Siouxland boys hit the hardwood for day one of the IHSAA state basketball tournament

DES MOINES, Iowa (KTIV) - It is March, which means it’s all about the madness at the Iowa Boys State Basketball Tournament. Remsen St. Mary’s is making their 7th consecutive trip, and in 2A, the runners-up of Central Lyon are back with a vengeance.

Remsen St. Mary’s would kick things off in Class 1A as they took on the #3 Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels. The Hawks weren’t letting the seeding talk get to them. The Rebels would start things off on a 9-2 run, but the Hawks would respond and tie things up at 26 at the half. They would continue the momentum in the second half and hold on for the win 57-47. Collin Homan finished with a team high 17 points, and Cael Ortmann also chipped in 11 to help lead the Hawks to the win.

“I tell them before every game. I said, ‘There’s no moment too big, too small. They’ve seen it all, done it all. And the beauty of playing multiple sports with these guys and having the success they’ve had. So I said when we were down, we didn’t get all over ourselves. We were able to fight back. And when we were up, we were able to hold a lead,” said Justin Ruden, Remsen St. Mary’s co-head coach.

“We’re just a big team. We all need to play our part and we’re going to need to do that to win every single game. So everyone plays a role on this team to get the dub,” said Jaxon Bunkers, Remsen St. Mary’s senior.

The Hawks advance on to the semifinals where they will face #2 North Linn on Wednesday.

Over to Class 2A, it was a battle of the Lions as top-seeded Central Lyon took on Des Moines Christian. Central Lyon would come out on fire. They got a lead early and continued building that momentum, going on to take the dominant win 74-41. Andrew Austin led the way for Central Lyon with a 21 point-14 rebound double-double and threw down a couple thunderous dunks during the course of the game.

“I told them the same thing I’ve told them every game. ‘Be where your feet are’ Right now our feet are here. Our feet were getting ready for a game. And so we needed to be in it mentally, in the moment, and our kids have done a great job,” said Ben Gerleman, Central Lyon head coach.

“It was good, we got the ball in every body’s hands. Players who normally don’t score as much scored. It was a good game to get the ball in everybody’s hands,” said Andrew Austin, Central Lyon senior.

The Lions will be back in action on Thursday in the Class 2A semifinals where they’ll face #4 Pella Christian.

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