Area trio named to all-state boys basketball squads

Newton senior Caleb Mattes had some of his best games of the season in one of the toughest conferences a Class 3A school can be in.

Lynnville-Sully senior Klayton Van Dyke led a balanced attack on a Hawks’ squad that reached the state tournament.

And Baxter senior Treyton Travis scored his 1,000th point this season and set a few school records along the way.

All three area players earned all-state honors after the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association released its all-state boys’ basketball teams on Tuesday.

Mattes was a third team all-state selection in 3A, while Van Dyke and Travis both earned third team honors in 1A.

All three also landed on an all-substate team. Mattes was part of a seven-player 3A Substate 7 squad. Van Dyke was on an eight-player 1A Substate 8 team, while Travis was part of an eight-player 1A Substate 3 squad.

Mattes led the Cardinals in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He also averaged 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. His 94 assists set a new single-season school record.

Mattes shot 43 percent from the floor, connected on 36 percent of his 3-pointers and made 30 treys in all.

His best game of the season came against 4A state qualifier Dallas Center-Grimes. In that loss, Mattes finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

He put in a career-best 28 points in a win over Oskaloosa, combined for 29 points and nine assists in two games against 3A state qualifier Pella and had 14 points and six assists in the Cardinals’ win over 3A state qualifier Bondurant-Farrar.

Newton played Knoxville twice this season, and Mattes finished with 43 points and 10 rebounds in the two victories.

Van Dyke averaged 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game for a Hawks’ squad that went 24-2.

His 58 total blocks ranked 11th in 1A and his 64.8 percent shooting from the floor ranked sixth.

Van Dyke’s best games of the season came against some of the top teams in 1A.

He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against state-ranked Keota, had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a win over North Mahaska and tallied 26 points and six boards in one of the two meetings against Montezuma.

In the postseason before the state tournament, Van Dyke tallied two double-doubles, three games with at least three blocks and 56 total points and 32 total rebounds.

Travis was the Bolts’ best player this past season and led Baxter to a 16-5 record.

He ranked 13th in 1A in scoring at 21.5 points per game. He also ranked ninth in 1A in steals at 3.3 per contest and averaged 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per tilt.

Travis shot 42.3 percent from the floor, made 67 percent from the free-throw line and buried 42 treys.

Travis scored at least 23 points in 10 games, put in 30 or more five times and scored a school-record 41 points against BCLUW.

Jesse Van Kalsbeek of MOC-Floyd Valley was named Mr. Iowa Basketball 2024 by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association.

A 6-foot shooting guard that’s headed to NAIA power Northwestern College, Van Kalsbeek had 31 points in MOC-Floyd Valley’s 76-66 semifinal loss to Waverly-Shell Rock at this year’s state tournament.

In his senior season, Van Kalsbeek averaged 26 points per game, second in 3A, despite missing six games with a broken hand this year. He ended his career with 1,376 points, 517 rebounds, 158 assists, 117 steals and 46 blocks.

The Mr. Basketball honor and the all-state teams are voted on by both sports writers and high school basketball coaches who attended the meeting.