Ankeny basketball star Rio Aguirre didn’t want his high school career to come to an end just yet.
But neither did the seniors on a potent Waukee Northwest boys’ squad.
The third-ranked Wolves overcame a career-high 41 points from Aguirre to defeat visiting Ankeny, 82-64, in a Class 4A substate final on Tuesday.
“I’m definitely super proud of our guys,” said Aguirre. “They’re a great team, so just competing with them and being close for most of the game, it felt good. It does suck that we didn’t get the result that we wanted.”
Northwest (20-4) had four players in double figures and shot 58.3 percent from the field (28-of-48). The Wolves went 10-of-22 from 3-point range (45.5 percent).
“They were just too good–too many good players and they had a really good scheme tonight,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson, whose team finished the season at 12-11. “No matter what we tried, they had something ready for it. But that’s what you expect a good team to do, and I wish them well for sure.”
Aguirre scored 21 points in the first half to keep Ankeny within striking distance. He made a 3-point goal in the final minute to pull the Hawks within 38-29 at the break, then opened the third quarter with a jumper to cut the lead to 38-31.
Northwest coach Brett Watson knew that his team would get Aguirre’s best shot.
“I was worried before, and I was even more worried during the game. But I’m not surprised,” Watson said. “That kid has been a thorn in everyone’s side in the CIML for four years. We knew with this possibly being his last game he was going to go out guns a blazing. I give that kid so much credit–you can tell he’s put a lot of time into the game and he’s a heck of a player. Sioux Falls is getting a really, really good basketball player.
“We were fortunate that even though we never really cooled him down, we got just enough stops to kind of push that lead out,” he added.
A basket by Isaiah Oliver then sparked a 13-2 run that extended the Wolves’ lead to 51-33. Mack Heitland, Colin Rice and Landon Davis each had a 3-pointer during the run.
“When they’re playing like that, I don’t know how many teams can beat them,” Aguirre said. “Mack couldn’t miss a 3, Nash (Kooken) was getting what he wanted, and when their big guys clean up every board and go dunk it, it’s tough to beat them.”
Kooken, a sophomore guard, finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He had scored 26 points in a 64-45 win at Ankeny on Jan. 9.
Davis racked up 20 points, eight boards, seven assists and three blocks. The Illinois recruit went 9-of-10 from the field and had three dunks in the first half alone.
Rice, a Nebraska commit, contributed 17 points and eight rebounds. Heitland added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.
“That’s what we’ve got to do. It’s got to be a team effort,” said Watson, whose squad will play No. 7 Johnston (15-8) in the Class 4A quarterfinals on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Casey’s Center. “Even our two guys who came off the bench made some big plays for us, and that’s what it takes. We had guys step up for us, and that was huge.”
Aguirre made his third triple of the game to cut Northwest’s lead to 53-41 with 2 minutes 22 seconds left in the third quarter. He then earned an assist with a long baseball pass to Cayden Clark for a layup to open the final period, closing the gap to 57-46.
But that was as close as the Hawks could get.
“It was a night that we needed them to miss, and they didn’t,” Carlson said. “I was proud of the way our guys fought. We just didn’t have enough.”
Drew Sorensen had nine points in his final game for Ankeny. Jasani Campbell chipped in six.
Aguirre surpassed his previous career-high of 33 points when he drove for a basket early in the fourth quarter. He got his final hoop on a layup with 55 seconds to go.
Aguirre scored many of his points while being defended by the 6-foot-9 Davis or the 6-8 Rice, who was coming off a 50-point outburst of his own in a semifinal win over Iowa City Liberty on Friday.
“I was more focused on us just trying to get the win overall, but obviously (Rice) is the best player in the state and anytime I can test myself against a guy like him, I like to go out and I thought I did a great job,” Aguirre said. “It’s just that the game didn’t go our way.”
Aguirre equaled the most points scored by an Ankeny player since Carlson took over the program in 2016. Braxton Bayless also scored 41 points in the Hawks’ quarterfinal win over Iowa City West during their run to the Class 4A title in 2020.
“He was incredible, just how hard he played the whole time and how much confidence he had,” Carlson said. “He just didn’t back down. Some of our guys were maybe watching him go to work and not moving or doing some other things, but it’s hard not to watch when he’s doing that. What a way for him to go out his senior year.”
Aguirre, who was wearing a purple USF sweatshirt after the game, will join the Cougars’ program in the fall. He will be playing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference–the same league where his former teammate, Carson Johnson, and ex-Ankeny Centennial standout Luke Winkel have thrived in the last two seasons.
“I know what I bring to every team,” Aguirre said. “I’m just ready to get to work with them. It’s the end of one journey but the start of another.”
