Iowa City Regina boys basketball senior Emmett Burke stripped the ball away from an Aplington-Parkersburg player and raced down the other end as time winded down in the first quarter of the Class 2A state quarterfinals.
Burke beat the clock and converted a layup as the buzzer sounded. That sequence pushed Regina’s lead to 15, a double-digit cushion that the Regals maintained over the next three quarters.
No. 3 Regina eased past No. 6 Aplington-Parkersburg (22-4) with a 76-54 win on Wednesday, March 11, in the Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament at Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
“We definitely wanted to jump on them early,” said Regina junior Tate Wallace. “You come to Casey’s Center, everybody’s getting used to conditions and the hoops, but we were there our freshman year and so we were used to it. I felt like we shot well from the field early.”
By how fast Regina seized control, you couldn’t tell that the Falcons were riding a 12-game winning streak into the state tournament. The Falcons stood no match for what the Regals cooked up down low and on defense.
Wallace opened the game with a shot in the paint before Will Litton completed his own attempt down low. Miles Nuzback splashed a 3-pointer and Litton completed the 9-0 run with another inside bucket. The Falcons managed to break their dry spell with a layup, but Nuzback drained his second shot from deep that kept the Falcons at bay.
The Falcons were limited to 12 points in the first.
“We were getting stops and we weren’t fouling, then it turned into a free throw game,” said Regina coach Paul Rundquist. “I think they shot like 25 free throws, which isn’t what we’re wanting, but I thought defensively we had a good game plan coming in.
“I thought we got out and got some transition baskets, which was important, and took care of the basketball when we needed to.”
With Burke’s buzzer-beater, the Regals went up 27-12 — a lead that ballooned to 42-21 by halftime.
The Regals, who were up as many as 25 points in the second, but were outscored, 21-17, in the third frame. The Falcons tried to chip away at Regina’s lead, but the Regals’ game plan remained strong.
The Regals held a 57-42 lead while they went on a fastbreak with five seconds left in the third. After a missed shot bounced off the rim, Ben Wade used his 6-foot-9 frame to tip the ball in at the buzzer and close out the quarter with a comfortable margin.
Regina kept its double-digit lead intact over the final eight minutes. It marked the seventh time this season that the Regals scored over 70 points in a game. The Falcons were limited to 54 points, their second-lowest scoring total this season.
The Regals dominated the inside with 44 points down, while the Falcons only managed 16 near the hoop. Regina shot an impressive 60.8% from the field as a team.
“That’s a focus of ours, is to get the ball inside,” Rundquist said. “We’ve got size and not just height. We play physical. They like to play that way, so I think that’s been our advantage all season is just trying to get the ball inside and move it side to side, play inside-out.”
Three players scored in double digits for the Iowa City team. Litton led Regina with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Wallace turned in 18 points and three rebounds. Wade finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
Litton, Nuzback and Drew Greve each supplied four assists each.
Perhaps the most complete group assembled during Rundquist’s tenure at Regina, this season’s team has embraced everything that makes basketball exciting. From the camaraderie to their school pride, these Regals have orchestrated a 23-1 campaign that has them two wins away from a state championship.
March 11 marked Regina’s first state tournament win since 2015, the first act of what they hope is a strong run in the state tournament. The Regals will face No. 2 Unity Christian in the 2A state semifinals on Thursday, March 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Regina tops Aplington-Parkersburg in Iowa state basketball quarterfinals
Reporting by Marc Ray, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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