Xavier Boys Basketball

Xavier battles No. 1 West to the end

You’re up against the unbeaten best team in the state.

They have Division I talent all over the court, even off the bench.

They tromped you at their place earlier in the season.

Some teams might choke-up and meekly allow them to run all over them again.

But the scrappy Xavier Saints under even-tempered Coach Matt Jenkins, as always, fought tooth-and-nail with No. 1 Iowa City West from start to finish.  They didn’t given an inch and lost 72-60 at home Friday night in a game that was far closer.

The Trojans (15-0, 10-0) nursed a narrow game-long lead and stretched it to a dozen with a slew of free throws at the end.

Xavier (5-9, 4-5) buckled but never broke.

“One thing I try to preach,” said Jenkins, “is that lack of effort will ever be a reason for us to lose.

“I thought we did a phenomenal job tonight against a very good team.  We kept battling so hard to keep coming back. And we kept our composure.

“Just a couple of possessions made the difference. We  missed some shots, and they came down and hit theirs. But we played them a lot harder this time around.”

In their previous encounter in mid-December, West raced out to a 17-3 lead and coasted to an effortless 69-49 victory.

“It could easily been 35 to 40 points,” Jenkins said after the much more competitive rematch.

Trojan Coach Steve Bergman figured his talented team would be in for a tussle.

“We knew that they’ve improved a lot. They’re a senior-laden team with experience in tough-game situations," he said.  “They’re big, and we knew they wouldn’t back down.

“Give Xavier a lot of credit. They’re one of those teams that come tournament time, you don’t to play ‘em. Because they can beat anybody.”

West has loads of depth and some superior athletes.  One of them, 6-foot-3 battering ram Dondre Alexander, picked up two quick fouls Friday night and sat for the most of the first half.  In his absence, however, silky smooth 6-foot-6 junior guard Jeremy Morgan (son of former Iowa Hawkeye Michael Morgan) scored eight points as the Trojans went ahead 17-10 after one quarter.

They maintained that margin through three quarters, but the Saints never let them run away.

Xavier played tenacious man-to-man defense and continued to pound the boards.  Bulky 6-foot-5 senior center Mack Mattke said the Saints refused to be intimidated by the state’s top-ranked team.

“We fought ‘em to the end," he said. "The biggest difference this time was that pushed the ball and ran. We got some good open shots.  And we didn’t back down.”

Mattke led his team with eight rebounds, including five on offense.  He also scored 11 points in a balanced attack led by seniors Ben McDermott with 17, Carter Valentine with 10 and Kevin Hosch with nine.

Although West led by 10 going into the last quarter, the Saints quickly cut it to five on a 3-pointer by junior starter Trey Sampson and consecutive driving buckets by Hosch and McDermott.

But then Alexander, who leads his team in scoring with a 16.5 average, started to take over.  Held to just five points for three quarters, he scored 14 in the final four minutes on two baskets and 10 straight free throws.

Meanwhile, Morgan was steady all game long and topped his 16.1 average with 21 points.

“We needed a game like this,” said Bergman, who is used to winning by 20 or more.  “We haven’t had a taxing game for awhile. We knew we’d be in for a battle.”

The soft-spoken Jenkins said he was pleased even in defeat.

“We had a lot of positives tonight. We’re getting better game-by-game.  We’ve got a lot of room to grow. I don’t think we’ve hit our peak yet.”

Xavier plays at Jefferson Saturday night.

IOWA CITY WEST (72): Richard Bryant 2 1-2 5, Dondre Alexander 4 11-12 19, Jeremy Morgan 8 3-4 21, Wyatt Lohaus 3 0-0 6, Jacob Gylten 4 3-4 11, Tavian Smith 0 0-0 0, Myzeah Batie-Gaddy 1 0-0 2, Austin Swank 1 0-0 2, Jason Stewart 3 0-0 6. Totals 26 18-22 72.

XAVIER (60): Trey Sampson 2 0-0 5, Ben McDermott 6 3-4 17, Kevin Hosch 4 1-1 9, Carter Valentine 4 2-4 10, Mack Mattke 3 5-8 11, Brian Ropp 1 0-0 2, Tanner Frazier 2 0-0 4, Alec Clasen 0 0-0 0, Matt Nelson 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 11-17 60.

Halftime – West 32, Xavier 24. 3-point goals – West 2 (Morgan 2), Xavier 3 (McDermott 2, Sampson). Total fouls – West 15, Xavier 12. Fouled out – none.

Saints shoot down Waterloo West, 63-47

Patience and execution provided the difference as Xavier defeated Waterloo West, 63-47, in Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball at Xavier Tuesday night.

“They have a high energy defense so we felt if we could show good patience on offense, move the ball, and reverse the ball we could create gaps and take advantage of them,” said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins.

Xavier (5-8, 4-4) executed its game plan to perfection; right down to hitting 10 3-pointers and 15-of-16 free throws. An aggressive defense, coupled with offensive execution, provided a balanced attack for which West had no answer.

Brian Ropp came off the bench to lead the balanced Saints offense with 17. Ben McDermott put up 14 and Matt Mattke added 11.

“We tried to work the ball into the post and when they collapsed we would move back out to the perimeter.  They were paying so much attention to Matt (Mattke) and Ben (McDermott) in the first half that they were leaving me open,” explained Ropp.  "So I took my shots."

McDermott scored all of his points in the second half on four 3-point baskets and a pair of free throws.  He attributed his success to Ropp, who had three 3-pointers.

“When Brian showed success in the first half, they put more pressure on him and that freed me up in the second half,” said McDermott.

“Our offense was patient and did a nice job of executing, but our defense played with great intensity," said Jenkins.  “We have always had that kind of intensity, but now we are trusting in each other and feeding on each others' success.”

Dale Jones led all scorers with 21 points for Waterloo West (6-7, 3-6).  Malik Green had 14.

Xavier hosts No. 1 Iowa City West at 7:30 p.m. Friday and plays at Jefferson on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

WATERLOO WEST (47): Moore 2 3-4 8, Green 6 0-0 14, Mallett 1 0-0 2, Jones 7 4-4 21, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Hightower 0 0-0 0, Young 1 0-0 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Roby 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-8 47.

XAVIER (63): Sampson 1 0-0 3, McDermott 4 2-2 14, Hosch 3 1-2 7, Valentine 1 0-0 3, Mattke 3 4-4 11, Ropp 5 4-4 17, Clasen 2 2-2 6, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Frazier 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-16 62.

Halftime — Waterloo West 25 Xavier 27. 3-point goals — Waterloo West 6 (Moore 1, Green 2, Jones 3),  Xavier 10 (Sampson 1, McDermott 4, Valentine 1,Mattke 1, Ropp 3). Fouled out -- Moore.

No.3 Lions escape Saints with strong finish

Jimmy Roth popped in five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points Saturday night to help Linn-Mar survive a big scare against the Xavier Saints.

Just think what he might have accomplished if the referees hadn't called a phantom foul against him, causing him to miss the final 4 minutes and 41 seconds of the first half.

The third-ranked Lions rallied in the final two minutes and topped the Saints, 70-61, in a spirited Mississippi Valley Conference battle at Xavier.

One of the officials blew his whistle with 4:41 left in the second quarter and called a foul on No. 21, which was Roth, when in reality the foul was by No. 31, which was Andy Henry. The mistake sent Roth to the bench with two fouls, when he should have been able to stay comfortably on the floor with just one foul.

The referees huddled at halftime, agreed it was a mistake and changed the call, but the error cost Roth a big chunk of playing time in the first half and cost the Lions a big chunk of their offense. Roth had scored 14 points at the time of the phantom foul, leading Linn-Mar to a 29-14 lead, but the Saints rallied and pulled within 37-30 at halftime with Roth
sitting unfairly on the bench.

"It was tough," said Roth.

Roth and Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson both told the officials it was a mistake at the time, but it wasn't fixed until intermission.

"We didn't think that foul was on him," said Robertson. "I appreciate they corrected it, but I wish they had corrected it at the time. We sure would have liked to have him on the floor."

The Saints (4-8, 3-4) finished the first half with confidence and a burst of energy. They kept surging in the second half even with Roth on the floor.

Xavier vaulted into a 49-45 lead on a bucket by Ben McDermott late in the third quarter. The Saints grabbed another four-point lead at 57-53 on a 3-pointer by Brian Ropp with 4:45 left in the game, putting an upset within reach.

Roth tied the game, 59-59, with a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:52 remaining, but Tanner Frazier gave the Saints a 61-59 edge with two free throws with 2:38 left. The Saints had All-American Marcus Paige and the third-ranked Lions in trouble, but the visitors wiggled away.

Roth hit another 3-pointer to give Linn-Mar a 62-61 lead with 2:03 left, igniting an 11-0 run to finish the game. Zach Martins hit a 3-pointer to make it 65-61 and Paige nailed four straight free throws to make it 69-61 with 43.4 seconds to go. Martins hit a foul shot with 28.3 seconds left to finish the scoring.

Suddenly, Xavier's 61-59 advantage had become a 61-70 disadvantage in the space of 95 seconds. The Saints did not score in the last 2:37 of the ballgame.

"They hit their shots. They started executing, and we had some costly turnovers at the end," said Xavier forward Kevin Hosch. "It kind of got us out of our rhythm a little bit."

The Saints did everything but win the game. Paige finished with 21 points, but he had only 12 points entering the fourth quarter thanks to excellent defense by Xavier.

The Saints used a variety of defenses with a man-to-man, straight zone and box-and-one, keeping a fresh man on Paige and keeping him under wraps much of the game. "They did throw us off for awhile, and that was a great game plan by Xavier," said Paige.

North Carolina Coach Roy Williams attended the game to watch his prized recruit. Paige delivered in the clutch with his future coach in the stands, but Roth was the guy who gave the Lions the biggest boost of all.

"He was huge for us tonight," said Paige. "Our offense was a little out of synch. They threw a couple of different junk defenses at us and it kind of got us out of our flow.

"He really kept us in the game for awhile for that big stretch. And once we were able to get stops and other people finally hit some shots at the end, we pulled away."

Martins hit three 3-pointers and scored 12 points for Linn-Mar (9-2, 5-2).

Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins used an effective nine-man rotation and got important contributions from all nine guys. The Saints got 27 points from their reserves, whipping the Lions in bench points 27-5 and giving their team a chance to win.

"It's disappointing that we didn't pull it off," said Hosch. "Our bench came out and really sparked us and got some turnovers and hit some shots. They were great."

The Xavier super-subs were Matt Nelson (9 points), Frazier (8), Ropp (7) and Alec Clasen (3). Ben McDermott led a balanced attack with 10 points, with Mack Mattke contributing nine points and Trey Sampson adding seven markers.

"We did a great job, for the most part," said Jenkins. "We made a lot of progress in this game.

"Of course we're disappointed in not winning the game, but there are a lot of positives that out-weigh the negatives. For us, we saw a lot of progress tonight."

Linn-Mar made 11 3-pointers with five by Roth, three by Paige and three by Martins. Xavier made only two 3-pointers.

LINN-MAR (70): Martins 4 1-3 12, Paige 6 6-7 21, Roth 9 0-0 23, Henry 2 0-1 4, Gogg 2 1-1 5, Schlotterback 2 0-0 4, Meier 0 0-0 0, Dick 0 1-2 1. Totals 25 9-14 70.

XAVIER (61): Sampson 3 0-0 7, McDermott 2 6-9 10, Hosch 1 1-2 3, Valentine 2 1-2 5, Mattke 4 1-1 9, Nelson 3 3-3 9, Ropp 1 4-4 7, Frazier 2 4-4 8, Clasen 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 21-27 61.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 37, Xavier 30. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 11 (Roth 5, Paige 3, Martins 3), Xavier 2 (Sampson 1, Ropp 1). Technical foul - Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson.

Aune scores but Xavier rolls, 79-59

Senior guard Jacob Aune had the quarter of his life in the third period of Friday night's basketball game against Xavier.

But his 19 points in the period were not enough to overcome Xavier's all-around play. The Saints whipped Prairie, 79-59, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Prairie.

Aune went 8 for 10 from the floor and scored 19 points in the quarter as Prairie (5-6, 2-5) tried to come back from a poor first half and catch the Saints. Aune, who finished with a game-high 24, and the Hawks cut the lead to 12 and seemed to have some momentum going in to the fourth quarter.

“He was the one person fighting every possession,” Prairie Coach James Moses said. “Aune was the beneficiary of the offense. He let the game come to him.”

The Saints (4-7, 3-3) answered early in the fourth going inside three straight times to 6-foot-8 Matt Nelson to all but put the game away. The Hawks had no answer for Nelson and the Saints' size inside. Nelson scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“Matt found a way and guys were unselfish getting him the ball. Matt did a nice job kicking it out when he got doubled.” Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins said. “It is harder to beat a team than individuals.”

After Nelson pushed the lead back to 18 the Saints secured the victory from the free throw line. They hit 14 of 16 free throws in the quarter and were 22 of 25 for the game.

“If we don’t hit our free throws like we did that is a lot different game,” Jenkins said of his team's strong shooting.

Ben McDermott added 15 points and Kevin Hosch 13 for Xavier.

Despite being in a loud, hostile gym, the Saints went on a 10-3 run to start the game and led by six after one quarter.

“Xavier just outplayed us,” Moses said. “We didn’t, as a team, come out ready to play.”

The Saints' stingy defense and ability to get in the paint pushed their lead to double digits in the second quarter and they went into the halftime break with a 30-16 lead.

“We needed to get out and play solid defense,” Jenkins said. “We didn’t let key guys (for Prairie) hurt us.”

Jace Hanna added 13 points for Prairie, but Matt MacDougall was held to seven.

The win was Xavier's second of the week. The Saints routed Washington, 58-42, Tuesday. The wins came after a pair of disappointing losses last week to Cedar Falls and Western Dubuque when Xavier played poorly.

“We a taking it one game at a time,” Jenkins said. “We will let the standings fall where they may we just want to continue to improve every game.”

Prairie was coming off a disappointing 65-62 loss to No. 3 Dubuque Senior on Tuesday.

“We are fine. We just have to respond,” Moses said after the loss. “We have to try to learn from tonight’s mistakes to prepare for the next one. We will get ready to go back to work.”

Xavier's next game is Friday at Jefferson. Prairie plays at No. 1 Iowa City West on Friday.

XAVIER (79): Trey Sampson 0 5-6 5, Ben McDermott 6 0-0 15, Kevin Hosch 5 3-3 13, Carter Valentine 2 4-5 8, Mack Mattke 1 2-2 4, Matt Nelson 7 3-3 17, Tanner Frazier 0 0-0 0, Brian Ropp 2 2-2 8, Robbie Thinnes 0 0-0 0, Patrick Mullin 0 0-0 0, Corbin Woods 0 0-0 0, Reggie Schulte 0 0-0 0, Benjamin Breitbach 0 0-0 0. Team 26 22-25 79.

PRAIRIE (59): Jacob Aune 10 1-2 24, Brooks Hehoe 0 1-3 1, Jace Hanna 4 5-7 13, Matt MacDougall 3 1-2 7, Thomas Eilers 2 2-3 7, DeMetrius Harper 0 2-4 2, Kentral Smith 0 0-0 0, Bryce Meeker 0 1-2 1, Garrett Rasmussen 1 0-0 2, Tyler Mougin 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Adams 0 0-0 0, JoJo Simpson 1 0-0 2, Cody Tonyan 0 0-0 0. Team 21 13-23 59.

Halftime – Xavier 30, Prairie 16. 3-point goals – Xavier 5 (McDermott 3, Ropp 2), Prairie 4 (Aune 3, Eilers). Total Fouls – Xavier 17 Prairie 22. Fouled Out – Eilers.