DES MOINES, Iowa — A memorable season for Central DeWitt boys basketball (20-7) came to an end following Friday's 56-53 loss to Dallas Center-Grimes (22-5) in the 3A State Championship.
Despite the loss, it was a playoff-run for the ages.
The seventh-seeded Sabers defeated No. 2 Decorah in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Assumption in the semis before taking the top-seeded Mustangs down to the final buzzer in the title match at Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines.
Leading the way for the Sabers was 6-foot-9 forward Shawn Gilbert. The senior ended his high school career with team-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shots from the field in Friday's loss.
After trailing by 12 points with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Sabers came roaring back to take a 53-52 lead with 1:08 left to play.
That lead was short-lived, as DCG's Jacob Runyan answered with a go-ahead bucket — part of his game-high 31 points on 12-of-16 from the field — to put the Mustangs ahead 54-53 with 30.4 seconds remaining.
A blocked shot and turnover by the Sabers led to a pair of made free throws to put DCG ahead 56-53 with just under two seconds to go. The Sabers inbounded to Gilbert who heaved a half-court shot that went just left of the rim as time expired, ending a magical season.
It was third time Central DeWitt made the state title game in school history and the first since 2014.
Even though they entered the playoffs a No. 7 seed, that didn't stop anyone on the team from believing they could make history.
"We knew we were better than what a seven-seed said we were," said freshman Ryan Watters. "We wanted to get here, we got here and we couldn't quite get it done. It means a lot to us, we didn't win but we're still proud we made it this far."
The experience will go a long way for first-year players like Watters, and the same goes for Sabers head coach Marty Marshal who led his team to a championship game in his first year at the helm.
"Usually you have some growing pains in the first year... kids trying to buy into a new system," Marshal said. "Credit to our kids, they bought in right off the bat. We really talk about mental toughness and our kids showed that tonight. It's a great building block for the future of Central DeWitt basketball."
Next year will look a bit different for the Sabers with Gilbert and fellow senior Gibson McEwen set to graduate this spring. They were among the team's leaders and best players throughout the season and during this playoff run. Both earned a spot on the 3A All-Tournament Team.
"It means a lot," Gilbert said. "We put Central DeWitt on the map and nobody really thought we would get here. I just tried to set a great example for the young ones."
Gilbert previously said after the Sabers' semifinals victory that he remembers being inspired by the '14 Central DeWitt runner-up team. He hoped to do the same for the next generation of players this time around. It's safe to say Gilbert and his teammates did just that.