Valley boys basketball upsets Waukee Northwest in Iowa Class 4A state basketball championship

West Des Moines Valley's sophomore-heavy boys basketball team took down senior-led Waukee Northwest, 75-67, to win the Class 4A state title on Friday.

The Tigers last won the title in 2016, and they were runners-up in 2017. Valley finished fourth at the state tournament in 2018, but hadn't returned to Wells Fargo Arena since.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Valley coach B.J. Windhorst. “It’s only the third state championship in the history of the school, and we’ve had two in the last seven years.”

These two teams were familiar with each other from the regular season. Northwest defeated Valley, 61-45, in December but the Tigers beat the Wolves, 75-64, on Jan. 10.

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No. 4 seed Valley — which typically shoots 44.9% from the field and 33.6% from beyond the arc — put on one of its best performances of the season in the first half.

Curtis Stinson Jr. put up the first points of the game, and the Tigers didn’t slow down. Valley made 68.2% of its shots and 80% of its 3-point attempts in the first two quarters. Northwest’s first-half shooting — 43.5% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range — is above average in most games, but not enough to keep up with Valley on this night.

The Tigers had more turnovers (six) than Northwest (four). But they made up for it by winning the rebounding battle and scoring more second-chance and fast break points. All that, plus outscoring 3-seed Northwest 22-8 in the paint, helped Valley to a 38-30 lead by the end of the first half.

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Valley’s first points of the second half came from the charity stripe, but Pryce Sandfort put two on the board for the Wolves on the next possession. That’s how much of this matchup went, with back-and-forth scores sandwiched by big defensive moments.

Still, the Tigers built up a 10-point lead at one point in the third quarter, adding some cushion for Northwest's response. Valley started the fourth quarter with a 53-45 lead.

The Wolves attempted to stage a comeback in the final eight minutes, but every time they cut into Valley's lead, the Tigers responded.

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Zay Robinson led Valley with 28 points. Stinson and Kiki Deng both finished in double digits.

“Tonight was a team effort,” Windhorst said. “There wasn’t anybody that [sic] played poorly. Everybody played well, and we knew we had to (in order) to win.”

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Valley’s starting lineup boasts four players who average 10 or more points per game. Stinson leads the way with 12.8, but the three other sophomore starters aren’t far behind.

Northwest has three starters who put up 10-plus points per game: Sandfort, Cade Kelderman and Grant Tigges. Sandfort averages 25.2 points per game — more than double that of any Valley starter.

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Both teams are close in assists, as well: Northwest averages 16.3 assists per game and Valley has 13.8 helpers.

But while Valley’s players might have a lower point-per-game average than Northwest’s top two, that's just proof of how well the Tigers spread out the scoring. Their leading scorer could be different on any given night, while with the Wolves it will almost always be Sandfort or Kelderman leading the charge.

“I’m a very proud coach,” said Northwest’s Brett Watson. “I love these guys so much and that love is unconditional. I’m gonna give Valley all the credit; they were the better team tonight.”

And while Valley's teamwork on offense was impressive, it was how the Tigers shared the load on offense that stood out. Trevin Jirak led the team with eight rebounds. Two different players recorded blocks, and five different players had steals.

It's hard to beat any team that boasts five starters who can do a bit of everything well.

“We just talked to each other throughout the whole thing,” Stinson said. “You get tired, we talk to each other, switch up. Come back and just keep playing hard.”

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: Valley boys basketball beats Waukee Northwest for state championship