The Hillcrest Academy Ravens will look to stop one of Class 1A’s top offenses tonight, as they go head-to-head with the Calamus-Wheatland Warriors in a 1A Region 5 semifinal on KCII.

Hillcrest is 20-4 on the season, and fresh off a big 15-point win over Keota. The Ravens are riding a three-game winning streak, and will ride the wave as long as possible. Hillcrest will look for its stars to produce, including junior Kale Bailey and senior Rowan Miller. Bailey leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game. Not only does Miller score 14.8 points per game, he’s also one of the assist leaders in the state of Iowa, averaging 7.7 assists a night. Other Ravens to watch include Gibson Scott, who had a game-high 23 against Keota, and Lincoln Miller, who knocked down three three-pointers over Eagle defenders.

Calamus-Wheatland is 22-2 this season, but finished second in the Tri-Rivers East conference behind Marquette Catholic. Despite that, the Warriors feature one of the top offenses in the state, averaging 74 points per game, good for fourth in Class 1A. Cal-Wheat has scored above its average in four straight games, even touching the 90-point line in wins over Louisa-Muscatine and Lone Tree. The Warriors are a senior-heavy team led by Chase Klatt, a 6’3″ forward who averages 20.3 points per game. Klatt has help from 6’3″ guard Dain Sprague and 5’11” guard Brady Koch, who each average double-digit figures a night as well.

Hillcrest head coach Stephen Bender spoke to KCII following the Ravens’ win over Keota, he says advancing in the playoffs is about performing well on a single night. “We just have to be better than them one night. We don’t have to be better than them… it’s not like the NBA Playoffs where you play seven games. It’s one night, we’re the better team. So if we come out with a better effort, execute on offense, and get stops of defense, we’re going to have a chance.”

The winner between the Ravens and Warriors will move on to the 1A Region 5 Championship, where they will play the winner of Holy Trinity Catholic and Burlington Notre Dame.

Tonight’s contest can be heard on FM106.1, the KCII1 app, and kciiradio.com. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. with the pregame show beginning at 6:30.