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RSM boys open state tournament against Gladbrook-Reinbeck
No. 6-seed Remsen St. Mary’s (22-2) vs. No. 3-seed Gladbrook-Reinbeck (23-2) Monday, 3:45 p.m., at Wells Fargo Arena
Once again Remsen St. Mary’s is in the 3-vs-6 seed matchup in the state tournament. They were No. 3 seeds in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022 and No. 6 seeds in 2019 and 2021. The Hawks have won their quarterfinal round game in four of their previous six trips, doing so in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
This year’s state quarterfinal opponent is Gladbrook-Reinbeck, who last made the trip to state in 2017. They knocked on the doorstep of returning the last two seasons, but ended up losing in substate contests.
While both teams made the 1A field in 2017, they were on opposite sides of the bracket and did not face each other.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck, located to the southwest of Waterloo, is led by senior William Kiburis, a 6-4 senior guard. He averages 26.5 points per game with his point total of 662 the most in the state this season. Kiburis is a 63.4 percent field goal shooter on the season. He isn’t the team’s top 3-point shooting threat, but has made 26-of-71 (36.6 percent) from beyond the arc this season. He is much more likely to attack the basket, leading to many free throw opportunities as he has attempted nearly half of the team’s tries from the charity stripe. He is a 76.6 percent free throw shooter this season.
Along with his scoring ability, Kiburis averages 8.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game, which leads the team, and his 8.0 rebounds per game rank second on the roster. He also has the most blocked shots with 23.
The team has two other double digit scorers, also seniors, in Caleb Egesdal and Luke Riffey. The 5-10 Egesdal averages 13.7 points per game while 6-footer Riffey adds another 11.2 points per contest. Those two are the team’s top 3-point shooting threats as they both have attempted over half of their shots from beyond the arc.
Drew Eilers, a 6-3 sophomore forward, is the top rebounder for the Rebels at 8.2 boards per game. He averages 7.5 points per game. Isaac Clark, a 6-2 junior guard, rounds out the starting lineup and scores 6.7 points per game.
RSM features three double digit scorers and two who are close behind averaging around nine points per game.
Senior Jaxon Bunkers leads the way with 15.5 points per game. The 6-2 Bunkers is the team’s top assist guy with 5.3 per game. He is second on the team in rebounding at 5.7 boards per contest.
Sophomore Collin Homan is next at 14.6 points per game. The 6-5 Homan is effective near the basket, making over 62 percent of his shots from the field this season. He also leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
6-3 senior Cael Ortmann adds 10.9 points per game and leads the team with 34 steals.
Seniors Alex Schroeder and Ryan Willman each average just over nine points per game. The 5-9 Schroeder is the team’s top 3-point shooting threat with 29 made threes this season despite missing 10 games with an injury. Willman makes the most of his touches with a 58.3 percent shooting percentage from the field. The 6-5 player also leads the team in free throw percentage at 84.5 percent in 58 attempts.
Free throw shooting is one of the strengths of this RSM team as they lead the Class 1A field with a 73.1 percent success rate for the season. Everyone on the team with at least 10 attempts is shooting 70 percent or better this season.
This year’s RSM team is different defensively than last year. A year ago, the Hawks had 259 steals. This year the team has just 141. However, the Hawks are good at playing in the half court and hold their opponents to an average of just over 42 points per game. It will be interesting to see what wins out on Monday as Glabrook-Reinbeck’s offense averages over 76 points per contest.
The winner of Monday’s quarterfinal will play at 7:15 p.m., Wednesday in the semifinals against either No. 2 seed North Linn or No. 7 seed Madrid.