Championship action begins at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines with the opening of the the girls state basketball tournament.The tournament tips-off with the quarterfinal round in Class 1-A when a couple of tournament veterans collide in the opener at 10-a.m. Top-ranked and defending champion Springville brings in a 22-2 mark and takes on a Burlington-Notre Dame team that is making its fifth straight appearance in the tournament.

After that, it’ll be sixth-ranked Bellevue-Marquette Catholic against number seven Kingsley-Pierson at 11:45-a.m. Turkey Valley was last year’s runner-up and enters this season ranked second at 21-2 and goes up against ninth ranked and undefeated Janesville at 1:30-p.m.. The 1-A opening round concludes with third-ranked Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton (23-1) against number eight, Sidney (23-1).

You can hear that game this afternoon on KJAN. Pre-game coverage starts at 2:15 with the tip-off slated for about 3:15-p.m.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Kolten Wong is still bothered by a right shoulder injury from a tumble he took while playing left field last September at Wrigley Field. The St. Louis Cardinals second baseman said Saturday he’s been dealing with “tenderness” in the shoulder. He received a cortisone shot in the shoulder at the end of the season, and the right-handed thrower didn’t pick up a ball until January.

Boys Basketball Scoreboard Saturday, February 25, 2017

Class 2A Substate Finals
2A Substate 7 Championship
Van Meter 73, A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 53
2A Substate 8 Championship
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 67, Alta/Aurelia 49

Class 1A Substate Finals
1A Substate 7 Championship
Grand View Christian 86, Southwest Valley 45
1A Substate 8 Championship
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 73, Ar-We-Va, Westside 71

The AHSTW Vikings boys basketball team had a turnaround season to remember. The Vikings turned a 10-11 record in 2015-16 into a season that ended Saturday night with a 21-3 record. The Vikings fell to the Van Meter Bulldogs 73-53 in the Class 2A Substate 7 Final on Saturday night at Atlantic High School.

Van Meter played a patient offensive game and got solid minutes from a lot of players in the win. The game was back and forth early until Van Meter took the lead by 3 at the end of the first quarter and would continue to build their lead the rest of the night. The Bulldogs were up 7 at the break but then used a 28-10 third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Vikings.  Four players finished in double figures for Van Meter: Mitchell Pomeroy led with 16, Jack Trudo with 13, Ryan Schmitt 12, and Grant Johnson 10.  Schmitt and Johnson were two 6-8 post players that the Vikings had some trouble keeping off the glass as well, Schmitt finished with 10 boards.

AHSTW was led in the loss by RJ Harris with 18 points. Preslyn Grobe dropped in 14 and Rhett welsh had 10 in the final game for the two Seniors.

Van Meter will now head to the 2A State Tournament with a 23-1 record.

Listen to a complete postgame interview with AHSTW Head Coach GG Harris below.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – Freshman Jordan Bohannon scored a career-high 24 points, hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers to help Iowa breeze past fading No. 24 Maryland 83-69 Saturday night.

Tyler Cook had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (16-13, 8-8 Big Ten), who improved to 2-7 on the road this season. Iowa led by seven at halftime and erased any shred of suspense by taking a 16-point lead with 10:28 remaining.

The Hawkeyes went 16 for 26 beyond the arc in avenging a home loss to Maryland on Jan. 19.

Bohannon came in averaging 9.2 points per game and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. Cook, who’s also a freshman, scored only eight points in the first meeting between the teams.

Kevin Huerter scored 13 points for Maryland (22-7, 10-6). Since opening 20-2, the Terrapins have lost five of seven and three in a row.

Eager to rebound from a home loss to Minnesota, the Terrapins came out flat against an Iowa team that had beaten only Rutgers on the road.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Deonte Burton scored 22 points, including a crucial 3 with 1:17 left, and Iowa State beat No. 9 Baylor 72-69 on Saturday for its fifth straight win. Monte Morris had 17 points with seven assists for the Cyclones (19-9, 11-5 Big 12), who have their longest winning streak in league play since a seven-game stretch in 2005.

It was a back-and-forth matchup for over 30 minutes, with nine lead changes and 13 ties. But consecutive 3s from Donovan Jackson and Morris gave Iowa State a 56-51 lead with 6:50 left. Johnathan Motley made it 62-61 on a dunk with 1:48 to go. But with the shot clock about to expire, Burton banked in a 3 from the top of the key.

Baylor, which followed with a turnover forced by Iowa State pressure, eventually pulled within 71-69 with 4.3 seconds left before King McLure’s contested 3 at the buzzer failed to find the rim. Motley had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor (23-6, 10-6).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donte Thomas scored 22 points to match his career high and grabbed 12 rebounds as Bradley completed its regular season with an 82-74 win over Drake and clinched the No. 6 seed into the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Saturday afternoon.

The victory, coupled with Missouri State’s loss to Wichita State, left the Braves and tied in the conference standing. Bradley’s better RPI ranking earned it the tie-breaking edge to claim the higher seed.

Bradley (12-19, 7-11) never trailed in the game, but Drake tied the game twice in the first half and again at 48-48 with 11:01 left to play in the game, but the Braves always answered. Thomas posted a double-double for the fourth time this season and grabbed nine of his 12 rebounds off the offensive glass. Darrell Brown added 15 points for Bradley (12-19, 7-11).

Graham Woodward put up a season-high 22 points for Drake (7-23, 5-13). De’Antae McMurray added 15 points.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — MiKyle McIntosh scored 15 points, Paris Lee and Keyshawn Evans scored 14 apiece and Illinois State won a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title for the first time in 19 years with a 63-42 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The Redbirds (25-5, 17-1), who share their first title since 1997-98 with Wichita State, led 30-25 at halftime before shooting a blistering 65 percent (13 of 20) in the second half, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

McIntosh hit 7 of 9 shots and Lee had eight rebounds and four assists. Jordan Ashton had 13 points for Northern Iowa (14-15, 9-9), which enters next week’s conference tournament in St. Louis as a top four seed for the ninth-straight year. Illinois State received the top seed over the Shockers based on RPI.

The Redbirds closed the game on a 15-2 run, making seven straight shots before missing their last one while the Panthers missed their last six shots.

w/ Chris Parks

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The AHSTW boys basketball team will play for a trip to the state tournament tonight against Van Meter in Atlantic.  The Vikings have had a great season with a 21-2 record, a major improvement on their 10-11 record a year ago.  They’ll take on a very tough Van Meter team that is 22-1 on the year.

The Vikings have been led by Junior RJ Harris, the younger brother of Head Coach GG Harris, with 18 points per game this season. Senior Rhett Welsh is also averaging in double figures with 14 points per game.  The Vikings are averaging a blistering 74 points per game.

The Van Meter Bulldogs have been led by three players averaging double figures: Blake Fryer and Ryan Schmitt with 11, and Mitchell Pomeroy averaging 10 per outing. The Bulldogs have put up 65 points per game and suffered their only loss of the year against Pella Christian.

Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call of the game on KJAN from Atlantic High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm and we’ll pick up coverage immediately following the Iowa at Maryland men’s basketball game.