Des Moines Iowa — South O’Brien will play for the State 1A boys basketball title on Friday night as they knocked off defending champ Gladbrook Reinbeck 65-56 in the semifinals Thursday afternoon. The title match up will come at 6:05 when they go against Council Bluffs St Albert who posted a 70-52 win over Britt West Hancock in the other 1A semifinal. The Wolverines take a 24-3 record as the 7th seed against St Albert the #8 seed with a record of 17-9. We’ll bring you the broadcast on KIWA FM 105.3 with pregame at 6:00 pm. We’ll stream from the website at www.kiwaradio.com.
South O’Brien opened with a 15-11 first quarter lead. They were up 33-27 at the half and led 46-38 at the end of the third quarter going on to win 65-56. The big edge was points in the paint with a 26-18 advantage for the wolverines and at the free throw line where they went 18-of-25. South O’Brien also shot a sizzling 57 percent for game and owned a 33-20 advantage on the glass.
That’s South O’Brien coach Kiley Yates. South O’Brien will bid for its first title on Friday night.
Balanced scoring for South O’Brien had Damon Struve with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Kyle Paulsen scored 15 points and Cameron Maxwell 11. Maxwell was extremely efficient with a 4-for-4 performance from the field and 3-of-4 from the line.
The Rebels were led by Joe Smoldt with 33 points in the contest followed by Tyler Pierce with 8 points.
It’s South O’Brien and Council Bluffs St Albert for the Class 1A boys basketball title Friday night with a 6:05 opening tip off.
