Prairie Boys Basketball

MacDougall, Hanna on all-Metro team

The conversation may continue about whether Marcus Paige is the best boys basketball player ever in Metro history.

But there is no doubt about who was the best boys basketball player in the Metro this season.

Paige, who was tabbed the best player in the state earlier in the week when he was named Mr. Basketball, was announced as Metro Player of the Year on Wednesday.

Paige led the state in scoring with a 28.0 average and guided Linn-Mar to its ninth straight state tournament appearance.

Paige, a McDonalds All-American, has signed with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Other members of the all-Metro first team are Jefferson senior Taylor Olson, Prairie senior Matt MacDougall and junior Jace Hanna, Kennedy senior Cody Bell, Xavier senior Ben McDermott, and Linn-Mar junior Jimmy Roth.

The co-coaches of the year are Kennedy's Bob Fontana and Linn-Mar's Chris Robertson.

The teams were selected by vote of the Metro boys basketball coaches.

ALL-METRO
(* - Unanimous selections)

FIRST TEAM - *Taylor Olson (CRJ). *Cody Bell (CRK), *Matt MacDougall (CRP), *Jace Hanna (CRP), *Ben McDermott (CRX), *Marcus Paige (LM), *Jimmy Roth (LM).

SECOND TEAM - Ky Kramer (CRJ), Alec Saunders (CRJ), Josiah Coleman (CRK), Trevor Heitland (CRK), Jacob Aune (CRP), Mack Mattke (CRX), Andy Henry (LM)

HONORABLE MENTION - Tyler Hemphill (CRJ), Creighton Robinson (CRJ), Elliott Christians (CRK), Darius Fuller (CRK), Tom Eilers (CRP), Brooks Kehoe (CRP), Sean Bredl (CRW), David Tann (CRW), Kevin Hosch (CRX), Matt Nelson (CRX), Derik Gogg (LM), Matt Meier (LM), Jared Huhndorf (Marion), Cale Cannoy (Marion)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Marcus Paige (LM)

COACHES OF THE YEAR - Bob Fontana (CRK), Chris Robertson (LM)

MacDougall named to MVC 1st team

Linn-Mar senior Marcus Paige has been chosen Mississippi Division Athlete of the Year by Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball coaches.

Paige, who will play his college ball at North Carolina, leads the state in scoring with a 28.4 average.

Paige and Dubuque Wahlert's Jake May were unanimous picks on the Mississippi Division team. Cody Bell of Kennedy also was a first team pick.

Taylor Olson of Jefferson and Matt MacDougall of Prairie were unanimous first team selections on the Valley team. Iowa City West, which takes an undefeated record into next week's state tournament, had three first team choices: Dondre Alexander, Jeremy Morgan and Wyatt Lohaus.

Harrington, who has signed to run track at Alabama, was the Athlete of the Year in the Valley Division.

Linn-Mar's Chris Robertson was Coach of the Year in the Mississippi Division. Iowa City West's Steve Bergman was tabbed in the Valley Division.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
(* -- Unanimous selections)

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: *Marcus Paige (LM), *Jake May (DW), Cody Bell (CRK), Josh Weeber (DS), Riley McCarron (DW), Jerel Moore (ICH), Dale Jones (WW)

SECOND TEAM: Trevor Heitland (CRK), Josiah Coleman (CRK), Connor Grant (DS), Kyle Haber (DS), Nate Burks (DW), Jimmy Roth (LM), Andy Henry (LM)

HONORABLE MENTION: Elliott Christians (CRK), Darius Fuller (CRK), Sean Bredl (CRW), David Tann (CRW), Domen Zevnik (DS), Seth Bonifas (DS), Brady Williams (DW), Ronald Thompson (ICH), Cortez Barfield (ICH), Derik Gogg (LM), Matt Meier (LM), DaQuan Moore (WW), DiMarco Mallett (WW)

ALL-ACADEMIC: Cody Bell (CRK), Josh Jahlas (CRK), Sean Bredl (CRW), Zach Williams (CRW), Connor Grant (DS), Jon Powers (DS), Sam Koenig (DW), Riley McCarron (DW), Mohamed Rouabhi (ICH), Andrew Hein (ICH), Marcus Paige (LM), Jacob Hutchins (LM), Tre Johnson (WW)

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Marcus Paige (LM)

COACH OF THE YEAR: Chris Robertson (LM)

VALLEY DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: *Dondre Alexander (ICW), *James Harrington (CF), *Jeremy Morgan (ICW), *Matt MacDougall (CRP), *Taylor Olson (CRJ), Wyatt Lohaus (ICW), Caleb Konieczny (CF)

SECOND TEAM: Ky Kramer (CRJ), Isaac Boettger (CF), Tony Johnson (CF), Jace Hanna (CRP), Ben McDermott (CRX), Alex Smith (DH), Jacob Gylten (ICW)

HONORABLE MENTION: Kalund Brown (CF), Kalehl Brown (CF), Tyler Hemphill (CRJ), Alec Saunders (CRJ), Jacob Aune (CRP), Tom Eilers (CRP), Mack Mattke (CRX), Kevin Hosch (CRX), Jake Weber (DH), Ben Goerdt (DH), Myzeah Batie-Gaddy (ICW), Austin Swank (ICW), Corshaundus Love (WE), Daeton Hoskins (WE)

ALL-ACADEMIC: Jackson Nichols (CF), Grant Grainger (CF), Austin Goodell (CRJ), Taylor Mueller (CRJ), Matt MacDougall (CRP), Brooks Kehoe (CRP), Kevin Hosch (CRX), Mack Mattke (CRX), Alex Smith (DH), Shawn Breitbach (DH), Jacob Gylten (ICW), Jason Stewart (ICW)

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: James Harrington (CF)

COACH OF THE YEAR: Steve Bergman (ICW)

Prairie ends season with loss at City High

IOWA CITY - They weren't exactly the hard-luck Hawks, but Cedar Rapids Prairie probably deserved a better fate this season in Year 2 under James Moses.

The Hawks led Linn-Mar by 20 points last month, only to lose by one point at the buzzer. They also dropped games by 2, 3 and 4 points and lost a total of eight games by single digits.

It happened again Monday night in a Class 4A substate game, and now the season is over.

Jerel Moore scored 16 points and made several pretty passes as Iowa City High trimmed Prairie, 50-42, in a substate quarterfinal in the Iowa City gymnasium.

Prairie ended its season with a 9-13 record, a marked improvement over last year's 3-19 campaign.

"We're happy with the directon we're headed, but we want a little more," said Moses, the former Iowa Hawkeye who coaches with great passion and emotion.

Moses said he's proud of his seniors and proud of his team.

"We always got everybody's best," he remarked. "Everybody played hard when they played us. You didn't see anybody - no team - take any possessions off or a lack of effort against our team.

"We weren't even ranked all season, so that says a lot about our respect and our growth. Teams can't automatically say, like they used to, that Prairie is an automatic win."

Matt MacDougall gave Prairie a 29-28 lead with a bucket late in the third quarter. As it turned out, that was Prairie's final lead of the season.

Lonnie Chester hit a step-back jumper in the final second of the third period to give Iowa City High a 30-29 edge, igniting a 10-2 spurt that gave the Little Hawks a 38-31 advantage.

The Prairie Hawks pulled within three points at 40-37 on a driving basket by Jace Hanna, but they never got any closer than that. Both teams finished the game with 17 field goals, but the Little Hawks cashed 15 of 19 free throws compared to 6 of 8 for Prairie.

"They hit free throws, and those free throws turned out to be key," said Moses.

Moses had no problems with a veteran officiating crew and was not complaining about the calls. Rather, he noted that Iowa City High had struggled at the free-throw line much of the season before getting hot against his team.

Moses was suspended for the final game of the regular season against Jefferson last Thursday after being ejected from the previous contest against Cedar Falls for arguing with officials. He returned to the bench Monday and was a model of decorum.

MacDougall, Jacob Aune and Brooks Kehoe played their final games for Prairie Monday night. They were naturally disappointed with the setback, but proud they helped the Hawks triple their victory total from a year ago and got the program moving in the right direction again after some lean years.

"I think we grew tired of having the title of being a team that just gets walked over. We weren't going to have that," said Aune, who will play basketball at Coe next season.

"As a senior class we had to go through all kinds of stuff, with players leaving and switching coaches halfway through our career. But we just decided we're going to give it everything we've got. We played as a team and fought as a team, more than we did in past years."

Ironically, the player who helped defeat the Hawks Monday night used to attend school in the Prairie district before moving to Iowa City with his family in the sixth grade. Moore is a smooth 6-foot-6 senior who was the difference in the game with his 16 points and slick passes for easy baskets.

"My all-time favorite player is Magic Johnson," said Moore. "I've watched a lot about him. I like to pass."

Kennedy High School seniors Josiah Coleman, Darius Fuller and Trevor Heitland also attended school in the Prairie district before moving away. Add Moore to that group and Prairie could have had a powerful team this season if everybody had stayed put.

As it turned out, the players who stayed at Prairie helped turn the program around this year.

"I think it's more attitude than anything," said MacDougall, a talented 6-foot-4 guard who is being recruited by several colleges. "It's knowing that every night you have to come out and play. Coach instilled the thought in us that we can play with anybody.

"That's part of it," he said. "That was the big thing. It's a different mindset."

Eilers and Aune led Prairie with 10 points. Hanna scored nine points and MacDougall finished with eight. The Hawks used 10 players Monday, including seven underclassmen who will form the nucleus of next year's ballclub.

Chester chipped in 12 points for Iowa City High and Ronald Thompson scored 11 points. The Little Hawks (9-13) play at Linn-Mar (17-4) in the substate semifinals Friday night.

PRAIRIE (42): Aune 5 0-0 10, Kehoe 1 0-0 2, Hanna 4 1-2 9, MacDougall 4 0-0 8, Eilers 2 4-4 10, Harper 1 1-2 3, Meeker 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Mougin 0 0-0 0, Simpson 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-8 42.

IOWA CITY HIGH (50): A. Perry 1 0-0 3, Hein 0 0-0 0, Moore 7 2-3 16, T. Perry 1 0-0 2, Barfield 1 0-0 2, Chester 3 6-8 12, Johnson 1 2-2 4, Thompson 3 5-6 11. Totals 17 15-19 50.

Halftime - Prairie 18, Iowa City High 18. 3-point goals - Prairie 2 (Eilers 2), Iowa City High 1 (A. Perry 1). Fouled out - Kehoe.

J-Hawks bounce Prairie on Senior Night

The Jefferson boys put together what their star player called the most complete basketball game for long while to dump Prairie 66-55 Thursday night at home to end both teams’ regular season.

The J-Hawks (13-8, 9-7 MVC) now await the winner between Marshalltown and Mason City for a home tilt next Friday in the second round of Substate 3 tournament play.

Meanwhile, the Prairie Hawks (9-12, 5-11 MVC) have a rubber match at Iowa City High Monday in round one of Substate 6. The teams split their series this season.

Jeff senior playmaker Taylor Olson, who once again led his team with 23 points Thursday, felt the troops showed an extra spring in their step on Senior Night.

"We came out with a lot of energy right off the bat,” he said. “We’ve kind of been slumping the last few games.  But tonight, we had a different kind of swagger. We were playing with confidence like we did at the beginning of the season.”

The 6-foot-1 inside and out offensive threat scored 11 points early as Jefferson spurted out to a 27-13 lead.  He also sank a straight-on bank shot from way behind the half-court line at the end of the third quarter, but the officials said he didn't beat the buzzer.

Prairie had an uphill struggle the whole way, mostly because of an inability to put the ball in the basket.

“For some reason, nothing was falling for us tonight,” said senior Hawk Matt MacDougall, who was held to two points on just three shot attempts in the first half and finished with a team-high 12 points.

They were missing easy shots in the first half. Then when they went to the three-ball, they missed those, too.  For the night, Prairie was 21 for 64 (33 percent), including a dismal six for 27 from long range.

“I don’t know if it was our defense, our crowd or merely the Gods of basketball,” Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman said of the opponents’ poor shooting.

The J-Hawks shot an even 50 percent, with five for 12 from behind the arc.

“I thought we had much better ball movement tonight,” Ordman said, “and we worked for better shots.”

Despite the disparity in field goal accuracy, it was a pretty even game, otherwise.  Each team committed just nine turnovers.  Jeff led in rebounding 31 to 29, although Ordman was disturbed that a dozen of Prairie’s boards came on the offensive end.  He was pleased with Justin Underwood’s rebounding off the bench, along with his seven points.

Diminutive Creighton Robinson scored 10 points, including two long bombs. Senior Tyer Hemphill had a big night with 16 points, many of them coming on slashing drives.

“He likes to cut,” Olson said. “We’ve been playing together since sixth grade, so I know when to get him the ball when he’s going to the basket."

Between the two of them, they helped the J-Hawks maintain a 29-20 lead at half.

Prairie cut the margin to six with 5:40 to go in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Jacob Aune. But that was as close as they came.

Jefferson went on a 10-0 run and coasted from there.

Prairie assistant coach Jeff Zittergruen was running the team in the absence of head coach James Moses, who was suspended after being ejected from Tuesday's game against Cedar Falls.  Zittergruen said the Hawks never found their rhythm against the J-Hawks.

“Give Jefferson credit for controlling the tempo of the game,” Zittergruen said. “We like to push the ball. But defensively, they kept it at a half-court game.

“We had a problem with their zone defense. And when we did get open looks, we didn’t take advantage of them.

“We got behind, and we just never could close the gap.”

PRAIRIE (55): Jacob Aune 3 0-2 8, Brooks Kehoe 1 0-0 3, Jace Hanna 3 4-5 11, Matt MacDougall 5 1-1 12, Tom Eilers 2 1-1 6, DeMetrius Harper 2 1-4 5, Kentrel Smith 3 0-0 6, JoJo Simpson 2 0-0 4, Bryce Meeker 0 0-0 0,. Totals 21 7-13 55.

JEFFERSON (66): Ky Kramer 3 0-0 6, Tyler Hemphill 7 1-4 16, Taylor Mueller 1 0-0 3, Taylor Olson 7 8-10 23, Austin Goodell 0 0-0 0, Jacob Olson 0 0-0 0, Creighton Robinson 3 2-2 10, Layne Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Christian Knox 0 0-0 0, Terrance Taylor 0 1-2 1, Justin Underwood 3 1-4 7. Totals 24 13-22 66.

Halftime – Jefferson 29, Prairie 20. 3-point goals – Prairie 6 (Aune 2, Kehoe, Hanna, MacDougall, Eilers), Jefferson 5 (Robinson 2, Hemphill, Mueller, T. Olson). Total fouls – Prairie 20, Jefferson 15. Fouled out – none.