Underwood Falls from Unbeaten Ranks, Lose to Unity Christian at State, 59-55

Underwood Coach Brad Blum (3-5-24)

Underwood's Mason Boothby (3-5-24)

Underwood's Jack Vanfossen (3-5-24)

Underwood's Owen Larsen (3-5-24)

Underwood Falls from Unbeaten Ranks, Lose to Unity Christian at State, 59-55 -

(3-5-24) – It’s never easy to complete an undefeated season… especially when you reach to postseason and teams are giving their best so they can move on.

Underwood saw Unity Christian’s best as they dominated the boards in route to beating the Eagles, 59-55, in the Class 2A State Quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Tuesday.

“A little sluggish there to get started and then just clawing back the entire time, just couldn't get over the hump,” said Eagles Coach Brad Blum. “Just to get ourselves back, to have that opportunity was good to see from our guys. We just needed one more play that we couldn't quite get.”

Underwood fell behind by 10 at the close of the 1st qtr, missing several easy shots while shooting just 21 percent from the floor. The Eagles would rally in the 2nd qtr, hitting 6 of 14 including 3 three-pointers, taking the lead halfway through the quarter before ultimately being down 4 at the half.

Jack Vanfossen, who had 13 pts & 13 rebounds, said it was physical in the trenches.

“It was real physical. I mean, you gotta go up and you had four other hands going for that same ball. So, it was just real physical.”

Trouble grabbing those rebounds was a factor, according to senior Owen Larsen.

“I think you had made it so tough was just we had trouble boxing out and couldn't always get stops like we try to always do. But I think rebounds really killed us tonight. How we can get all the boards.”

“They're beating us on the boards,” said Mason Boothby, who had 12 pts for the Eagles. “They just kept on getting offensive rebounds and extra chances and I mean that was that's what was killing us at the beginning.”

The Knights outrebounded the Eagles 38-32 for the game, including 12 offensive boards. Austin Wieringa put on a show 21 pts and 14 boards, 5 offensive that led to several put back points.

Unity Christian was led by Dylan Bosma, who came away with 25 pts behind five 3-pointers.

In leading their team to the boys’ state basketball tournament for the first time ever, this group of Underwood players have now reached the pinnacle in three different sports, football, twice, baseball, and now basketball. It’s something that Boothby sees as a significant moment in his career as an Eagle.

“Obviously it's really special to me and this team. I mean, we got a lot of seniors close knit group. We've all been playing together since we were really, really little since I can remember.”

Blum understands that the legacy of this group of athletes will go down in Underwood history.

“These guys have played at the at the biggest stage that you know that you can. They played at Carroll this past year. In baseball. They played at the Dome. I think even some of them played at Principal Park when baseball was there so. Can't say enough about these guys. They've accomplished a lot and you know they kind of changed the feel of the community.”

Those who are making the history understand the hard work they’ve put in to earn this distinction.

“It all starts with the work with this entire team put in this entire grade,” said Vanfossen. “Honestly, this grade is gonna go down in history for all the sports, but I mean, like you said, we were known for some other sports, not for basketball. So we knew we're gonna have to come in and show and we we've been working hard trying to make our name for ourselves.”

Larsen knew that the camaraderie between him and his teammates would certainly mean success.

“We've always been such good friends since we were young and we do everything together, so playing basketball for all these years, it just seems natural that we're our chemistry is perfect and our unity is there.”

Underwood finishes their season 24-1.

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats