Tamin Lipsey looks healthy as Ames handles Burlington in Class 4A quarterfinals

After a slow start, Ames looked very much like the No. 1 seed in Class 4A during its quarterfinal game with No. 8 seed Burlington at the boys state basketball tournament Wednesday.

Tamin Lipsey led a dominant final three quarters for the Little Cyclones, who pulled away for a decisive 60-40 victory.

"We had a really slow start, but fortunately Tamin pushed the ball really well and LA (Lucas Lueth) ran well," Ames head coach Vane Downs said. "I thought Trevi (Trevion LaBeaux) and Corey (Phillips) picked up steam there in the second half and obviously Jack (Wynter) had that stretch where he hit some big 3s for us."

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The win put Ames at 21-3 heading into the 4A semifinals against fourth seed Cedar Rapids Kennedy, which beat No. 5 Waukee Northwest, 61-55, earlier Wednesday. Burlington ended its season with a 17-8 record.

Here is what we learned from Ames' impressive victory:

Tamin Lipsey is back in top form

Lipsey spent most of February on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. He only scored four points in Ames' 50-33 substate final win over Des Moines Hoover.

But on Wednesday he played with the explosiveness and confidence Ames fans were accustomed to seeing.

"Every day I work on strengthening my hamstring and getting my mobility back," Lipsey said. "It's a process, but today I felt really good. That's a big positive for me."

Lipsey, an Iowa State signee, scored a game-high 16 points, with 12 coming in the first half. He also dished out nine assists, moving him into a tie with 2015 Ames graduate Sam Rathe for the school's all-time assist record at 324.

"It feels really good," Lipsey said. "I'm just building confidence for (the semifinals) and taking it one step at a time."

Lucas Lueth continues to emerge for Ames

Lueth, known to his teammates and coaches as LA, was phenomenal on defense for Ames Wednesday.

He spent a lot of time guarding 6-foot-4 Burlington forward Merquiche Lewis Jr., who was averaging 13.2 points. Lueth held Lewis to just two points on 1-for-7 shooting.

"The only time I'd ever seen him was on tape, but seeing him up close — he was a physical-type kid and able to get from point A to point B very quickly," Burlington head coach Caleb Akey said of the 6-7 Lueth. "He's a nice player."

Lueth also scored eight points and had two assists. He played a big part in Ames overcoming an early 15-12 deficit by beating Burlington down the floor for multiple dunks after the Grayhounds had made a 3-pointer.

Jack Wynter finds his groove for Little Cyclones

The game plan for Ames starting the second half was to pound the ball inside to LaBeaux and Phillips.

It worked.

LaBeaux scored the first two baskets of the half and ended up with 10 points and seven rebounds after scoring just two points in the first half. Phillips scored eight of his 11 points in the second half and also pulled down six of his eight rebounds over the final two quarters.

Their dominance inside opened up some shots from 3-point range. Wynter delivered.

The sophomore guard went 3-for-4 on 3-pointers in a decisive third quarter that saw Ames stretch a seven-point lead to 21.

"I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the game and I missed my first two shots," Wynter said. "When I hit that third one I found my stroke. It was a memory to remember."

Wynter finished with 12 points. He went 4-for-8 from downtown.

Season was a success for Burlington

Even though Burlington couldn't hang with Ames, the Grayhounds did a phenomenal job to make state for the first time since 1987.

Burlington defeated powerhouse program Iowa City West (63-53) and undefeated Pleasant Valley (55-40) to reach state.

Jackson Carlson scored 12 points and Amarion Davis had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Grayhounds against Ames.

Ames gets rematch with Cougars in semifinals

Ames enters Thursday's semifinals having already played Kennedy (21-3). The Little Cyclones defeated the Cougars by a 62-46 score Dec. 4 in Cedar Rapids.

"They're a quality team," Downs said. "I watched a couple quarters today and they look like they're playing their best basketball. They've got size, they can score at all three levels and they're well-coached. It's going to be a heck of a game."

Ames and Kennedy are set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday back at Wells Fargo Arena.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Tamin Lipsey leads Ames past Burlington at Iowa boys state basketball