Keokuk never trails in a 64-58 Class 3A substate semifinal boys basketball win over Center Point-Urbana

CENTER POINT — So many things were statistically wonky in Thursday night’s Class 3A substate semifinal boys basketball game at the Center Point-Urbana gym.

One team turned the ball over 25 times. One team had just 14-of-32 free-throwing shooting.

That team was the same team: Keokuk. And somehow even with those statistics, numbers that hardly ever win, the Chiefs indeed won: 64-58 over CP-U.

They never trailed, either. Weird stuff, man.

“When I got two (quick) fouls there, I had to come out of the game for the last two minutes or so in the first half, and they started to come back,” said Keokuk star center Jaxon Clark. “But in the locker room, we preached ‘We got it. We’ve got to stay up.’ Because last year we really struggled with, you know, letting up and then (the opponent) comes back and goes to the lead, and then it’s hard to fight back.

“So it’s really just about keeping our foot on their neck. And our guys did that really well tonight.”

Clark is a meaty 6-foot-10 center who can do damage on the interior, of course, dribble and drive it a bit and shoot the 3-pointer every now and then. He came in averaging 28 points per game and 17 rebounds, and didn’t do much here to lower those numbers.

He finished with 22 points and 24 rebounds as Keokuk (19-5) built a 17-point lead in the first half. Clark’s younger brother, sophomore Jalen, did plenty of damage himself, finishing the game with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

How often do you see a team get two guys with points and rebounds double-doubles in the same game? Not many.

“It was a little harder this game because every time I touched the ball, I knew there was a double, even a triple coming sometimes,” Jaxon Clark said. “So it was more about finding the open guy, getting my brother going. He played really well.”

Center Point-Urbana (18-6) scored the final 10 points of the first half to close within 32-25 at halftime. Keokuk built its edge back to 14 after three quarters, with CPU getting within five very late in the game.

Keokuk constant free-throw misses allowed that to happen, but Center Point-Urbana could never take full advantage of that and all the turnovers.

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“Dug a hole, tried to get back into it a couple of times,” said Center Point-Urbana Coach Phil Klett. “Just got stopped. Give them credit. They weren’t a great 3-point shooting team on the year, and they hit them today.”

Keokuk was 6 of 16 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Chayce Smith hit three biggies.

CPU, meanwhile, couldn’t make nearly enough shots, going 23 of 63 from the field and 3 of 20 from distance. Cooper Grimm led the Stormin’ Pointers with 25 points, going over 1,000 for his fine career in his final high school game.

“I thought we pressed a little bit on some of the shots, but we got to the rim a few times,” Klett said. “Yeah, they were worried about getting blocked (by Clark), but sometimes he wasn’t even there, and we still kind of rushed it.

“Then we started hitting some shots and we make a run, and when we missed some, they kind of ended up extending the lead ... Just couldn’t get enough stops down the stretch, and we had some opportunities we just missed.”

Keokuk will play third-ranked Pella in a 3A substate final Monday night. The teams played to open the regular season, with Pella winning.

“Everyone talks about Jaxon’s numbers, but they don’t actually know him or watch him,” Keokuk Coach Anthony Potratz said. “He’s a spectacular player. He can do the job inside, do the job outside. He does a great job finding his teammates with passing, is a huge presence on the defensive end, hard to shoot over him. Great leader, too.”

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AT CENTER POINT

KEOKUK (64): Jalen Clark 5-13 7-11 17, Jaxon Clark 9-15 3-4 22, Lincoln Wray 0-0 0-0 0, Kyler Beeman 3-6 2-6 9, Antonio Crockett 1-4 1-6 4, Chayce Smith 4-9 1-2 12, Kurt Joy 0-0 0-2 0, Ryder Keefe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 14-32 64.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (58): Kinnick Covington 3-10 0-0 6, Cooper Grimm 11-22 3-6 25, Cayle Estling 4-11 2-2 12, Noah Estling 1-3 1-2 4, Lucas Lopata 0-6 2-2 2, Henry Engelbrecht 0-4 0-0 0, Coltin Hildebrandt 0-1 0-0 0, Hayden Covington 4-6 0-0 8, Tate Krebsbach 0-0 0-0 0, Landon Batcheler 0-0 0-0 0, Landen Schantz 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 23-63 9-14 58.

Halftime - Keokuk 32, Center Point-Urbana 25. 3-point goals - Keokuk 6-17 (Jalen Clark 0-3, Jaxon Clark 1-2, Beelman 1-3, Crockett 1-1, Smith 3-8), Center Point-Urbana 3-20 (K. Covington 0-2, Grimm 0-2, C. Estling 2-6, N. Estling 1-1, Lopata 0-4, Engelbrecht 0-3, Hildebrandt 0-1, H. Covington 0-1). Rebounds - Keokuk 49 (Jaxon Clark 24, Jalen Clark 13), Center Point-Urbana 27 (Grimm 9). Total fouls - Center Point-Urbana 32, Keokuk 13. Fouled out - Grimm, Hildebrandt, H. Covington. Turnovers - Keokuk 25, Center Point-Urbana 8.

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