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Washington Evening Journal
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Wolves’ incredible year ends in semis
North Linn knocks off Winfield-Mount Union to earn 7th-straight state title berth
DES MOINES — It was a season for the ages for the Winfield-Mount Union boys basketball team.
The 2023-24 Wolves won over 20 games in the regular season, took home a Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division title, and on Wednesday evening, gave the favored North Linn Lynx all they could handle for three-and-a-half quarters.
Unfortunately for the traveling WMU fans, the top-seeded Lynx made the shots when it mattered most, as North Linn vanquished WMU 67-51 to earn its seventh-straight trip to the state championship.
The Wolves struck first. WMU picked up where it left off in the quarterfinals by scoring the first six points of the game, including a breakaway dunk by Jake Edwards to get the scoring started.
WMU led 6-0 with five minutes left in the first period, and 8-3 with two minutes remaining, but North Linn cut the advantage down to one possession, and the Wolves’ lead was 9-7 after the opening quarter.
The two teams traded leads in the second quarter, but the Lynx eventually pulled ahead. The Wolves battled foul trouble throughout the period, as both Gabriel Hemsworth and Cam Buffington sat on the bench for long stretches, and a 3-pointer by North Linn star Mason Bechen eventually gave the Lynx a 28-23 lead at halftime.
With Hemsworth and Buffington back in, the Wolves had the lead cut back to four points, at 31-27, with the ball early in the third quarter. A missed layup turne dinto points on the other end, and North Linn would hold as much as a 12-point lead before the period was over.
The Lynx were ahead 46-38 after three quarters, but WMU made another run in the fourth. Buffington hit a layup with 7:36, and the Wolves had the ball back after a Carter Loyd rebound, but again, WMU was unable to get the lead any lower than six.
The Wolves had trouble all damg long with Lynx duo Mason Bechen and Ty Pflughaupt. North Linn’s Top-2 scorers combined for 50 points, as Mason Bechen went 12-for-20 from the field en route to a 32-point performance, and Plughaupt went 7-for-13 from the field, scoring 18.
Jake Edwards went off from behind the 3-point line, hitting five shots from downtown en route to a 17-point night. He also coled the team with seven rebounds.
Buffington scored 12 points and yanked down seven rebounds of his own. Buffington added a team-high four assists. Abram Edwards had nine points and seven rebounds. Loyd finished with nine points and six boards. Hemsworth scored three points, and Cole Milks chipped in one.
The only other WMU player to see the floor was Max Edwards, who grabbed one rebound.
WMU finished the season 21-3. The Wolves made it as far in the postseason as the school had gone since the 1996 season.
The Wolves will say goodbye to a top-tier senior class, which includes five of the seven seniors to see the floor on Thursday and two who didn’t. Buffington, Abram Edwards, Loyd, Hemsworth, Milks, Kael Johnson and Eli Miller all dressed for their final high school game.
North Linn (25-1) moved on to play against second-seeded Marquette Catholic (27-1) in Friday’s Class 1A state championship. The Lynx knocked off the Defenders 57-56.
