The Norwalk boys basketball team takes their shot at a state tournament berth tonight, traveling to Dowling Catholic for a Class 4A, Substate 1 final against the fourth-ranked Maroons. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA and the KNIA3 stream, beginning with pregame coverage at 6:45.

Tonight’s contest is a rematch from February 14, when Dowling defeated the Warriors 63-49. The Warriors fell behind 22-7 after one quarter, committed 13 turnovers and shot only one free throw. The Maroons held Norwalk scoring leader Tillman Papcun to seven points and got a combined 50 points from the trio of Noah Martens, Alfred Kolee and Charlie Crane. The 6-foot-10 Crane and 6-8 Kolee both average more than eight rebounds per game and have combined to block 70 shots on the season.

Norwalk coach Aaron Pelzer tells KNIA Sports that Dowling’s “massive” frontcourt duo is a huge challenge to prepare for, but he is confident that his team is ready to battle for 32 minutes. “They have really good basketball players, but I’m not sure what we do to simulate 6-10 and 6-8 in the next three days,” Pelzer said. “But we’ll fight. I know we’re going to fight. We were right there in that last game (against Dowling). The last three quarters we outscored them 42-41, so I think we have some confidence. We found some things that we thought worked pretty well offensively after kind of a slow start… It’ll be exciting. This is why you play basketball is for moments like these, and I’m excited the guys get to experience the atmosphere and they get a chance to go give it their best shot.”

Dowling Catholic enters the contest with a 19-3 record following Friday’s 64-37 semifinal win over Sioux City East. The Maroons’ only three losses have come against No. 2 Waukee, No. 3 Waukee Northwest and Ankeny. Norwalk, which is seeking its first trip to state in three years, improved to 15-7 with Friday’s 81-52 victory over Sioux City West. Papcun put on an offensive clinic with a career-high 40 points, and is now averaging 21 per game. The Warriors’ seven losses have all come against Class 3A state qualifiers or 4A substate finalists.

Pelzer says that he is really proud of this year’s team for making it this far after last year’s Warriors graduated all five starters. He adds that they trusted the process, and each other, to develop into a worthy state tournament contender.