Des Moines Hoover's boys basketball state tournament run ends with loss to Xavier in quarterfinal
Second-seeded Xavier slipped past 7-seed Des Moines Hoover, 49-38, in the Class 3A quarterfinal on Tuesday. The Saints advance to play 6-seeded Bishop Heelan on Thursday, Mar. 9 at 3:45 p.m.
Hoover's first trip to the Iowa high school state tournament since 2016 ends with a quarterfinal loss, and the Huskies finish the season with a 15-10 record.
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An Elijah Vos jumper put Hoover on the board first and the Huskies’ defense stopped Xavier (19-6) on its first possession. But the Saints responded with strong defense of their own, and both teams went back-and-forth exchanging made shots and misses.
Xavier pulled ahead when Aidan Yamilkoski hit a 3-pointer late in the first quarter. Chase Henderson responded with a layup and got fouled, but missed the free throw after. The Saints went into the second quarter with an 11-10 lead, and then outscored the Huskies, 13-7 in the second, for a 24-17 lead at the half.
Hoover hurt itself with poor shots from beyond the arc. The Huskies went 0-for-4 on 3-point attempts in the first two quarters. Xavier wasn’t much better (2-for-12) but those 6 points gave the Saints a much more comfortable lead at the break.
Henderson turned over the ball on the first possession of the second half, Xavier scored on a couple consecutive attempts, and the Saints went up by 10 points. They ended the third quarter with a 39-28 lead.
Hoover attempted to come back in the fourth quarter, matching Xavier's 10 points. But it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
“These kids have been resilient all year,” said Hoover coach Courtney Henderson. “They find a way to overcome so many different obstacles and so many things that happened throughout the season. I knew we would have a little fight, but it just wasn’t enough.”
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Xavier's Joe Bean led the Saints to victory with 15 points, and Yamilkoski added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Xavier capitalizes on extra possessions
Hoover is a team that boasts strong defense. But it may have met its match in both Xavier’s offense and defense.
The Saints matched up well against the Huskies, and they seemed to have an answer for most of Vos and Henderson’s typical tricks. Xavier held Henderson — who averages 21.7 points per game — to 11 points. He made just 4-of-10 attempts and went 0-for-3 from 3-point range.
Elijah Vos took on a larger role when Henderson fouled out, but was still limited in his typical production. He finished with 11 points.
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Xavier also stepped up its offense against Hoover’s defense. The Saints out-rebounded Hoover, and pulled down 11 offensive rebounds to the Huskies' six. Five of Yamilkoski's eight rebounds were offensive boards.
“It’s huge,” Yamilkoski said. “Extra plays, extra effort, that’s what wins games.”
Xavier also scored 6 second-chance points and had 24 points in the paint.
Hoover loses its best player after Henderson gets in hot water
Henderson is just one of five starters for the Huskies, but he is a major part of their success. The Montana signee cuts through defenders with ease, creates opportunities for his teammates and plays incredible defense.
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But in one of the most important games of the year, Hoover lost one of its best players.
Henderson was called for three fouls before the end of the first half, received his fourth midway into the third and fouled out with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter.
He wasn't the only Huskies player who landed in hot water, but he was the only player to foul out. Henderson's fifth foul seemed to light a fire under his teammates. It's just that the surge came too late.
“Things just didn’t go our way tonight, and I’ll take the blame for that,” Henderson said. “We got into some foul trouble and us as a coaching staff needed to make better decisions. And we didn’t.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Xavier boys basketball kicks Des Moines Hoover out of Iowa state tournament
