CAM senior guard Thomas Hensley has announced that he will attend Briar Cliff University in Sioux City to continue his basketball career.

Hensley is coming off a great final season for the Cougars in which he averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals per game. The Cougars finished their season 16-6 and lost a close game in a district semifinal to Stanton.

Hensley will join a couple other Southwest Iowans as freshman at Briar Cliff next season. RJ Harris from AHSTW and Jake Carley from St. Albert are also heading to the Chargers in the Fall. Nodway Valley alum Jackson Lamb and Creston alum Jay Wolfe are currently on the Briar Cliff squad as well.

(From IHSAA)

DES MOINES – Norwalk owned the opening of Tuesday afternoon’s second Class 3A quarterfinal.

After halftime, it was Glenwood’s game. The Rams flipped a noisy and thrilling No. 4 vs. No. 5 game at Wells Fargo Arena at intermission, turning a 40-22 deficit into a late lead and 67-58 win for its first semifinal appearance ever.

Norwalk impressed with an electric start, going up 17-3 inside the first six minutes of the game and led by as many as 20 points in the first half. All five starters chipped in at least five points and they shot 57 percent from the field. The script flipped after halftime, when Glenwood’s pressure, a boisterous crowd, and a cold streak limited the Warriors (22-3) to six made field goals and eight turnovers as the game got away from them.

Glenwood began scraping back in the third quarter, ending the frame on a 9-0 run fueled by senior guard Nate Mohr and freshman Ryan Blum, who finished with a team-high 17 points off the bench.

Glenwood took the lead back with under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Norwalk would only ever tie the game one more time as the No. 4 seed pulled away. Glenwood’s only other state tournament win came in 1952’s first round in Iowa City, and they last appeared at The Well in 2015.

Norwalk finished with three scorers in double figures, led by Luke Vaske’s 17 points, with posts Tyler Endres and Daniel Geistler adding 14 and 12, respectively.

The Rams will meet two-time defending champion Xavier, Cedar Rapids in Thursday’s 2 p.m. semifinals.

The 2018 AP All-Big 12 team, with players listed with school, classification, height, weight, class and hometown (“u-” denotes unanimous selections):

FIRST TEAM

u-Devonte’ Graham, Kansas, Sr., 6-2, 185, Raleigh, North Carolina.

u-Trae Young, Oklahoma, Fr., 6-2, 180, Norman, Oklahoma.

Mohamed Bamba, Texas, Fr., 6-11, 225, Harlem, New York.

Jevon Carter, West Virginia, Sr., 6-2, 205, Maywood, Illinois.

Keenan Evans, Texas Tech, Sr., 6-3, 190, Richardson, Texas.

SECOND TEAM

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, So., 7-0, 280, Delta, Nigeria.

Barry Brown Jr., Kansas State, 6-3, 195, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas, Sr., 6-8, 205, Cherkasy, Ukraine.

Dean Wade, Kansas State, Jr., 6-10, 228, St. John, Kansas.

Kenrich Williams, TCU, Sr., 6-7, 210, Waco, Texas.

HONORABLE MENTION

Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU; Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State; Sagaba Konate, West Virginia; Manu Lecomte, Baylor; Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., Baylor; Malik Newman, Kansas; Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech; Mitchell Solomon, Oklahoma State; Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State.

___

Coach of the year — Bill Self, Kansas.

Player of the year — Devonte’ Graham, Kansas.

Newcomer of the year — Trae Young, Oklahoma.

Class 2A Quarterfinals

Cascade, Western Dubuque 60, Van Meter 47

Class 3A Quarterfinals

Xavier, Cedar Rapids 67, Marion 60

Glenwood 67, Norwalk 58

Waverly-Shell Rock 59, Mount Pleasant 51

Oskaloosa 63, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 47

Class 4A Quarterfinals

Iowa City, West 62, Muscatine 50

Waukee 60,  Johnston 58

(From IHSAA)

DES MOINES – Using a quick start and a powerful post presence, Sheldon (22-3) topped Kuemper Catholic, Carroll in the final Class 2A quarterfinal of Monday’s slate at Wells Fargo Arena. The second-seeded Orabs finished the first quarter up 19-5 and the margin was rarely in single digits again as the Siouxland Conference contender advanced to the semifinals for the third time.

Jaden Kleinhesselink led three Sheldon (22-3) scorers in double figures, pouring in 17 points on just eight field goal attempts. Forwards Ryan Van Marel and Kyle Boerhave combined for 27 points and 21 rebounds, also contributing to the Orabs outscoring Kuemper in the paint, 32-12.

Kuemper (15-9) made its best rally in the second quarter, when senior Sam Auen made four 3-pointers in the span of five possessions. Auen finished with 18 points and classmate Parker Badding had a game-high 21. Kuemper’s previous season-low in scoring was 59 points in the substate final upset over two-time defending champion Western Christian, Hull.

Sheldon won the 2A title in its last trip to state in 2013. The Orabs shot 69 percent from the field after halftime on Monday and will await the winner of Tuesday morning’s quarterfinal between Van Meter and Cascade, Western Dubuque.

(From IHSAA)

DES MOINES – Behind 28 points from senior Dillon Faubel and clutch play down the stretch, top seed Treynor won Class 2A’s quarterfinal opener against a tough Wapello squad, 59-53.

The Indians (23-2) led at halftime of their first tournament game since 1994, but couldn’t hold off the 2015 champs. Treynor shot 58 percent after halftime and responded every time Wapello tried to regain its advantage, including a Luke Clausen 3-pointer with 1:40 left to take a 52-50 lead to 55-50, and again as Faubel made all four of his free throws inside the final 40 seconds. Faubel finished with 28 on 10-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Clausen had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Wapello had three starters in double figures, paced by post Keaton Mitchell’s 15 points and 11 rebounds that included a pair of dunks. Top scorer Trenton Massner and Gage Witte finished with 12 points each. Massner was held in check by Treynor’s tight defense and made just three field goals on the afternoon.

Treynor’s first half buzzer-beaters also matched its margin of victory on Monday. Jerry Jorgenson rolled in a 3-pointer to end the first quarter, and Clausen hit one before halftime to cut Wapello’s lead to 28-27. The win was Treynor’s fifth straight at Wells Fargo Arena.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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(From the Iowa High School Athletic Association)

DES MOINES – Defending champion Grand View Christian withstood a sturdy comeback effort from St. Albert, Council Bluffs on Monday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena to return to the Class 1A semifinals. The Thunder remained unbeaten against 1A competition while getting five scorers into double figures in the win.

Grand View (23-1) led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter of the physical contest, but a Hawkeye Ten Conference tested St. Albert rallied, getting as close as three with 2:55 remaining. Jake Carley led the Falcons (15-10) with 18 points, and junior Jared Gast came off the bench to add 11, including the jumper and foul shot that made the score 66-63.

Grand View was buoyed by its offensive balance, getting strong performances from Arturo Montes (23 points), Grant DeMeulenaere (19), Mach Nyaw (11), Issa Samake (10) and Bryce Crabb (10) in the win. DeMeulenaere was 13-of-16 from the free throw line, leading Grand View’s 28-of-43 effort as a team.

The quarterfinal featured 49 total team fouls, including a technical on Samake after he threw down an alley-oop and hung on the rim. St. Albert’s last push at Grand View’s lead came when the 6-foot-7 Samake fouled out with 4:38 left, but the Thunder withstood the pressure to advance.

St. Albert was making its 13th appearance to the state tournament.

Class 1A Quarterfinal Round

North Linn 80, Edgewood-Colesburg 32

Don Bosco, Gilbertville 60, George-Little Rock 57

Grand View Christian 78, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 68

St. Mary’s, Remsen 73, Lynnville-Sully 57

Class 2A Quarterfinal Round

Treynor 59, Wapello 53

Aplington-Parkersburg 54, South Hamilton 51

Sheldon 63, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 50

JUPITER, Fla., March 5, 2018 –The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to a six-year contract thru 2023 with infielder Paul DeJong that also includes club options for both 2024 and 2025.  Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“We are committed to winning at the Major League level, through scouting and player development, and Paul is a great example of this,” said Cardinals’ Owner and Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr.

“Paul moved quickly through our minor leagues and he had a breakout season last year and has shown all the

attributes we look for in a player.” stated Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “We are excited to know that Paul is someone we can build around, and we look forward to seeing him in a Cardinals uniform for years to come.”

DeJong, 24, burst on to the Major League scene last season, hitting a home run in his first big league at-bat on May 28 at Colorado (9th Cardinal to ever do so) and he went on to hit a team-leading 25 round-trippers, becoming the first rookie since Albert Pujols (37 in 2001) to lead the club in homers.

After hitting 13 home runs in 48 games with Memphis (AAA) to begin the season, DeJong added a .285 batting mark with 25 HR’s, 65 RBI and a team-best .532 slugging pct. in his 108 games with St. Louis.   As a result, he finished 2nd in National League Rookie of the Year balloting to the Dodgers Cody Bellinger, the highest finish ever by a Cardinals shortstop.

DeJong, drafted by the Cardinals in 2015 (4th round) out of Illinois State University, ranks 2nd to Pujols in home runs (26 to 25) and extra base hits (54 to 52) in first 108 career games played among all Cardinals and his 20 home runs as a shortstop in 2017 tied Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. for 8th all-time among rookie shortstops.

The former Collegiate Academic All-American was voted the National League’s Rookie of the Month for July,  when he led all rookies with eight home runs and 28 hits while batting .298 with eight doubles and a .638 slugging pct.   His eight home runs set the Cardinals rookie record for the month of July.

DeJong made history on July 8, 2017 vs. the New York Mets when he collected four extra base hits (HR & three 2B’s), becoming the Cardinals first-ever shortstop and 8th-place hitter to have four extra base hits in a single game.   He was also the first Cardinals rookie since Terry Moore (Aug. 28, 1935) to have four long hits in one contest.  DeJong finished with eight extra base hits in the three-game series (July 7-9) against the Mets, the most ever by a Cardinals player during a three-game series in the modern era (post 1900).

DeJong appeared at 88 games at shortstop and 20 games at second base in 2017.