6-seed Aplington-Parkersburg will take on 3-seed Regina Catholic in a 2A quarterfinal at the IHSAA State Basketball Tournament inside Casey’s Center Wednesday. It’ll air on 99 The Wave.
Appearing in the program’s first state tournament since 2021, the Falcons enter off a double overtime win over Cascade in the substate final. With 36.4, the Falcons lead the 2A tournament field in rebounds per game, which could prove to be a crucial factor against Regina.
The Regals have cruised through postseason play with decisive wins, including 51-37 over Northeast in the substate final. They’re giving up 39.6 points per game to opponents, the best in Class 2A. They also lead 2A in point differential, with 16.6 points per game by Tate Wallace to lead the team.
“They’re very big, very strong, and we’re going to have to compete,” AP Coach Aaron Thomas says. “Every rebound is going to have to be an all out war for us on the glass. Every single time we have to block out, we have to try to go get it with two hands. We have to fight, scratch, and claw. And we can’t let them just score points in the paint. They only take 14 threes a game. They only make about three a game. So if we can keep the ball out of the paint, we need to push and get things in transition. And we have to go at them. We can’t try to just play around the perimeter. We still have to get paint touches. We still have to throw it inside and play with a lot of confidence. We’ve talked a lot about playing with confidence and letting it rip. If you’re open, it’s in rhythm, it’s from inside out. We got to step in and expect to make our threes.”
The winner will advance to a semifinal against either Unity Christian or Western Christian. Pregame coverage will start at 3:15 p.m., followed by the tipoff at 3:45.
