Cedar Falls 65, Iowa City, West 45

Class 4A Championship

Cedar Falls 65, Iowa City, West 45

DES MOINES – Cedar Falls can be sure its first championship was convincing.

The Tigers were facing off against defending champion and Mississippi Valley Conference rival Iowa City, West on Friday night, and instead of being unnerved by the occasion or competition, they led wire-to-wire in a 65-45 win at Wells Fargo Arena. Led by stellar senior A.J. Green, Cedar Falls jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening seconds on seven-time champion West (21-5) and never looked back. Green scored a game-high 24 points, including four made 3-pointers, and was named Class 4A’s All-Tournament Team captain for his three-game performance.

Top-seeded West struggled to cut into a six-point halftime deficit, with Cedar Falls taking a decisive in the large-school title matchup. The Tigers (21-5) also won the regular season meeting, 55-54, in front of their home crowd on Jan. 16. Patrick McCaffery scored 13 points to lead the Trojans. The 6-foot-8 junior forward was the only returning starter from his squad’s 2017 title team.

Logan Wolf and Ben Gerdes joined Green in double figures for the Tigers, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively. Coach Ryan Schultz’s squad shot 51 (74-of-145) percent in three games at Wells Fargo Arena this week.

West finished as runner-up for the third time in 10 title game appearances, including 2016’s loss to Valley, West Des Moines. Coach Steve Bergman is still third all-time in state championship victories and now holds the record for most consecutive state tournament appearances.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Seybian Sims, Iowa City, West

Logan Wolf, Cedar Falls

Noah Hart, Waukee

Joe Wieskamp, Muscatine

Patrick McCaffery, Iowa City, West

A.J. Green, Cedar Falls (captain)

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Quarterfinal Round – March 6-7

Iowa City, West 62,  Muscatine 50 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Waukee 60, Johnston 58 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Valley, W.D.M. 52,  North Scott, Eldridge 44 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Cedar Falls 75,  Sioux City, East 47 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Semifinal Round – March 8

Iowa City, West 58,  Waukee 50 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Cedar Falls 67, Valley, West Des Moines 58 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Consolation Round – March 9, 12:15 p.m.

Waukee 61, Valley, West Des Moines 47 – Final | BOX SCORE | GAME STORY

Championship Round – March 9, 8:15 p.m.

Cedar Falls 65, Iowa City, West 45 – Final | BOX SCORE | CEDAR FALLS CONFERENCE