(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The first season of the Matt Delger coaching era officially came to an end on Friday for the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team.
Having the season end with a loss will always leave a bitter taste, but the Jaguars feel that there’s been a foundation set in the 2025-26 campaign that Centennial teams of the future will be able to build upon.
The season wrapped up in the Class 4A Substate 2 semifinals, where the Jaguars were bested for the third time this year by 10th-ranked Urbandale after a third-quarter scoring drought resulted in a 71-51 loss for the visitors.
“We did hit a lot of goals, but I would say the biggest thing is that we laid the foundation for how we work and how we prepare,” said Delger, whose team finished with a 9-14 record. “From that foundation, we can build.”
Centennial was able to take advantage of a slow start by the J-Hawks and rattled off a 9-0 run behind senior Kolby Bechen and sophomores McClain Gorsh and Keaton Kasperbauer.
Gorsh and Bechen scored back-to-back baskets before Kasperbauer made one of his three 3-pointers of the night to put the Jaguars up 9-3.
But the Urbandale trio of Jake Pargeon, Davis Hardersen and Quentin Teeter quickly fired back with a 10-0 run to give the J-Hawks a 13-9 advantage. Kasperbauer knocked down a second 3-pointer before the buzzer to make it a one-point game after the first period.
Centennial and Urbandale traded the lead back and forth in the second quarter. Gorsh was able to tie the game at 17-17 with a 3-pointer, Bechen and junior Luke Mitchell briefly gave their team a lead with a pair of buckets, and the Jaguars held their last lead of the night at 27-25 off of a Hunter Runchey 3-pointer and a Mitchell bucket.
“We’re just proud of this group, and I think it’s a special group of guys that showed up to work every day,” Delger said. “We never dealt with kids showing up late, we never dealt with drama or anything like that. This group just showed up and worked.”
Teeter was able to connect on just the second Urbandale 3-pointer of the game, and it sparked a 9-0 J-Hawk run that ended the half and started to spin things out of control for Centennial.
Pargeon opened the second half with a dunk, which was answered by a Kasperbauer trey to make it a six-point game.
But Urbandale then dominated the rest of the period, outscoring the Jaguars by an 18-6 margin to build a 52-33 cushion.
Centennial tried to battle its way back in the fourth quarter behind a big effort from the duo of Gorsh and Kasperbauer, but the rally fell short.
“We’re really, really proud of how our kids fight and how they’ve fought all year,” Delger said. “I think what you saw this game is what we’ve done all year. There are times where we get punched in the face and get down a little bit and these kids never quit. They fought all the way until the end.”
Gorsh made three consecutive 3-pointers in the final period and finished with a career-high 16 points. Kasperbauer added 14 points, matching Gorsh’s 3-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.
“Fearless out of sophomores, which is great (to see),” Delger said of Gorsh and Kasperbauer. “They hit some big shots for us, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Mitchell had eight points and grabbed a team-high 10 boards for the Jaguars, who were outrebounded by a 36-23 margin. Bechen added six points, four assists and three steals.
The Jaguars just couldn’t contain an Urbandale starting five that had four scorers in double figures.
Pargeon poured in 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Teeter had 16 points, five assists and five steals. Hardersen contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jackson Sturdivant added 10 points.
The J-Hawks (13-8) advanced to Tuesday’s substate final at No. 5 Ames (20-2).
One big upside for the Jaguars is the prospect of returning most of its lineup going into next season with its deep sophomore and junior classes.
Centennial will return its top three leading scorers in Kasperbauer, Mitchell and Runchey. Gorsh will also be back after providing a major spark late in the season.
The Jaguars will have to replace Bechen and fellow guard Brody Prill along with reserves Will Perpich and Carter Gustafson.
“This is my first year as head coach of the program and those four guys set the standard for how we work on a daily basis and how we go about our business,” Delger said of his senior class. “I’m just so proud of how they led as seniors and the example they set for all the underclassmen to hopefully follow in the future.”
