Grant Uecker, Calvin Flood lead Urbandale boys basketball past Dowling

There is probably no opposing coach in the Central Iowa Metropolitan League who knows Dowling boys basketball better than Clay Thielking.

The current Urbandale head coach was at the helm of the Maroons last season, after all.

But he said he didn't think that gave his J-Hawks (7-13) any advantage in their 65-60 win over Dowling (8-11) on Friday.

“Not really,” Thielking responded when asked if his experience at Dowling helped. “Actually, a lot of our players play with those guys in club basketball, so there’s a lot of familiarity already. Once the game starts, you don’t really think about it.”

Thielking wasn’t thinking about his previous coaching experience on Friday, but he and his team did have their last matchup with Dowling at top of their minds. In January, the Maroons got the better of Urbandale, beating the J-Hawks on their home court.

Urbandale returned the favor on Friday.

“They’re a physical team that really had their way with us the first time around,” Thielking said. “We knew it was gonna be another tough one. Really good, lot of seniors, well-coached. Our guys came in, and I thought they competed really hard.”

Dowling and Urbandale started the game in similar fashions.

The Maroons missed a couple shots, then the J-Hawks missed a couple shots. Urbandale picked up the first points of the game, then Dowling evened the score. The visiting team grabbed a few second-chance points and then the home team responded with a couple second-chance points of their own.

On the surface, these two competing programs weren’t all that different: Both rely on strong senior leadership, put an emphasis on ball movement and find ways to make tough baskets.

So, with all these similarities between the opponents, what was the difference in Friday’s matchup?

It wasn’t Urbandale’s leading scorer, Grant Uecker…at least, not at first.

It wasn’t the J-Hawks' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, Brevin Phillips.

It was Calvin Flood.

The 5-foot-11 senior – who averaged seven points per game and shot 25.5% from 3-point range ahead of Friday’s matchup – scored 17 in the win. He kicked things off with the first points of the game and collected 13 points before the end of the second quarter.

It was Flood, again, who scored first for Urbandale in the second half, except this time, it took nearly two-and-a-half minutes for the J-Hawks to get on the board.

“He’s been capable,” Thielking said. “He’s had one or two games like that earlier this year, but lately the ball hasn’t been going in for him. But his confidence doesn’t waver. And tonight, he hit a couple early and his confidence grew from there and he had a really good night for us.”

Flood didn’t finish with the highest point total for Urbandale.

That distinction goes to Uecker, who scored 18 points despite some struggles from the foul line late in the fourth quarter – when Dowling had almost completely chipped away at Urbandale’s lead.

“He’s been good for us all year,” Thielking said. “He’s so skilled, he shoots it really well, makes the right decisions. He’s a three-year starter at the varsity level, so that’s a lot of experience to draw on.”

Thielking described his leading scorer as a player who is “unfazed” by pressure. He proved that after he didn't let those missed free throws impact him when the J-Hawks needed him most.

And while Uecker’s free throws would have been valuable in Urbandale re-widening the scoring gap, it didn’t impact the J-Hawks' ability to win.

The same can’t be said about Dowling.

Four players finished with double-digit point totals for the Maroons: Ridik Meton (19), Joey Coppola IV (16), and Ryan Kleppe (11). Those are all solid performances, but Dowling needed a bit more.

Dowling only managed to get six points from the charity stripe, and the Maroons went 6-of-18 on free shots.

There are no what-ifs now that the game is over, though.

Urbandale pulled out the win – despite allowing Dowling to lessen the J-Hawks lead from 18 points at halftime to five at the end of the game. In the CIML, a win is a win.

“This league is so good,” Thielking said. “We’ve played a lot of games well and came up short because of the level of competition that we see on a nightly basis.

“So, it is important for them to get a win and it helps with morale and just with the belief that they can play with really good teams and come out on top.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Uecker, Flood star in Urbandale vs. Dowling high school basketball