Cedar Falls Stays Unbeaten With State Quarterfinal Win [PHOTOS]

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A slow start couldn't keep Cedar Falls from advancing to the Class 4A semifinals of the Iowa High School Boys State Basketball Tournament for the fourth year in a row.

The top-ranked Tigers scored only two field goals in the first quarter of Wednesday afternoon's quarterfinal against Mississippi Valley Conference rival Dubuque Senior. However, a 22-0 run during an eight-minute stretch of the game allowed Cedar Falls to leave Wells Fargo Arena with a 42-27 victory that kept its record unblemished.

Cedar Falls (20-0) trailed the eighth-seeded Rams the entire first half. Senior scored the first points of the game on a Max Link lay-up just 14 seconds after the opening tip-off and owned an 11-5 advantage at the end of the quarter. A Trey Campbell field goal and a Landon Wolf 3-pointer resulted in the Tigers' only points in the opening eight minutes.

The Rams (12-9) built a 15-5 lead – their largest of the game – with 6:43 left in the second quarter. They owned a 19-11 edge at the 2:30 mark, but Senior didn't score again there was 1:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Cedar Falls, which owns the second-best offense among the 32 state-qualifying teams, trailed 19-18 at intermission after scoring the final seven points of the second quarter. The Tigers took their first lead of the game on a Chase Courbat layup just eight seconds into the third quarter and they never trailed again.

Three players scored in double figures for Cedar Falls, with Campbell's game-high 12 points leading the way. Courbat and Carter Janssen each tallied 10.

With the victory, the Tigers move on to face fourth-seeded Johnston in the semifinals on Thursday at 6 PM. The fourth-seeded Dragons defeated No. 5 Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines 49-33 in the Wednesday morning quarterfinal game.

Cedar Falls is seeking its third title in the past four years.