Xavier Boys Basketball

Mattke scores 14 for Saints in jamboree

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson boys basketball team jumped to a 17-0 lead Monday night and crushed Center Point-Urbana, 41-12, at the Jefferson Jamboree.

Taylor Olson led the J-Hawks with 13 points. Creighton Robinson scored seven points, Alec Saunders scored six points and Ky Kramer netted five points.

All teams played two eight-minute quarters.

Jefferson (41): Saunders 6, Robinson 7, Kramer 5, Olson 13, Underwood 0, Hemphill 4, Mueller 0, Eggers 0, Sullivan 2, Goodell 4.

Center Point-Urbana (12): Jirak 5, Suttles 3, Thibault 2, Smith 2, Salow 0, Millikin 0, Ramsey 0, Gatrost 0, Jacobs 0.

PRAIRIE 34, BENTON COMMUNITY 16

Eight players scored for Cedar Rapids Prairie during its 18-point victory over Benton Community in the Jamboree.

Jacob Aune, Jace Hanna and Kentrel Smith scored six points apiece in a balanced attack. Matt MacDougall added five points.

Prairie (34): Aune 6, Kehoe 2, Hanna 6, MacDougall 5, Eilers 4, Smith 6, Mougin 3, Harper 2, Tonyan 0, Meeker 0, Adams 0, Koch 0, Rasmussen 0.

Benton Community (16): Cassell 0, Kearns 3, Markland 5, Stenberg 4, Rathje 0, Strellner 0, Stramer 0, Volz 0, Havlik 0, Christensen 0, Moser 4, Fisher 0, Stoll 0.

MOUNT VERNON 30, KENNEDY 25

Jake Timm popped in 13 points as Mount Vernon upended Kennedy in the Jamboree. Jack Keleher collected 11 points for the Mustangs.

Alex Hayden led Kennedy with eight points and Elliott Christians scored seven points. The Cougars played without Josiah Coleman and Darius Fuller, who have been suspended for violating school rules.

Kennedy (25): Hayden 8, Heitland 3, Jahlas 0, Bell 3, Christians 7, Oltmann 0, Fergus 0, Martin 2, Johnson 0, Koelling 0, Struss 2, Thomas 0.

Mount Vernon (30): H. Ruth 2, Teubel 0, G. Ruth 0, Timm 13, Keleher 11, Tuerler 0, Shaffer 0, Kroeger 0, Muller 0, Kray 0, Eldred 0, Russell 2, Parker 0, Minor 2, Kragenbrink 0.

XAVIER 27, ANAMOSA 24

Ben McDermott gave Xavier the lead with a clutch 3-pointer with three seconds left to lift the Saints past Anamosa in the Jamboree.

Mack Mattke led Xavier with 14 points. McDermott finished with six points and Carter Valentine scored five points.

Spencer Barnes led Anamosa with 14 points with four long 3-pointers.

Xavier (27): Sampson 0, McDermott 6, Hosch 0, Valentine 5, Mattke 14, Mullin 0, Ropp 0, Frazier 0, Clasen 2.

Anamosa (24): Krapfl 0, Ditch 3, J. Schulte 2, Barnes 14, Crofoot 2, Switzer 3, N. Schulte 0, M. Maruga 0, J. Maruga 0, Groth 0, Schrader 0, Burnell 0, Brown 0.

McLaughlin accepts offer from Drake basketball

Cedar Rapids Xavier senior Mitch McLaughlin has accepted an offer to join the Drake University basketball team as a preferred walk-on this year.

McLaughlin, a 6-foot point guard, averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the Saints last season. He led Xavier in assists and steals and ranked second in scoring.

He earned all-Metro and all-conference honors in football and basketball at Xavier and was named the basketball team's MVP.

McLaughlin met with Drake Coach Mark Phelps on Monday and received the offer to join the Bulldogs.

"The opportunity to join an NCAA Division I basketball program in my home state was something I could not pass up," he said.

McLaughlin plans to major in finance and marketing.

Linn-Mar ousts Saints from tourney

The Linn-Mar Lions showed why they are the No. 1 ranked boys basketball team in the state Friday, scoring from all over the court and employing suffocating full-court pressure defense to beat Xavier, 69-45, at Linn-Mar in a Class 4A substate semifinal.

Senior guard Shane Benton led the way for Linn-Mar (22-0) with 21 points and North Carolina-bound junior Marcus Paige added 20 points for the Lions. Senior center Ryan Mains paced Xavier (7-16) with 10 points.

Linn-Mar started the game slow. Xavier's final lead came at 8-7 with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.

"We got off to a slow start and a lot of that has to do with having a week off and having a bye," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "It's hard to stay sharp when you're used to playing and then you just practice for five days."

The Lions employed their full-court pressure and picked up the pace. Linn-Mar scored 10 straight points in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter. The Lions continued to sprint away from the Saints in the second period and put the game out of reach with a 28-point halftime lead.

They were able to get going in transition and pick up the pace, Robertson said.

"We wanted to get the tempo going, obviously, our full-court pressure is what we rely on to do that," Robertson said.  "We got some transition baskets in the second quarter and it just broke the game open and got everybody relaxed and playing. When we are playing that style our guys are having fun and that is probably our strength."

The Lions stretched their lead to as many as 33 before Xavier started to chip away. Despite the one-sided score, the Saints battled hard in the second half, coming back to within 21 points with just under 4 minutes left in the game. But Linn-Mar never let them get any closer than that.

"(The) second half, I thought we got a little sloppy with things," Robertson said. "Sometimes it's hard playing with a big lead when the other team comes out and keeps fighting. We didn't match that intensity in the third quarter."

With the win, the Lions move on to Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. substate final at the U.S. Cellular Center where they will face North Scott.  The Lancers beat Pleasant Valley, 46-44, Friday.

Although Robertson was not sure who they would be facing immediately after the game he was confident that his team would be up to the challenge.

"We will have a couple good days to get ready," he said. "Our guys know what's at stake, that's what's nice about this team. We have a lot of seniors, a lot of experience, so they know what it's going to take Tuesday night."

Senior forward Ian McBrayer played for the first time since he was injured Feb. 8 and scored six points. Senior forward Josh Montague remained sidelined with a leg injury. Senior guard Michael Thul left the game in the first quarter with a bad ankle.

XAVIER (45): McLaughlin 2 2-4 6, McDermott 1 0-0 3, Hosch 2 0-0 5, Dunkirk 2 0-0 5, Valentine 1 1-2 3, Ropp 1 2-2 5, Clasen 1 3-5 5, Mains 4 2-3 10, Mattke 0 3-6 3, Sampson 0 0-0 0, Frazier 0 0-0 0, Woods 0 0-0 0, Schulte 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Kokontis 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 13-22 45.

LINN-MAR (69): Soyer 0 2-2 2, Kruise 2 0-0 4, Benton 6 8-10 21, Paige 7 4-4 20, Johnson 0 1-2 1, Bohannon 3 3-4 10, McBrayer 3 0-0 6, Gentzler 1 1-2 3, Gogg 1 0-0 2, Thul 0 0-0 0, Lassen 0 0-0 0, Lancial 0 0-0 0, Henry 0 0-0 0, Hutchins 0 0-0 0, Malone 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 19-24 69.

Halftime -- Linn-Mar 44, Xavier 16. 3 point goals -- Linn-Mar 4 (Paige 2, Benton, Bohannon), Xavier 4 (McDermott, Hosch, Dunkirk, Ropp).

Saints work OT for tourney win

OTTUMWA -- The mark of a true competitor is to never back down, come ready to play and fear no one.

The Cedar Rapids Xavier boys hoops squad got the memo.

The Saints (7-15) and Coach Matt Jenkins made the long haul down to Wapello County and promptly knocked off the Ottumwa Bulldogs, 61-54, in overtime in a Class 4A substate quarterfinal at Evans Middle School Monday night.

"Our guys just made plays. That's what it boils down to. Guys gutted it out. We sensed the moment," said Jenkins.

Up next for the Saints is the top dog in the state, in the form of undefeated and top-ranked Linn-Mar (21-0) in the substate semifinals Friday night at Linn-Mar.

Xavier is no stranger to its league rival. It played the top power in the large-school class twice and lost by 19 and 20 points, although the Saints were tied at halftime in the first fray.

"They are a phenomenal team. We wouldn't have it any other way," said Jenkins. "To be the best, you've got to beat the best. We'll see what happens."

Xavier senior point guard Mitch McLaughlin drained seven free throws in the extra session and accounted for nine points in overtime. McLaughlin talked about playing in the extremely strong Mississippi Valley Conference,­ a big reason the Saints came ready to play right off the bat.

"Everyone asked, 'What's wrong with your record?' We kind of just ignored it. We knew we were better than what we were showing," said McLaughlin, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

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