Western Dubuque's Hunter Westhoff (52, left) shoots a basket past Mount Pleasant's Henry Kreiger-Coble (22) as the falls to the court in the first half of their 3A quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
DES MOINES - Austin Marshall had his prayer answered and left Western Dubuque with none.
The Mount Pleasant forward beat the buzzer with a hurried 3-pointer from well past the top of the key that gave his team a bigger halftime cushion and the necessary juice to go on to a 60-50 Class 3A state tournament quarterfinal win Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
It wasn’t exactly planned, but it worked.
“It was a big shot,” agreed Marshall. “I didn’t think it was going in. It was the best feeling ever. It got the crowd into it, the whole team was back into it. We were confident (after that).”
The 6-foot-5 wing appeared to be brimming with confidence the entire game, considering he went off for 28 points, four treys, as Mount Pleasant (22-1) lived up to its top ranking and seed. No question Western Dubuque (19-6) played with the Panthers, but it simply could never get over the hump.
Thanks in part to Marshall’s timely shot, which extended MP’s halftime lead from two to five and its momentum meter well past 10.
“That could have been the difference (in the game),” agreed fine WD forward Zach Otting, who had 23 points. “It was a two-point game, and he hit that and they had the momentum from there on. That was a big shot, unfortunately for us.”
“Yeah, that hurt a lot,” said Western Dubuque Coach Dennis Geraghty. “We had a pretty good defensive set going there, and instead of going in down two, we’re down five. But to our credit, we battled like crazy.”
It’s conceivable you could see this matchup at next year’s state tournament, too, considering Mount Pleasant started five juniors and Western Dubuque two juniors and two sophomores. The Bobcats will graduate 6-foot-8 center Derrick Pape (who had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks), but that’s about it.
Western Dubuque made just its second state tournament appearance Tuesday.
“We can only hope. We’d like to get another shot at them,” Otting said. “We’re both two young teams. Hopefully we can rebuild and come back next year.”
Don't use abusive, offensive, threatening, racist, vulgar or sexually-oriented language.
Don't attack someone personally. Keep it civil and be responsible.
Share Knowledge
Be truthful. Share what you know and what you are passionate about.
What more do you want to learn? Keep it simple.
Stay focused
Promote lively and healthy debate. Stay on topic. Ask questions and give feedback on the story's topic.
Report Trouble
Help us maintain a quality comment section by reporting comments that are offensive. If you see a comment that is offensive, or you feel violates our guidelines, simply click on the "x" to the far right of the comment to report it.
Commenting will be disabled on stories dealing with the following subject matter: Violent crime, sexual abuse, Amber Alerts, Operation Quickfinds and suicides.
Conversation Guidelines
Be Kind
Don't use abusive, offensive, threatening, racist, vulgar or sexually-oriented language.
Don't attack someone personally. Keep it civil and be responsible.
Share Knowledge
Be truthful. Share what you know and what you are passionate about.
What more do you want to learn? Keep it simple.
Stay focused
Promote lively and healthy debate. Stay on topic. Ask questions and give feedback on the story's topic.
Report Trouble
Help us maintain a quality comment section by reporting comments that are offensive. If you see a comment that is offensive, or you feel violates our guidelines, simply click on the "x" to the far right of the comment to report it.
read the full guidelines here »
Commenting will be disabled on stories dealing with the following subject matter: Violent crime, sexual abuse, Amber Alerts, Operation Quickfinds and suicides.
Most Popular >>