A berth in the Class 4A Boys State Basketball Tournament is on the line tonight when sixth-ranked Norwalk battles No. 9 Sioux City East at Denison High School. The 4A Substate 1 final will tip off at 7:00 p.m., with live coverage on kniakrls.com (KNIA3).

The Warriors enter the contest with 15 consecutive wins and an overall record of 19-3 following Friday’s 71-43 substate semifinal win over Sioux City West. The Black Raiders rallied to defeat Johnston 63-60 on Friday, improving to 21-2 with their fifth straight victory.

Norwalk is allowing just 47.2 points per game on the season, but will be tested by an East squad averaging nearly 70 points a night. The Black Raiders shoot 42 percent from three-point range and 51 percent overall. They also average about 10 steals defensively.

East’s balanced scoring attack is led by junior Fitzy Grant with 14.5 points per game and senior Preston Dobbs at 14.0. The remaining three starters average at least eight points a game, including 6-foot-8 senior Brandt VanDyke.

The Warriors are led by junior guard Redek Born, who delivered seven three-pointers and 32 points in the win over West. Born is averaging 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest. Senior Braeden Carlson adds 14.8 points and eight rebounds a game, followed by junior Aidan Harder with 10 ppg and senior Jack Brown at 8.5.

Norwalk coach Aaron Pelzer expects to face a talented and well-coached opponent and says that East will be tough to beat. He is also confident that the Warriors will have the best player on the floor in Redek Born, which he hopes is one of the deciding factors in the outcome.

“His confidence is really high right now,” Pelzer said. “I’m confident in him, the guys are confident in him, and when you get to this time of year you’ve got to have some dudes… Redek’s a dude, and we don’t talk about it very often as a group. We just kind of take it for granted.”

The two teams have one common opponent in Sioux City West. The Black Raiders defeated the Wolverines 78-48 in December and 66-51 in January. Norwalk topped West by 28 points on Friday.

The Warriors are seeking their first trip to state since winning the Class 3A state title in 2020. Sioux City East’s last trip to Des Moines was in 2019.

Tonight’s pregame coverage on KNIA3 will begin at approximately 6:45.