AMES - It's awfully hard to beat a quality opponent three times during a season, as the Ballard boys' basketball team found out in a 67-57 Class 3A substate loss to Carroll Monday in Ames.
The Bombers had knocked off the Tigers by scores of 83-68 and 46-45 during Raccoon River Conference play this season, but Carroll came out on fire from 3-point range and Ballard was forced to play from behind for virtually the entire game. The Bombers showed great determination, cutting a 17-point Carroll lead to two points late in the second half, but they ran out of steam in the fourth quarter as the Tigers pulled away to deny Ballard its first state tournament berth since 2005.
"They're playing really well right now and we came out just a little bit hesitant and kind of got behind the eight-ball early," Ballard head coach Chris Deason said. "That was tough to come back from."
Freshman guard Casey Kasperbauer did most of the damage for Carroll in the first half. He scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter, drilling four 3-pointers during that stretch, to help his team take a 30-13 lead early in the second quarter.
The huge early deficit put a lot of pressure on a Ballard team that hadn't made it to a substate game since its state run four years ago. But as they had all season, the Bombers refused to roll over and die.
Kacy Bass nailed two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to help Ballard close the gap to 12 with two minutes, 28 seconds left in the second quarter. The Bombers trailed by 10 in the final seconds of the half when Bass stepped up and converted a huge three-point play on a drive to the lane with three seconds left.
Carroll then turned the ball over, Devin Leland nailed a jumper at the buzzer, and suddenly Ballard was within 37-32 at the half, and it was a whole new ball game.
"I can't say enough about our guys and how hard they scrapped to get back in that game," Deason said. "To claw your way back in a game against a team that good is a huge thing. Our kids don't have an ounce of quit in them and I just love that about them."
Ballard cut Carroll's lead to one point on two occasions in the third quarter, but Carroll answered each time. An Austin Vier basket pulled the Bombers within 45-43 at the end of the third and Ballard had its chances early in the fourth to tie or move in front, as Carroll didn't score for over a minute to start the fourth.
But the Bombers never got the big basket they needed to keep the momentum going. Baskets by Blake Haluska and Jordan Holdsworth put Carroll up by eight midway through the fourth quarter and then Austin Brower canned a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Tigers a 56-45 lead.
Ballard got no closer than seven points the rest of the way, finishing the year at 19-6.
Bass had an incredible night in defeat for Ballard as he made 6 of 8 3-pointers and ended up with 23 points in his final game for the Bombers. Fellow seniors Chris Sievers, Nic Wheeler and Ian Rewoldt also made valuable contributions, as Sievers had five points, six rebounds and two blocks, Wheeler finished with five assists and Rewoldt had two rebounds, a block and an assist.
"Those kids have done so much," Deason said of the Bomber senior class that also included Tanner Frangenberg. "They bought into the whole team concept and those guys will do anything to make our team better. We're really going to miss them."
Leland added 16 points and Vier had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Ballard in the loss. Brower ended up with 13 points, Haluska had 12 and Holdsworth ended up with 11 for Carroll, while Jace Christensen dished out four assists for the Tigers.
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B 9 23 11 14 - 57
C 24 13 8 22 - 67
Ballard (57) - Kacy Bass 7-11 3-4 23, Devin Leland 7-17 0-0 16, Austin Vier 5-7 2-3 12, Chris Sievers 2-8 1-2 5, Nic Wheeler 0-1 1-2 1, Ian Rewoldt 0-3 0-0 0, Matt Greenfield 0-1 0-0 0, John Krause 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-48 7-11 57. 3-point field goals (8): Bass 6, Leland 2. Rebounds (25): Vier 10. Assists (11): Wheeler 5. Steals (4): Leland 2. Blocks (3): Sievers 2
Carroll (67) - Casey Kasperbauer 10-15 0-0 26, Austin Brower 4-8 2-2 13, Blake Haluska 5-7 2-4 12, Jordan Holdsworth 4-9 2-2 11, Logan Lehrkamp 1-3 0-0 2, Tim O'Tool 1-1 0-0 2, Jace Christensen 0-1 1-3 1, Taylor Ostrich 0-3 0-0 0, Thomas Steffen 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 25-50 7-11 67. 3-point field goals (10): Kasperbauer 6, Brower 3, Holdsworth. Rebounds (25): Holdsworth 4. Assists (9): Christensen 4. Steals (3): Kasperbauer 2. Blocks (1): Haluska
MARSHALLTOWN - With his team facing a serous challenge from Grinnell in a Class 3A district final battle Thursday, Ballard senior Chris Sievers decided to put his team on his back to prevent his final season from coming to an end.
The 6-foot, 8-inch center showed he was capable of carrying the Bombers in a high-pressure situation, as he produced a career-high 32 points to lead Ballard to a 67-64 victory over the Tigers at the Roundhouse in Marshalltown. Ballard trailed 33-32 at the half, but Sievers put up 19 points in the second half to get his team over the hump and land the Bombers a date with Raccoon River Conference rival Carroll in substate competition next Monday in Ames.
"I knew I had to do something one of these games," Sievers said. "We didn't make it past this game last year and we were down at halftime, so I knew I had to do something."
Grinnell had no answer for Sievers all game. Whether it was overpowering the Tiger post defenders inside, stepping out to drain 15-foot jumpers or converting putbacks off of missed shots, Sievers had his way with the Tiger defense.
"He's had that kind of capability all year," Ballard head coach Chris Deason said. "We've been a really balanced team all year, but Chris has always had that ability, and we made it a point of emphasis at halftime that the ball has to go in the paint and he responded well."
Sievers made 12 of 15 field goals and 8 of 10 free throws while he also pulled down eight rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked two shots in a tremendous individual performance. But it took every bit of that monumental performance to give Ballard the victory.
Grinnell had a hot shooting streak in the first half to take the lead into the locker room and the Tigers still led, 41-40, following two Ben Shill free throws at the 2-minute, 26-second mark of the third quarter. But then Sievers ignited a 10-0 Ballard run that completely swung the game's momentum.
Sievers scored the first six points of the spurt, including four straight big free throws with 53 seconds left in the third quarter. Sievers was fouled by Grinnell's Brian Kramer on a shot to earn the first two free throws and he was given two more after Kramer was whistled for a technical foul following the play.
Ballard then got the ball back and the Bombers executed a great inbounds play that allowed Matt Greenfield to score a layup. That put Ballard up by seven going into the fourth quarter.
"I thought that was huge," Deason said of the six-point possession. "That was definitely a turning point in the ball game."
Devin Leland added two free throws at the 7:28 mark of the fourth to up the Bomber advantage to 50-41.
Grinnell didn't throw in the towel, however, as the Tigers clawed their way back to within 56-55 late in the fourth after Tiger point guard Trent Baker stepped out and nailed a timely 3-pointer. But Sievers responded with a big basket for Ballard and Kacy Bass then nailed 1 of 2 free throws to give Ballard a four-point lead with 2:45 left in regulation.
Pope was fouled for Grinnell on a rebound after Bass missed the second free throw, but he failed to convert the front end of a one-and-one shooting situation at the line. Ballard then got the ball back to Sievers inside, and he converted to put the Bombers up by six.
But Grinnell continued to fight. Two free throws by Baker pulled the Tigers within 63-62 with just 56 seconds left.
Then Sievers continued his clutch play after Grinnell fouled him with 48 ticks left on the clock, as he calmly drained two more free throws to put Ballard up by three. The Bombers then came through with a huge defensive stop, Ian Rewoldt was fouled on the rebound and he went on to convert 1 of 2 foul shots to give Ballard a 66-62 lead with 28 seconds left.
Top Grinnell scorer Wade Chitwood then hit an uncontested basket with 18 seconds left to pull Grinnell within two. Sievers was fouled with 13 seconds left, and he made 1 of 2 shots to give his team a three-point lead. Grinnell called a timeout with eight seconds left to set up a tying 3-point shot.
Chitwood managed to get off a shot from the corner as the clock was winding down, but it was short and Ballard had survived to move within one more victory of reaching the state tournament.
"Losing in the district final last year was hard for us to swallow," Deason said. "We wanted to get one step further and they've done it, so now we're knocking on the door."
Free throws were huge for Ballard in the game, especially in the second half. The Bombers converted 20 of 28 free throws for the game and they were 19 of 26 over the final two quarters
Bass was the second-leading scorer for Ballard on the night with 12 points. Austin Vier chipped in eight points and six rebounds and Devin Leland had six points and six assists for the Bombers, who improved to 19-5 and now must beat Carroll for third time this season if they are to advance to state.
"It'll be really, really fun," Sievers said of the upcoming substate challenge. "It's going to be crazy."
The Ballard-Carroll game is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Ames High School Gym on Monday.
Grinnell ended the year with a 12-11 record. Chitwood had 14 points for the Tigers and Pope and Ben Shill each added 12.
Ballard 67, Grinnell 64
G 15 18 8 23 - 64
B 18 14 16 19 - 67
Grinnell (64) - Jason Pope 5 2-3 12, Brian Kramer 1 0-0 3, Ben Shill 5 2-5 12, Ryan Mertens 3 3-3 9, Wade Chitwood 7 0-0 14, Trent Baker 3 2-2 9, Craig Follette 0 0-2 0, Darrin Chitwood 1 2-2 5. Totals: 25 11-17 64. 3-point field goals (3): Kramer, Baker, D. Chitwood
Ballard (67) - Devin Leland 1-6 4-4 6, Nic Wheeler 0-1 1-2 1, Ian Rewoldt 0-1 4-6 4, John Krause 0-0 0-0 0, Kacy Bass 4-9 3-4 12, Chris Sievers 12-15 8-10 32, Matt Greenfield 2-3 0-0 4, Austin Vier 4-4 0-2 8. Totals: 23 20-28 67. 3-point field goals (1): Bass. Rebounds (23): Sievers 8. Assists (18): Leland 6. Steals (1): Bass. Blocks (2): Sievers
