| powered by | |
|
|
CEDAR RAPIDS — They couldn’t get a bus, so didn’t arrive at Cedar Rapids Jefferson last night until about 6:10. That’s only 50 minutes before tipoff.
The rest of the evening for the Western Dubuque Bobcats didn’t go a whole lot better.
They couldn’t stop Jarrod Uthoff, though who can? They couldn’t stop Jefferson’s perimeter shooters.
Then they had their best player, Zach Otting, given a technical foul early in the third quarter that sent him to the bench via team rule for the rest of the game and all but assured Jefferson’s 60-50 win in a Class 4A substate semifinal.
“You’re finished for the night. That’s our rule, I’ve had it for 35 years,” veteran WD Coach Dennis Geraghty said. “They all know it. It’s very tough, very tough for Zach. But I can lose the team if I put him back in.”
A senior, Otting was averaging 20 points and already had 12 when whistled for kicking a Jefferson player as they struggled for a tied ball on the floor. Jefferson (16-5) was ahead at the time by double digits and probably had this one in the bag already, but that certainly cemented things.
The J-Hawks went on a telltale 14-0 run in the second quarter that broke a tie and all but sent them to a Tuesday night substate final against Waterloo West (9-14), a shocking winner over top-seeded Cedar Falls.
Jefferson won the lone regular-season game between the two by 30 points.
“We’ll see. Waterloo West is a tough team,” Uthoff said diplomatically. “That’s pretty crazy. I don’t even know what to say about it.”
Uthoff scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against a WD team whose tallest player was 6-foot-3. The 6-8 Wisconsin recruit showed off his versatility by hitting a pair of early 3-pointers that gave Jefferson an immediate lead.
The J-Hawks built as much as a 17-point second-half lead. Western Dubuque (17-6), which had a 10-game win streak snapped, didn’t quit and got as close as eight in the fourth quarter.
“This wasn’t our best performance,” said Jeff’s Alec Saunders, who added 11 points. “But it was enough to get us through.”
AT C.R. JEFFERSON
WESTERN DUBUQUE (50): Cameron James 0-4 5-6 5, Hunter Westhoff 1-3 1-1 3, Logan Pitz 2-8 6-13 10, Zach Otting 3-7 5-5 12, Sam Hoeger 2-5 1-2 7, T.J. Lake 4-9 0-0 10, Nick Lenstra 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Tuttle 1-2 0-0 3, Tyler McGovern 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Lembezeder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-39 18-27 50.
C.R. JEFFERSON (60): Alec Saunders 4-8 1-2 11, Jarrod Uthoff 8-15 9-11 27, Ky Kramer 3-5 0-0 6, Taylor Olson 1-9 2-2 5, Tyler Meiborg 3-8 1-4 8, Tyler Hemphill 1-1 0-0 3, Alex Denny 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 13-19 60.
Halftime — C.R. Jefferson 31, Western Dubuque 20. 3-point goals — Western Dubuque 6-21 (James 0-2, Pitz 0-3, Otting 1-3, Hoeger 2-5, Lake 2-6, Tuttle 1-2), C.R. Jefferson 7-17 (Saunders 2-4, Uthoff 2-4, Kramer 0-1, Olson 1-3, Meiborg 1-4, Hemphill 1-1). Rebounds — Western Dubuque 26 (James 6), C.R. Jefferson 34 (Uthoff 15). Total fouls — Western Dubuque 21, C.R. Jefferson 19. Fouled out — James. Turnovers — Western Dubuque 13, C.R. Jefferson 13.
13 Responses to Jefferson takes advantage of tough night for Western Dubuque
Tags
From the community
Local Life
Prep Pros Bloggers
Jeff Linder
Jeff Johnson
KJ PilcherPrep Sports Podcast
Home floor BS – refs cool things down and kill WD momentum so jeff can go on a run
Otting gets ejected for a kick. WTF!!!
CR pockets run deep!
great game tonight j-hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Home Court Yes…BS No. First Otting was not ejected. His coach took him out and kept im out. That is the fact. He could have played. Good for his coach for sticking to it. Otting commited foul after foul. He grapped a Jeff player and tossed him out of bounds. He grapped an ankle and tried to trip a player. He elbowed Ty Mieborg after half time for no reason. He was out of control and he would have been ejected for fighting anyway. What a hot head. He is a good player but he showed no class. Maybe WD should go back to 3A where they belong. You had no chance at all.
May be one of the worst reffed games i have been too. Otting was playing very well and that T that was given to him (which may have been the worst call Ive seen) was ridiculous
Otting wasn’t ejected he was sit down by his coach read the article. Jefferson had the game the whole night stop being sour because your team is done this season
Otting was not doing half of those things you just said. He did not elbow, cheap shot, or do any of those. He was playing hard in a big game and trying to help his team win. Jefferson players were getting in his shorts and being extremely rough with him all game (face guarding, not letting him go thru the lane or screens without being hit) which is not dirty by any means, but Otting was playing hard back and not being intimidated.
In my opinion it was a great game and Otting and Western Dubuque (which by looking at the program last night) had nobody over 6’3″) have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of
Here is another fact- WD coach has had that rule for 35 years? 35 years where- this coach has been the head coach at WD the last couple of years. Good job Jefferson- totally agree WD has no class. They get that from being praised running over the small schools they compete against, and then when having to play someone their own size can not handle it. That’s what happens when someone like Otting is put on the pedastal- he has played rough all season, and finally ran into some refs that were not willing to put up with. Good luck to Jefferson.
Otting throwing one of our kids to the floor after the whistle, I dont think thats condidered playing hard. All the parents and students of Jefferson seen it, happened right in front of them. He was playing dirty almost the entire game thats why he got a warning from the officials.
West Dubuque did not “run over the small schools”. Plain and simple, they just aren’t a good team.
Hey basketballfan what game did you watch Friday? Want to see Otting in action come see the film when the Jefferson booster club shows it. He lost his head. That is the hardest gyn=m to play in. Ask the Jeff players and the refs about his trash talking. He trash talked to the Jhawk bench. He was lucky he did not get into a fight. He may be a nice kid but on that night he showed not class. FYI the fouls called were 22-22, so pretty even. Hey Crhis Golton he grabbed at a player on the floor when he was trying to get up. He tripped him on purpose. When that call was made Jeff was leading by 9. Ddi you not see him yell at the Ref? What game did you watch?
Tman: WD Coach Dennis Geraghty has had stops at West Delaware and Dubuque Hempstead, among other places. A good coach and a good man.
Buddaggit and Tman: you speak as if WD had a choice in being moved to 4A. They play in a 3A conference (with perennial powers Solan, Marion, and Beckman, among others – all three are playing in substate finals). The IHSAA takes the biggest 48 schools to make up the 4A class and WD is tied for 48th with Norwalk but they lose the alphabetical tiebreaker. They have the size of a 3A school, not a 4A school, but still had a chance to beat “almighty” Jefferson and their classless fans with under 3 minutes to play.
Jefferson won a physical game, give them credit. But do not belittle a great WD team based on an overreaction by a player and a coach who sticks to his ethics. Have some tact and learn your facts before you criticize one of the most respected coaches in Iowa High School Boys Basketball.
Tact… I base my comments and they may be biased on the WD Fans that sat near us and every single call was F this and F that. So if they seem biased because of the example that was presented to me… OH Well.
Now look at my comment from a previous quote “Maybe WD should go back to 3A where they belong. You had no chance at all.” Where does that say I blame the coach? Well…. Where? Did I critizes the coach anywere…no I praised him. Look at what I said, “Good for his coach for sticking to it.” Read what I wrote before you state what I said. Where did I belittle….no where? I stated facts.
Now as far as the Jeff fans being classless. Yes we had battled that all year. They dont show good judgement all the time. The WD Fans beside my kids who yelled F this and F that were just as bad. Does that make any of it right. No it doesnt. So those are the facts.
Gosh man it was just a game. Jeff Won you lost… not one of those teams will win State. Does it really Matter?