They opened with a pair of perfect plays.

Cedar Rapids Xavier worked the ball inside twice to sophomore center Matt Nelson, who made a pair of good moves, but failed to get short shots to fall.

Those two misses were all No. 7 Cedar Falls needed to get started.

Coach Tom Bardal’s Tigers jumped to a quick 7-0 start after Nelson’s near misses and were never headed in a 71-40 Mississippi Valley Conference game Tuesday night at the Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

Cedar Falls (4-2 overall, 2-2 MVC) was so in control that its first turnover didn’t come until there was 1:33 remaining in the third quarter.

“They made everything,” said a disappointed Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins. “We didn’t play good defense and they did, just not a good showing on our part.”

The Tigers used an aggressive defense to push the Saints out of their offensive sets, then took advantage of their speed and quickness to find open shots.

Bardal was pleased with the patience shown by his team, especially in the third quarter when the Tigers put the game away.

“We played well,” he said. “I thought we shared the ball well and got out and ran.

“I thought we showed a lot of composure, especially late in the third quarter by going to the basket,” Bardal added. “I give Xavier credit for going to a triangle-and-two to try and speed us up, but I was pleased with the way we handled it.”

Jenkins admitted his team (2-6, 1-2) looked flat in its first game after the break, but added he thought the Saints would respond better.

“When you face a team like Cedar Falls you have to be ready because they are such a good team,” Jenkins said. “All across the board they’ve got athletic, skilled guys.

“We had our opportunities,” Jenkins continued. “We ran a couple nice plays to start the game, but we just couldn’t get the shots to drop. We got what we wanted, but when they didn’t fall, it looked like we accepted it a little bit.”

The Tigers used a balanced attack to gain the win. Slick point guard James Harrington led the way with 15 points. Tony Johnson (13), Isaac Boettger (11) and Caleb Konieczny (10) also reached double figures.

Mack Mattke was the lone Xavier player in double figures, finishing with 11.

The Saints return to action Saturday night with a non-conference match-up against Western Dubuque.

CEDAR FALLS (71):  James Harrington 5 5-6 15; Caleb Konieczny 4 0-0 10; Kalund Brown 2 0-0 4; Isaac Boettger 4 1-2 11; Tony Johnson 6 0-0 13; Kalehl Brown 4 0-0 9; Nick Clark 2 0-0 4; Brandon Bardal 0 0-0 0; Zach Harvey 1 0-0 2; Riley Gardner 0 0-0 0; Jackson Nichols 1 0-0 3; Kasey Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-8 71.

XAVIER (40):  Ben McDermott 2 2-2 7; Kevin Hosch 2 2-4 6; Carter Valentine 1 0-0 2; Mack Mattke 5 0-0 11; Matt Nelson 3 0-1 6; Alec Clasen 0 2-2 2; Trey Sampson 1 1-2 3; Brian Ropp0 0-0 0; Tanner Frazier 0 0-0 0; Reggie Schulte 0 1-2 1; Patrick Mullin 1 0-0 2; Corbin Woods 0 0-0 0; Robbie Thinnes 0 0-0 0; Zach Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-13 40.

Halftime - Cedar Falls 35, Xavier 18. 3-point goals - Cedar Falls 7 (Konieczny 2, Boettger 2, Johnson, K, Brown, Nichols); Xavier 2 (McDermott, Mattke). Turnovers - Cedar Falls 5, Xavier 13. Total fouls - Cedar Falls 10, Xavier 8. Fouled out - None. Technical fouls- None