IOWA CITY - James Moses has been around basketball most of his life. He has experienced both the highs and lows the game can bring.

The former Iowa Hawkeye standout spent the past four seasons as the head boys basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie, working to build a program from the ground up.

Last week, Moses announced he was stepping away from the job after the season to spend more time with his family.

There have been more lows than highs on the court during Moses’ tenure and in his final game, bad luck struck early.

Prairie got off to a good start in Friday’s match-up with No. 2 Iowa City West. Junior guard Michael Mims, scored his team’s first seven points to keep the Hawks close.

But Mims went down clutching his left ankle with 3:52 left in the first quarter. He was helped to the training room and eventually returned to the bench on crutches to watch the rest of the game.

Without their leading scorer, the Hawks scored just 14 points the rest of the way as the Trojans coasted to a 63-21 victory.

West (20-3), the two-time defending state champion, will meet Iowa City High on Tuesday night at Prairie for a berth in the state tournament. City High advanced with a win Friday night over Newton.

Moses took time to talk to his players after the game and then was quick to credit West for its all-around effort.

“I thought we had a couple of chances early (after Mims went out),” he said. “We missed getting a couple rebounds and you can’t do that against a team like West.

“We weren’t up to the test,” Moses continued. “That comes with experience. We have a lot of young kids on this team and hopefully they learned from this.”

With Mims out, West methodically pulled away. The Trojans eventually forced the game to a continuous-clock status after building a 35-point lead early in the third quarter. Senior center Chike Ukah led a balanced West attack with 14 points. Mims was Prairie’s high scorer with his seven early points.

Moses, who finished his career with a 24-66 record, was thankful for the chance he was given in the summer of 2010.

“I am very appreciative to have received the opportunity to coach at Prairie,” he said. “My goal was to grow the program and I hope I have been able to do that. It  looks like we have a lot more participation (in the younger grades) now compared to when I started.

“Sometimes you have to be man enough to step out from a position where there might be growth with somebody else in charge,” Moses continued. “I hope somebody can take over the job and do what I was trying to do to improve the program and take it to the next level.”

PRAIRIE (21): Bryce Meeker 0 0-0 0, Michael Mims 3 0-0 7, Mitch Lorenz 1 0-1 2, Jalen Rima 0 0-0 0, Coen Brown 0 0-0 0, Cal Clark 1 0-0 2, Austin Fisher 0 0-0 0, Drew Yanacek 0 1-2 1, Ethan Copeland 0 0-1 0; JoJo Simpson 2 0-2 4, Austin Schrader 1 1-2 3, Max Drahos 0 2-2 2, Zachary Moyer 0 0-0 0, Brody Roberts 0 0-0 0, Marquan Wilder 0 0-0 0.  Totals 8 4-10 21.

IOWA CITY WEST (63): Adam Klein 0 2-2 2, Marquise Yarborough 2 0-1 4, Devontae Lane 2 0-0 4, Wyatt Lohaus 3 0-0 7, Nick Gallagher 3 0-0 7, Connor McCaffery 2 4-5 9, Malik Williams 0 0-0 0, David DiLeo 2 4-4 8, Alex Henderson 0 0-0 0, Wali Parks 0 1-2 1, Chike Ukah 6 2-2 14, Harley Shear 1 0-0 2, Garrett Grimsman 0 0-0 0, Tanner Lohaus 1 2-2 4, Nick Spiess 0 2-2 2. Totals 22 17-20 63.

Prairie         11     1     4    5 - 21
I.C. West    21   18   13   11 - 63

3-point goals – Prairie  1 (Mims), I.C. West 2 (W. Lohaus, Gallagher). Total fouls – Prairie 18, I.C. West 13. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Prairie 19, I.C. West 7.