Second-half swoon sinks D-NH boys (PHOTOS)

DES MOINES – Van Meter's defense was already going to be a big challenge for the Dike-New Hartford boys basketball team.
  
The Wolverines handled it well for the first two quarters on Monday night, but when shots stopped falling in the second half, the Bulldogs found their opening.
  
A 12-0 Van Meter run to start the third quarter put the Bulldogs ahead for good in a 43-32 victory over Dike-New Hartford in a Class 2A state quarterfinal at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
  
D-NH's season ends at 21-2, with 15 of the 16 players that dressed for the Wolverines completing a two-season stretch of trips to the UNI-Dome and Wells Fargo Arena for state football and state basketball.
  
"We gotta stay proud of ourselves," D-NH senior Cade Fuller said. "We had a heck of a season and seniors had a heck of a career."
  
Fuller led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Younger brother Dane Fuller chipped in six points and Colton Harberts grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.
  
The Wolverines started strong, leading 11-5 after the first quarter and 18-13 at halftime with 6-foot-9 big man Ryan Schmitt only getting two points on the board for Van Meter. Cade Fuller had 10 of his points in the first half.
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The senior class of Tim Koop, Cade Fuller, Ryan Moore, Isaac Jorgensen, Jake Landphair, Mason Dietrick, Colton Harberts and Owen Goos put in some quality minutes on the gridiron and hardwood this winter, with many of them charting their paths for the next level of athletics, too.
  
"We went through a lot of good teams to get down here," Greg Moore said. "It's been these guys' goal to get here and the kids had a heck of a season."
  
Dane Fuller added, "Felt pretty good representing our school. Nothing to hang our heads about, we had a great season. We'll be back."
 
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