Dallas Center-Grimes against Norwalk in Iowa high school boys basketball is bound to be competitive.

At least, that’s been the case during the 2024-25 season so far. DCG (11-5) handed Norwalk (8-8) a two-point loss in the first week of January and then defeated the Warriors, 60-56 in overtime, on Tuesday.

Norwalk cut away at the Mustangs’ lead several times Tuesday, getting within one point on more than one occasion. The Warriors even took a lead in the fourth quarter and then kept the game tied to force overtime, but DCG made a final push to claim the victory.

More: Iowa high school basketball scores for Tuesday night

“One year, one game went to three overtimes, the other game went for four,” Mustangs’ coach Joel Rankin said postgame, on why the games end up so close. “We want to beat each other. It’s a great win when you beat Norwalk.”

Here are three takeaways from Dallas Center-Grimes’ win over Norwalk on Tuesday.

Kyle Cason leads the way in senior season with new team

Cason spent last season as the go-to sixth man for Valley, helping the Tigers win their second-straight state championship. He averaged just under nine points per game on a roster loaded with talent, with little chance at a starting spot save for injury issues.

But in his final season of high school basketball, Cason is at Dallas Center-Grimes, where he’s excelled all season. He averages over 20 points per game and started each of the Mustangs games, so far.

The success continued on Tuesday, despite a slow start. Cason missed his first three shots, then followed with four straight makes, picking up 11 points between the first and second quarters. He finished with 23 total points.

“He’s just very gifted,” Rankin said. “He is our guy that we work through and he gets other people shots. He’s played a lot of meaningful basketball at Valley, and his role is just a little bit different with us.”

Grady Sigrist isn’t enough to get past Dallas Center-Grimes

The Warriors’ leading scorer is the perfect combination on the basketball court: a 6-foot-5 star who can make shots from outside the arc. Sigrist’s height translates to a lot of success on defense too, with the senior guard grabbing rebounds and slotting in the occasional block.

On Tuesday, Sigrist scored 12 first-half points, all off 3-pointers. But the Mustangs’ defense held him to no points in the third quarter and only two free throws in the fourth, but he did pick up the assist on Norwalk’s go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.

A lot of that second-half shutdown has to do with Tate Perrin, who Rankin described as the Mustangs’ most valuable player.

“He’s a competitor,” Rankin said. “He didn’t have a great offensive game but he wants to win. His will to win is incredible. And he just took it upon himself and gave (Sigrist) some problems.

“(Sigrist) is really good and we can’t let him have open shots. But I’m happy with our second-half performance on him.”

Chase Perrin brings a boost off the bench

The future looks bright at Dallas Center-Grimes, at least based on the performance of one freshman. Chase Perrin came in off the bench for the Mustangs, but he finished as one of the team’s top producers. He scored 11 points, the only player off the bench to finish in the double digits.

It’s still incredibly early in Perrin’s career, but the Mustangs will need a player like him come next season – after Dallas Center-Grimes graduates eight seniors from this season’s varsity roster.

“During the summer, I didn’t know if he would play varsity,” Rankin said. “And then he just kept making shots. For a freshman, he’s just so confident and such a good shooter. We needed him to spread the floor out a little bit, and he just is not afraid of the moment.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.