DES MOINES — Harrison Barnes showed that he's human.

And Barnes' teammates showed why Ames is much more than a one-man show.

Northern Iowa recruit Doug McDermott had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Ames overcame an atypical performance from Barnes to shake off upset-minded Sioux City East 59-46 Friday in a Class 4-A state basketball semifinal at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Little Cyclones (26-0) are rated first in the state and fourth nationally by USA Today, yet led by just six with 5:35 to go in the game.

“I thought our guys did a good job of fighting,'' East coach Jeff Vanderloo said. “That was our dream. That was what we talked about this morning: get it to six, they've got the monkey on their back, and they've got to step up and make big plays.''

Ames made enough big plays, but most of them didn't come from the 6-foot-8 Barnes, a North Carolina recruit who is rated the nation's No. 1 player by several scouting services. This week he was named the Morgan Wootten Award winner as the nation's top player.

Barnes finished with just 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting — 16 under his average — although he did add eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.

The 6-7 McDermott, the son of Iowa State men's basketball coach Greg McDermott, was there to pick up the scoring slack, and point guard Michael Weber added 12 points to go with five assists.

“That's the reason they are so good. They've got so many weapons,'' Vanderloo said. “You can go after Barnes. Well, that's fine, they've got those other two. That's a lot of firepower.''

Barnes' steal and soaring one-handed dunk put Ames up 41-26 with 1:43 left in the third quarter. But then 6-11 East center Adam Woodbury turned in his best stretch of the game.

Woodbury converted a conventional three-point play, followed by a post bucket and then a putback. Jordan Thomas then capped the 9-0 run with a 17-footer, pulling the sixth-rated and fifth-seeded Black Raiders within six with 6:27 to play in the game.

McDermott scored down low for Ames, but Thomas answered with a 15-footer to keep it at six with 5:35 left.

Weber and Riley Stuve answered with consecutive 3-pointers for Ames, pushing it back to 49-37 with 3:25 remaining. East got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Woodbury, who has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska and Utah, had trouble getting settled early. He made just 2 of his first 13 shots, and finished 5 of 16 for 11 points with a game-high 16 rebounds.

“You're not used to turning around to shoot the ball with a 6-9 guy hanging on you, and a 6-8 guy right behind him that's jumping on top of the rim,'' Vanderloo said. “To be 15, 16 years old and to do that, it's a learning experience.''

After a miserable quarterfinal game (0 for 8, 3 points, 4 turnovers), Thomas shined on Friday. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds, and even slid his feet and took a charge from Barnes when he was trying to get into the lane.

“They're a good team, but they're very beatable,'' Thomas said. “I thought we played a good game. If we would have played our best game, I think we would have had a good chance.''

Vanderloo said his team did everything defensively he could have asked. But it couldn't overcome a two-point second quarter and 6-of-25 (24 percent) first-half shooting.

“You can't score two points in the second quarter and think you're going to beat the No. 4 team in the nation,'' Vanderloo said.

Ames will play No. 5 Southeast Polk (21-3) Saturday night at 8:05 in the 4-A final. East will play No. 2 Linn-Mar (23-2) in Saturday's 1:45 p.m. consolation game.

Barnes said he wasn't concerned with Friday's individual performance. The main thing was that Ames won its 52nd straight game and is one win from claiming back-to-back state crowns.

“We've met our expectations so far, so we're back to where we were a year ago,'' he said.

Sioux City East (21-4).......................13 2 14 17—46

Ames (26-0).......................20 7 14 18—59

SCE: Jordan Thomas 7-18 2-2 17, Alex Kleene 1-2 0-0 3, Quinton Behlers 1-9 2-2 5, Adam Woodbury 5-16 1-3 11, Jeff Sponder 3-4 4-6 10, Ben Moes 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick DeLaughter 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Menard 0-0 0-0 0, J.C. Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Imming 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Huisenga 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Krantz 0-1 0-0 0, Aaron Woodbury 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-50 9-13 46.

A: Michael Weber 3-6 3-4 12, Riley Stuve 1-6 2-4 5, Harrison Barnes 5-14 1-4 11, Doug McDermott 9-16 2-3 23, James Kohler 1-3 1-1 3, Tanner Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, James Wandling 0-4 0-0 0, Monty Robinson 0-2 0-0 0, Darin Blum 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Anderson 2-3 0-0 5, Kyle Rodgers 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Cruise 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-54 9-16 59.

Contact the writer:

444-1055, kevin.white@owh.com

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