakker and Blake Kooima hit some key perimeter shots Friday night, leading the Rockets to a 68-51 victory over Calamus-Wheatland and their second straight 1-A title in boys basketball.
The 6-foot-9 Dykstra scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while the 6-9 Heemstra had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Rockets (26-2) won their fourth championship overall.
Bakker and Kooima each hit two 3-pointers. Bakker finished with 14 points and Kooima scored 10 to go with eight rebounds.
Ryan Powers led Calamus-Wheatland (22-6) — playing in the state tournament for the first time — with 25 points.
Powers finished with 74 points in three tourney games to lead the 1-A field and was voted captain of the all-tournament team.
And it was Powers who kept his unranked team hanging around for just over a half.
The Warriors trailed the third-ranked Rockets 30-25 at halftime and were down just 35-29 after Powers stole the ball and zipped in for a layup with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
Kooima, scoreless in the first half, then made his second 3-pointer of the quarter and Rock Valley took off, stringing together 16 straight points to open a 51-29 lead.
Dykstra made three layups in that stretch — two on passes from teammates and the other after grabbing a loose ball and dropping it through the hoop. Heemstra added a bucket and three free throws, and Bakker capped the surge with a layup.
A 10-2 fourth-quarter run that included dunks by Dykstra and Heemstra stretched the lead to 66-38, and Rock Valley coach Heath Swanson pulled his starters shortly thereafter.
He sent them back in after Powers' driving layup cut the lead to 66-50 with 1:54 to play, drawing boos from the Calamus-Wheatland fans.
The starters went to the bench for good in the final minute.
Dykstra originally committed to play basketball at Iowa State but changed his mind and joined Heemstra in signing with South Dakota State.
With no Calamus-Wheatland player taller than 6-5, Rock Valley outrebounded the Warriors 39-22.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds