CEDAR FALLS - The senior class that carried NU High to a state championship graduated.

The desire to reach Wells Fargo Arena again stayed after school. Certainly, it attended Monday's Class 1A substate final at the McLeod Center.

Like an anxious upperclassman reaching for that diploma, NU grabbed its second consecutive trip to state with an impressive, 54-33 victory over West Central of Maynard.

"I guarantee you, a lot of people didn't believe in us after losing that senior class," said Panther sophomore guard Kyle Denning. "We've mostly played AAU ball together growing up. We knew we'd have a good team."

The 2008-09 squad does not have Travis or Nick Ellerbroek. Joseph McKenna and Ben Peterson moved on after the title run a year ago. Still, veterans like Kyle Denning, Eddie Diemer and Brad Denning kept NU in the 1A top 10 rankings all year long. Then they turned a 94-foot game into a 100-mile journey to state once more.

Said head coach Paul Elser, who's made two trips to state in as many seasons with NU. "Our motto all year long has been, 'New team, same dream.' These guys want to do what the team did last year. They come to work every day and they listen. This game proves it."

Meeting West Central in the substate final for the second straight time, NU High won the rematch more comfortably than it did in 2008.

Defensively, the Panthers' fullcourt pressure took its toll. They forced 18 Blue Devil turnovers. Underneath, Eddie Diemer guarded 6-foot-8 senior Tyler Wedemeier with help from a weakside defender or two.

Wedemeier scored 10 points for the Blue Devils, but no one else reached double figures.

"We figured if we slowed him down and guarded the rest of the guys like we knew we could, we would come out the winner," said Diemer, who played on last year's state tourney team.

Offensively, NU believes in balance. But no one objects when one of the Panthers takes charge. Monday, Kyle Denning got it done.

Denning scored a game-high 22 points, among them six 3-point baskets. Whenever West Central tried to sneak back in the game, Kyle Denning blocked the Blue Devils' path.

Late in the third quarter, West Central sliced six points from a 17-point Panther lead. On the next NU possession, Kyle Denning buried a 3-ball from deep in the right corner.

Twice in the final period, the Blue Devils crept within 10. Denning countered, first with a driving bank shot from the right side of the lane and then came another 3-pointer from the corner.

NU's lead grew to 13 and West Central never threatened again.

"That's the mark of a great team," said Blue Devil head coach Brad Wild. "That's the sign of a team that's played in a lot of big games."

Said Kyle Denning, "I guess if I keep making them, I keep shooting. That's what happened tonight.

The sophomore added, "We got a big lead at the beginning. I didn't want to let it slip. I felt like I had to take control with the hot hand, and that's what happened."

Seeded eighth in the Class 1A field, NU (18-4) takes on unbeaten and No. 1 seed Adair-Casey Monday at 10:30 a.m. in first-round action. For West Central (19-5), the season ends for the second straight time at the substate level

"We can't hang our heads on that at all," said Wild. "I'm really proud of that group."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

WEST CENTRAL (19-5) - Kaleb Buhrow 2-6 1-1 5, Eric Kerns 2-4 1-2 5, Nick Robinson 3-10 0-0 6, Jake Johnston 3-5 1-1 7, Tyler Wedemeier 5-10 0-0 10, DJ Bivins 0-0 0-0 0, Marvin Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-36 3-4 33.

NU HIGH (18-4) - Eddie Diemer 3-5 0-2 6, Kyle Denning 8-12 0-0 22, Brad Denning 1-2 0-0 2, Tanner Cooke 3-6 2-3 9, Johnny Hines 2-4 0-4 4, Jalen Barnes 1-2 0-0 3, Dominique Fagan 1-2 0-0 2, AJ Jones 1-4 2-2 4, James Kapanka 0-0 2-2 2, Christian Ford 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Stone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-37 6-13 54

West Central 5 11 10 7 - 33

NU High 12 14 13 15 - 54

Three-point goals - NU High 8 (K. Denning 6, Cooke 1, Barnes 1), West Central 0. Total fouls - West Central 14, NU High 12. Fouled out - none.