There’s no time to soak in the glory from a big win Thursday night for IMS as Gladbrook-Reinbeck is all that stands in the way of taking a trip to the state tournament.
The Rebels, out of the North Iowa Cedar League – West, finished the season with a 16-8 overall record, and 10-4 in a conference that features 2A unbeaten West Marshall who is in action Saturday in their own sub-state matchup.
After knocking off Colo-Nesco in the district quarterfinals 47-30, the royal blue and silver clad Rebels avenged a regular season loss to North Tama with a 62-53 semifinal win in Traer, IA. Gladbrook-Reinbeck followed that up Thursday night by knocking off Lynville-Sully 45-42 to advance to Saturday’s matchup at Prairie, Cedar Rapids against IMS at 7:00.
The Rebels score an average of 55 points, ranking 60th in class 1A and are 28th in scoring defense, allowing 45.5 points-per-game.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck features two seniors in their starting lineup in 6’3” Colby Luethje (12.8ppg, 5.6rpg) and 6’4” Parker Bolt (10.8ppg, 5.2rpg, 38.1 3-pt FG%) who posted a double-double in the win over Lynnville-Sully and is averaging 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in the playoffs. Jacob Smoldt (9.0ppg), a six-foot junior, has connected on 61 of 148 three-point attempts, good for 41.2% while posting an assist-turnover ratio of almost 3-to-1.