Xavier Boys Basketball

MacDougall rallies Hawks past Saints in OT

The line between victory and defeat is sometimes so fine that it’s hard to define.

Depending how you look at it, the Xavier boys either let a win slip away Friday or the Prairie boys escaped a loss.

The fact is that the Saints were ahead at home by 10 points with two minutes left in regulation and then by two with 10 seconds to go.

The Hawks scored 10 straight points to tie the game once and two more at the buzzer to send it into overtime.  In the nip-and-tuck extra four minutes, Prairie prevailed from the free throw line, 67-62.

“We played great basketball for 30 minutes,” said a disconsolate Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins.  “We put ourselves in position for a win. But, in the end, we got outplayed. We didn’t execute, and we didn’t play smart.

“We had a chance to seal the deal and we made bad decisions down the stretch.  And Prairie was determined to beat us."

With a much bigger line-up of bruisers, the Saints (7-12, 6-8 MVC) controlled the rebounds all night and scored at will from close range.  For the game, they made 25 of 32 shots from inside the paint.

“Our philosophy,” said Jenkins, “was to go to the well ‘til we ran it dry.”

And it worked so well that they jumped to an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter and were up 53-43 with 2:16 to go.

“That’s when we got away from what we’d been doing all night,” Jenkins said. “We took an unnecessary three, and the momentum shifted.  “We started making anxiety errors. And they started making steals and lay-ups.”

Considering that the Saints made only two of 16 three-point attempts (both by Trey Sampson), firing them up in the frantic final two minutes was a game-killer.

“I think we just got too comfortable with the lead,” said Xavier banger-in-chief Mack Mattke, who owned the boards and led his team with 14 points.  “But they hit the big shots when they had to, and we didn’t. It just wasn’t meant to be for us tonight."

The Hawks (9-10, 5-10 MVC) have lived and died on long-range shooting all year.  They made nine for the night, including two in the second quarter by Brooks Kehoe and three each by baby-faced junior floor general Jace Hanna (playing with a broken nose) and ever-silent assassin Matt MacDougall.

Out for past two contests with a separated shoulder, MacDougall came off the bench three minutes into the game and immediately hit a long trey and then a high-flying dunk.

“Coach wanted me to wait to get into the flow of the game,” said the senior sharpshooter, who ended up with 24 points.  “But the adrenaline kicked in, and I felt real comfortable. And Jace was doing a great job getting me the ball.”

At the end of regulation, MacDougall took over the game completely.  With his team down 53-45 with 1:30 left, he knocked a 3-pointer, stole a pass and raced for his third monster slam of the night and then hit another 3 to tie it up with 30 seconds remaining.

When it looked like the Saints would somehow survive on a lay-up by Kevin Hosch, Hanna hit a clutch jump shot as time ran out.

With Prairie nursing a two-point lead in overtime, MacDougall was again Johnny-on-the-spot with a steal at the two-minute mark.

Hanna hit a pair of free throws, Sampson closed the gap with his second 3 and then steady Hawk senior playmaker Jacob Aune closed the book by sinking four of six free throws in the final half-minute.

“They had us on the ropes, no question,” said Prairie Coach James Moses. “They kept throwing punches, but we stayed in the ring and took what they threw at us.

“We didn’t get rattled or lose our composure. And when the opportunity arose, our players stepped up and took advantage of what was presented to them.”

After losing some heartbreakers this season, Moses said it felt good to finally win a nail-biter.

“The ball,” he said, “just bounced our way tonight.”

PRAIRIE (67): Jacob Aune 1 5-7 7, Brooks Kehoe 2 0-0 6, Jace Hanna 3 3-4 12, Garrett Rasmussen 0 0-0 0, Tom Eilers 2 1-2 6, Matt MacDougall 9 3-4 24, DeMetrius Harper 2 0-0 4, Kentrel Smith 0 0-0 0, Bryce Meeker 2 0-0 4, JoJo  Simpson 2 0-0 4.  Totals 23 12-17 67.

XAVIER (62): Trey Sampson 2 0-1 6, Ben McDermott 4 0-0 8, Kevin Hosch 5 0-3 10, Carter Valentine 3 2-2 8, Mack Mattke 6 2-4 14, Matt Nelson 4 0-1 8, Tanner Frazier 1 0-0 2, Brian Ropp 0 0-0 0, Alec Clasen 2 2-2 6. Totals 27 6-13 62.

Halftime – Xavier 27, Prairie 24. End of regulation – Prairie 55, Xavier 55. 3-point goals – Prairie 9 (Hanna 3, MacDougall 3, Kehoe 2, Eilers), Xavier 2 (Sampson 2). Total fouls – Prairie 14, Xavier 18. Fouled out – Meeker, Hosch.

Valentine sparks Saints by Hempstead

DUBUQUE - The Xavier Saints celebrated Valentine's Day a week early Tuesday night.

Carter Valentine scored 14 points as the Saints defeated Dubuque Hempstead, 53-47, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game in Dubuque.

Xavier led by 16 points and had to withstand a strong fourth-quarter rally by the hosts, who pulled within five points with three seconds left in the game.

Kevin Hosch collected eight points, six rebounds and five assists for Xavier (7-11, 6-7). Mack Mattke also scored eight points in a balanced attack.

Alex Smith topped Hempstead (3-15, 2-11) with 19 points.

XAVIER (53): McDermott 2 1-2 6, Hosch 3 2-4 8, Valentine 5 4-6 14, Mattke 3 2-2 8, Sampson 1 2-2 5, Ropp 2 0-0 4, Nelson 0 6-8 6, Frazier 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 17-24 53.

HEMPSTEAD (47): Smith 7 2-2 19, Weber 2 1-2 5, Breitbach 2 0-0 5, Dolson 3 1-1 8, Goerdt 2 0-0 4, Hermsen 0 3-4 3, Canfield 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 8-11 47.

Halftime - Xavier 27, Hempstead 18. 3-point goals - Xavier 2 (McDermott 1, Sampson 1), Hempstead (5 (Smith 3, Breitbach 1, Dolson 1).

Paige, unselfish Lions dunk Xavier, 67-34

Marcus Paige and the Linn-Mar Lions put on a spectacular show Friday night before an adoring home crowd.

The Xavier Saints, who nearly upset the Lions two weeks ago, were the unfortunate victims.

Paige tossed in 29 points and added a sensational dunk to his highlight reel as the sixth-ranked Lions demolished the Saints, 67-34, in a Mississippi Valley Conference blowout at Linn-Mar.

The Lions (13-3, 9-2) led by 43 points late in the third quarter with one of their best overall performances of the season.

"Collectively I think this was probably one of the top two games we've played this year," said Paige. "Everybody came out ready to go. We've been coming out flat a lot the last five or six games, so it was good that we came out ready to play today."

Linn-Mar overwhelmed the Saints at the beginning and raced to a commanding 28-9 bulge after the first period with stingy defense, strong rebounding and sharp shooting.

It was a tremendous start, the team's best in quite some time.

"I didn't see that coming," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "We've really tried to focus on getting off to better starts. I don't know what the magic formula is.

"You can talk about it until you're blue in the face. For whatever reason we came out ready to play."

The latest entry in the Paige highlight reel came midway through the second quarter. He leaped high at midcourt to steal a pass and fed Jimmy Roth for an easy layup, but Roth glanced back at Paige and had other ideas.

Instead of taking the easy points, Roth appeared to grin and waited for Paige to catch up. At that point, everybody in the house knew what was coming.

Roth tossed the ball above the rim and Paige soared high to get it, twisted his body in mid-air and dunked with his back to the basket. The crowd loved it.

"All I was thinking was, 'I hope I make it,'" Paige confessed later, laughing. "It would have been bad if I missed."

Roth was happy to defer to a star.

"I could see see him running with his finger pointing up. That means alley-oop and I just gave it to him," said Roth, reliving the play. "You've GOT to give it to him."

Paige appreciated the gesture.

"That just shows how unselfish he is," said Paige. "Obviously he could have taken the layup. He saw me coming and wanted to get the team pumped up a little bit.

"I wasn't really sure what he was going to do. I knew it was just me and him. When he got under the basket and kind of looked at me, I could tell he was going to throw it."

Robertson saw the play develop from the bench.

"I saw Marcus start to really go," he said. "I saw him kind of make eye contact (with Roth). I had a feeling it was coming.

"That's a nice unselfish play," said Robertson. "We might talk about that, though. Maybe it's better to go shoot the layup, but we'll let him enjoy it tonight."

Paige put on a remarkable one-man show last week when he scored a school-record 46 points in a comeback win against Prairie, but Friday night's victory over Xavier was a complete team victory. All the starters got into the act and made key contributions.

Zach Martins hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes, Roth drilled a 3-pointer and Andy Henry scored to give Linn-Mar a quick 11-4 advantage. At that point, Paige had barely broken a sweat.

Derik Gogg, a 6-foot-8 stringbean, blocked a couple of shots at the start of the game to key the defense and the Lions also controlled the backboards, with Gogg snaring 11 caroms in the first half alone.

All of that was bad enough for the Saints, but then Paige got into the act and it was Katie bar the door. He notched 17 points in the next 13 minutes and the Lions owned a 43-17 advantage at halftime, with Paige matching Xavier's entire output in the first two quarters.

"They played well all-around. It wasn't just one guy," said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins. "Marcus got guys open early and found those guys, and he got himself going. It just opened up everything, where you have to pay attention to everybody."

Linn-Mar ignited the continuous clock when it took a 35-point lead at 52-17 with five minutes left in the third quarter, but the Lions didn't stop there. They scored the first 14 points of the second half to make it 57-17 on a three-point play by Paige.

Paige gave the Lions a 41-point bulge at 59-18 with a routine (for him) dunk on a lob from Nate Dick, and Jon Schlotterback gave Linn-Mar a 43-point advantage at 61-18 with two free throws late. At that point Paige had outscored the Saints, 27-18, with 1:19 left in the third quarter.

Robertson pulled all his starters with 5:37 left in the game with Linn-Mar sitting on a 65-27 cushion. At that point, Paige had outscored the Saints 29-27 when he sat down for good.

Paige leads Class 4A in scoring at 28 points per game and appears to be well on his way to winning the "Mr. Basketball" award in Iowa this season.

"Everybody should sit back and enjoy him, because players like that don't come around that often," said Robertson. "He's unique and he's special in his own way. I think people are seeing a superstar in the making. It's nice to have him on our side."

The game was a complete reversal from their first meeting. Xavier led the Lions with a few minutes remaining when they met at Xavier just two weeks ago, but Paige and the Lions rallied for a 70-61 victory that night by scoring the last 11 points of the game.

This time, the Saints (6-11, 5-7) never had a chance.

"Get back to work," said Jenkins, sitting in the visitor's locker room. "Can't dwell on this one."

Gogg finished with 12 rebounds, eight points and four blocked shots for the Lions. Henry scored 10 points.

Ben McDermott led the Saints with 10 points. Nobody else scored more than four points for Xavier. Alec Clasen missed the game with a sprained ankle.

The continuous clock was supposed to stop after Xavier chopped the deficit under 35 points at 65-31, but nobody seemed to care and the game mercifully ended a few minutes later.

XAVIER (34): Sampson 0 0-0 0, McDermott 4 1-2 10, Hosch 1 0-0 2, Valentine 2 0-0 4, Mattke 2 0-0 4, Ropp 1 0-0 2, Nelson 2 0-0 4, Frazier 0 3-3 3, Mullin 1 1-2 3, Schulte 1 0-0 2, Woods 0 0-0 0, Thinnes 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Breitbach 0 0-0 0, Foxhoven 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-7 34.

LINN-MAR (67): Martins 2 0-0 6, Roth 3 0-0 7, Gogg 4 0-0 8, Henry 4 2-2 10, Paige 12 3-4 29, Meier 1 0-0 3, Dick 0 0-0 0, Schlotterback 0 2-2 2, Hutchins 0 0-0 0, Wick 0 0-0 0, Nelson 1 0-0 2, Mortensen 0 0-0 0, Sloterdyk 0 0-0 0, Holland 0 0-0 0, Richardson 0 0-0 0, Hackett 0 0-0 0, Manternach 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 7-8 67.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 43, Xavier 17. 3-point goals - Xavier 1 (McDermott 1), Linn-Mar 6 (Martins 2, Paige 2, Roth 1, Meier 1).

Saints trimmed by Wahlert, 62-57

Perhaps it was fitting that it's Catholic Schools Week, because Xavier and Dubuque Wahlert played a dandy basketball game at Xavier High School Tuesday night.

These two parochial teams battled for supremacy and Wahlert hung tough down the stretch to defeat the Saints, 62-57.

"I was interested in limiting their inside game and do something against their big size advantage," said Wahlert Coach Tom English. "We needed to get them in foul trouble and because of Xavier’s good shooting, we needed to limit their 3-point goals."

Wahlert did penetrate a great deal and shot 90 percent at the foul line. The Golden Eagles also made seven 3-pointers, compared to only three for Xavier.

Jake May led all scorers with 25 points for Wahlert. Riley McCarron, an all-around athlete, scored 15 points for the visitors, including a halfcourt bomb to end the third quarter that gave Wahlert (7-7, 7-3) a 49-45 advantage.

Brian Ropp led Xavier (6-10, 5-6) with 13 points and Kevin Hosch added 10.

Xavier led at halftime, 30-27, but Wahlert grabbed the lead in the third quarter and didn't let go.

WAHLERT (62): Riley McCarron 6 2-2 16, Sam Koenig 0 0-0 0, Brady Williams 3 2-2 11, Connor Krueger 1 0-0 2, Josh Tranel 2 0-0 4, Jake May 10 3-4 25, John Burgmeier 1 2-2 4. Totals 23 9-10 62.

XAVIER (57): Trey Sampson 0 0-0 0, Ben McDermott 2 0-0 4, Tanner Frazier 2 0-0 6, Kevin Hosch 5 0-0 10, Brian Ropp 3 6-7 13, Carter Valentine 4 0-0 8, Alec Clasen 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 8-9 57.

Halftime - Xavier 30, Wahlert 27. 3-point goals - Wahlert 7 (Williams 3, McCarron 2, May 2), Xavier 3 (Frazier 2, Ropp 1).