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AMES — It took until the final minute of the fourth quarter for a fourth player to score for Urbandale during a Class 4A substate championship game on March 3.
But that one basket was the difference in a 48-43 J-Hawk victory over Ames.
Caden Burns converted a layup off the glass with 58 seconds left for his only points of the game to break a 43-43 tie. Urbandale went on to make multiple defensive stops and hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to hold off Ames and punch its ticket to the state tournament with a 14-8 record.
"I thought we were in pretty good shape; it was just those last few possessions in the fourth," said Ames coach Vance Downs. "They converted; we didn't. The shot clock got on top of us a couple of those offensive possessions."
Ames had rallied from an early 9-2 deficit to take command of the game in the third quarter.
The Little Cyclones went up 32-21 on a Ben Weiss 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the third quarter. They had figured out Urbandale's 2-3 zone and took advantage of their athleticism to overpower the J-Hawks inside on several occasions. They also got their hands in passing lanes to force bad decisions and turnovers.
But Urbandale's zone eventually started to wear Ames down, and the J-Hawk big three of Jake Pargeon, Quentin Teeter and Davis Hardersen eventually started making shots.
A three-point play by Teeter pulled Urbandale within 34-32 late in the third quarter. Ames pushed its lead back out to 41-34 after Brandon Johnson converted a three-point play and added another free throw, but Urbandale quickly pulled back within two when Pargeon hit a basket to cut the Little Cyclone lead to 41-39 with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Pargeon eventually tied the game at 43-43 with 1:30 left, and then Burns hit the big go-ahead basket for the J-Hawks. Ames failed to score in the final three minutes of regulation.
"Their length and their zone certainly gave us some problems," Downs said. "But I'm really proud of the kids. The kids had a great season; we just came up a little short tonight."
Ames lost, 63-57, to Urbandale on Jan. 5 at Ames. Marach Dau, an athletic 6-foot-8 center, had 13 points and 13 rebounds in that game for the Little Cyclones.
Dau did not play in the rematch after a knee injury in January ended his season. The Little Cyclones still found a way to win 20 games and an Iowa Alliance North championship, finishing with a 20-3 record.
"We worked all season, every day," Johnson said. "I'm very proud of my boys and proud of the people I'm surrounded by. Losing Marach was not ideal at all, but we had to keep going and we had to keep fighting."
Johnson had 16 points for Ames against Urbandale. Will Thomas added nine points in his final game as a Little Cyclone.
Moses Lueth and DJ Bijiek each chipped in six points; Weiss scored three, Kuach Kuach added two and Masiah Younis had one for the Little Cyclones.
Pargeon and Hardersen each scored 16 points and Teeter finished with 14 for Urbandale.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames boys basketball drops heartbreaker to Urbandale in substate finals