Cedar Rapids Washington’s 6-foot-7, 300-pound mountain man Julian Good-Jones, scholarship-bound to Iowa State next fall to play football, knows top talent when he sees it.

And he saw plenty of it Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center as his Warrior basketball team was steamrolled by unbeaten and top-ranked Iowa City West, 79-50, in a Class 4A substate final.

“They’ve got five Division I players,” a worn-out Good-Jones said with admiration afterward. “And all of them are very athletic.

"It’s hard to compete against dudes like that. They just run and gun and keep on going.”

Washington Coach Adam Sanchez thought he had a good game plan against the 23-0 Trojans, who have won three straight state championships and seem to be the team to beat again in the tournament that starts next week.

“We wanted to go to a zone defense and force them to beat us with jump shots,” he explained. “But we got behind very early, and it’s hard to play a zone when you’re trying to catch up.

“They run their stuff so well that they mostly got layups and post-ups (close to the basket).”

Indeed, when substitute Alex Henderson nailed a 3-pointer two minutes into the second quarter, they were West’s first points from beyond the foul line. The Men of Troy were up 26-8 by that point, with every other score coming on free throws or bunnies under the boards.

“They’re very disciplined,” said high-energy Washington reserve guard Keion Wills, one of few Warriors able to keep up with Iowa City’s thoroughbreds. They don’t take any bad shots. And they’re real aggressive on offense and on defense.

“They’re like dogs out there.”

Despite being MVC Mississippi Division co-champ with Dubuque Hempstead, Sanchez admitted his 13-10 underdog squad came out with the jitters. They made four turnovers in the first three minutes while West raced ahead 9-2 and never let up.

If they happened to miss a close-in shot, the Trojans used their their quickness and agility to get second and third chances. Other than David DiLeo’s 3-pointer later in the second quarter and his short jumper toward the end of the game, the rest of Iowa City’s points were from the line or underneath the rim.

“They run so well they didn’t have to shoot any 3’s,” Sanchez point out. “They’re about as good as you’re going to see. They have five guys that can all make plays. They can all handle the ball, drive it and shoot it.”

And even when they missed, they were able to make up for it.

Bulldog defender Devontae Lane stole the ball as time was winding down in the first half and heaved a half-court desperation shot. It bounced off the backboard, but Henderson (who is not even a starter) tipped in the rebound at the buzzer.

That put West in the lead 37-17 at the intermission.

Good-Jones and Wills did provide some spark off the bench, and both helped Washington momentarily cut the margin to 12 points midway through the third quarter. Good-Jones said he used his heft to battle under the boards and he made nine hard-earned points.

“I was able to take advantages of some mismatches,” he said. “Their guys are long and bouncy. But I’m stronger than them and I could box them out.”

For his part, the junior Wills was a whirling dervish when he was on the floor and the only Warrior in double figures with 14 points.

“Keion created some steals, and he was really good driving down the lane,” Sanchez said. “He played a great game.”

Wills said he had played AAU ball with some of the West players, so he had a good idea what his teammates were up against.

“They’re a great team,” he said without hesitation. “There’s a reason they’re undefeated.”

WASHINGTON (50): Steven Kramer 2 0-0 5, Hunter Strait 1 0-02, Maurice Arrington 2 0-0 4, Keegan Moore 1 0-0 2, Jared Printy 3 1-2 8, Keion Wills 5 4-5 14, Julian Good-Jones 3 3-3 9, Laveechie Williams 1 2-2 4, Drew Hoeger 0 0-0 0, Trey Richmond 0 2-2 2, Trevor Thulin 0 0-0 0, Ross Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Jabe Gonder 0 0-0 0, Christian Beard 0 0-0 0, Logan Hatfield 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 12-14 50.

IOWA CITY WEST (79): Wali Parks 3 2-2 8, Devontae Lane 4 5-6 14, Tanner Lohaus 3 2-4 8, Connor McCaffery 3 7-9 13, David DiLeo 4 7-7 16, Alex Henderson 3 2-2 9, Griffin Blackhurst 2 0-0 4, Dallas Majors 2 0-0 4, Nate Barnes 0 2-2 2, Ankit Choudhury 1 0-0 2, David Pederson 0 0-0 0, Bryson Adcock 0 0-0 0, Logan Carter 0 0-0 0, Bo Nock 0 0-0 0, August Nicklaus 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 27-32 79.

Halftime – Iowa City West 37, Washington 17. 3-point goals –Washington 2 (Kramer 1, Printy 1), West 2 (Henderson 1, DiLeo 1).