Des Moines Iowa — Jesse Jansma hit a jumper for the first points of the ball game and Western Christian never trailed on route to a 56-42 win over Kuemper Catholic in their first action at the 2A State boys basketball tournament in Des Moines.
With the win the Wolfpack are on to the semifinals on Thursday afternoon at 3:45 pm. We’ll bring you the coverage on KIWA FM 105.3 with pregame at 3:30. #2 seed Western will take a 23-2 record into the game against #6 seed Anamosa. (21-5) Anamosa upset #3 seed Des Moines Christian 74-60 to advance to the semifinal round.
Western took a 13-11 first quarter lead and pushed that to a 27-19 halftime advantage. A Joey Horstman three with :04 seconds left at the third quarter put the Wolfpack up 42-34 going into the fourth quarter. Western would go on to win it 56-42.
Jesse Jansma led the offense with 14 points followed by Josh Van Lingen and Dustin Marra with 12 points each. Both had double-doubles as Van Lingen pulled down 14 rebounds while Marra had a dozen boards.
Kuemper had one player in double figures as Matt Dentlinger hit for 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double of his own. With the win Western improves to 23-2 on the year. The Knights end the year at 18-7.
Defense and rebounding helped Western Christian advance in class 2A. Despite shooting only 40 percent for the game the Wolfpack never trailed in 56-42 win over Carroll Kuemper.
That’s Western Christian coach Jim Eekhoff who also said Kuemper had a good defensive game plan.
Western is on to the Class 2A semifinals on Thursday where they square off against Anamosa at 3:45 pm.
