(From IHSAA) DES MOINES – Cedar Falls can be sure its first championship was convincing.

The Tigers were facing off against defending champion and Mississippi Valley Conference rival Iowa City, West on Friday night, and instead of being unnerved by the occasion or competition, they led wire-to-wire in a 65-45 win at Wells Fargo Arena. Led by stellar senior A.J. Green, Cedar Falls jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening seconds on seven-time champion West (21-5) and never looked back. Green scored a game-high 24 points, including four made 3-pointers, and was named Class 4A’s All-Tournament Team captain for his three-game performance.

Top-seeded West struggled to cut into a six-point halftime deficit, with Cedar Falls taking a decisive in the large-school title matchup. The Tigers (21-5) also won the regular season meeting, 55-54, in front of their home crowd on Jan. 16. Patrick McCaffery scored 13 points to lead the Trojans. The 6-foot-8 junior forward was the only returning starter from his squad’s 2017 title team.

Logan Wolf and Ben Gerdes joined Green in double figures for the Tigers, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively. Coach Ryan Schultz’s squad shot 51 (74-of-145) percent in three games at Wells Fargo Arena this week.

West finished as runner-up for the third time in 10 title game appearances, including 2016’s loss to Valley, West Des Moines. Coach Steve Bergman is still third all-time in state championship victories and now holds the record for most consecutive state tournament appearances.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Seybian Sims, Iowa City, West

Logan Wolf, Cedar Falls

Noah Hart, Waukee

Joe Wieskamp, Muscatine

Patrick McCaffery, Iowa City, West

A.J. Green, Cedar Falls (captain)

(From IHSAA) DES MOINES – A state title is finally going back to Glenwood. In one of the most thrilling, noisy, and up-tempo championship games of the last decade, the Rams (25-2) escaped fellow first-time finalist Oskaloosa for a 66-62 win on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

A massive crowd took in the back-and-forth contest, as the lead changed 13 times and score was level 11 times before Glenwood had claimed their final advantage and made two late free throws to clinch the title. Oskaloosa and Glenwood were tied at halftime (38-38) and after the third quarter (51-51), so a tense finish felt right, and a flow of dunks, 3-pointers, and standout effort delivered.

Oskaloosa was led by Jarad Kruse’s 21 points, while Cole Henry added 16, and star sophomore Xavier Foster finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots in defeat. Oskaloosa’s seven previous visits to state never included a final, and four were from 1923-30. Coach Ryan Parker’s squad stood up to the environment, shooting a scorching 82 percent in the first quarter and 68 percent for the first half. They cooled after intermission, but still hit eight 3-pointers and had several rim-rattling finishes by Henry and Foster.

Glenwood’s win completed a program turnaround, as coach Curt Schulte brought a freshman class that appeared in Des Moines in 2015 full circle to Friday’s championship. Andrew Blum hit four 3-pointers and recorded a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds to earn All-Tournament Team captain honors. Christian Stanislav, Nate Mohr, and his freshman brother Ryan Blum all finished in double-digits scoring, too. After being down 20 points to Norwalk in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, raising up a title trophy was sweet for a group that raised their program and community on Friday.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Nate Mohr, Glenwood

Jarad Kruse, Oskaloosa

Matthew Mims, Xavier, Cedar Rapids

Xavier Foster, Oskaloosa

Andrew Blum, Glenwood (captain)

(From IHSAA) DES MOINES – Cascade, Western Dubuque has one of Iowa’s most storied basketball programs. Now, it finally has a Class 2A championship to go with its winning history. The sixth-seeded Cougars (26-1) knocked off previously unbeaten Treynor on Friday afternoon, using a second half scoring spurt and its trademark zone defense to win a 49-38 title game.

Treynor (26-1) was the 2015 champion and Cascade the 2016 runner-up in 2A. They had a close clash on Friday, including a 20-20 tie at halftime, and the game featured just two total fast break points. That pace favored Cascade, which set its 2-3 zone and allowed Treynor to make just 12 field goals in 32 minutes. Treynor’s usual top scorer, senior guard Dillon Faubel, was held to nine points, while Luke Clausen led the Cardinals with 20.

Cascade got double-digits scoring from Gannon O’Brien (12 points), Johnny Supple (11), and Haris Hoffman (10), the latter of whom was named All-Tournament Team captain. The program was making its 10^th appearance at the state tournament this week, but had not won the top prize until Friday under head coach Jacob Brindle. His predecessor, Al Marshall, ranks third in state history with 738 career victories at Cascade and Aquin Cascade over 47 seasons.

Treynor led 32-23 with 4:24 left in the third quarter, but more than halfway through the fourth quarter, found itself trailing 41-32. The untimely 18-0 run was too much to rebound from, and a loud celebration from the navy and gold side of Wells Fargo Arena erupted.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Luke Clausen, Treynor

Gannon O’Brien, Cascade

Carter Cuvelier, Aplington-Parkersburg

Dillon Faubel, Treynor

Haris Hoffman, Cascade (captain)

(From IHSAA) DES MOINES – North Linn got one last look at a state championship and perfect season. It just fell short, off the rim from 3-point range as time expired in Friday’s Class 1A title game, starting up a celebration from Grand View Christian for the second year in a row at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Thunder (25-1) slowed the pace in a 49-46 win, played excellent defense, and leaned on star center Issa Samake when it mattered most, repeating as champions in the Iowa’s small-school class. North Linn entered the contest averaging 91.5 points per game. It left frustrated, held to half that, on 32 percent shooting and unable to unleash its dangerous fast break attack.

North Linn’s engine Jake Hilmer racked up 17 points with six rebounds, six assists, and four steals in defeat, earning All-Tournament Team captain honors. Senior Ryan Miller, who shot the game’s last heave from the left wing on a side out-of-bounds play with two seconds remaining, added 15 points to the Lynx (28-1) cause.

The day belonged to Grand View Christian, as guard Grant DeMeulenaere played his most efficient game of the tournament with 21 points, and Samake threw down multiple impressive alley-oops in a 12-point, 18-rebound, four-block effort. The 6-foot-7 Samake was a difference-maker in the middle of a long zone defense, which North Linn struggled to penetrate, held to just 19 points in a slow first half.

The game was North Linn’s first appearance for the state title. Their closest game of this high-powered season was a 23-point margin in Wednesday’s semifinals against Don Bosco, Gilbertville. They were led by the state’s winningest coach, Bob Hilmer, and his son and co-coach, Mike. But their style was stymied on Friday, with Grand View becoming the first team to repeat in 1A since Boyden-Hull accomplished the feat in 2012-13.

Coach Dave Stubbs was the first head coach for the four-year-old program, which has now made three straight tournaments on its way to back-to-back titles.

CLASS 1A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Ryan Miller, North Linn

Issa Samake, Grand View Christian

Derrick Schorg, St. Mary’s, Remsen

Jack Kelley, Don Bosco, Gilbertville

Grant DeMeulenaere, Grand View Christian

Jake Hilmer, North Linn (captain)