Xavier Boys Basketball

Saints rout Waterloo East boys

As the postseason nears, the Xavier boys are playing some of their best basketball. The Saints posted back-to-back wins for only the second time this season in a 74-51 rout of Waterloo East Tuesday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

The Saints were able to find their groove early with senior center Ryan Mains dominating in the paint and scoring eight points in the first quarter en route to a game high 17 points.

"Mains, down low, got off to a really fast start," senior Mitch McLaughlin said. "It was really good to have an inside presence. After that we just kind of fed off of him when they started collapsing on him."

McLaughlin was one of the benefactors of that, leading the Saints from the outside with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Waterloo East was led by senior Demetre Van Arsdale with 12 points.

With Mains going to work in the paint and McLaughlin leading the 3-point barrage, the Saints were able to open up a comfortable lead and went into the half up 37-22.

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Saints boys hold off Prairie

The first half was run and gun and the second half was much more methodical, but the result was a 56-51 Xavier victory  in Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball at Prairie Friday night. 

Both teams were putting up points in the first half.  It was 19-19 at the quarter and Xavier led 35-29 at the half, forging their margin in the last two minutes of the half.  In the second half defense improved and the pace slowed and while Prairie actually outscored Xavier, it wasn’t by enough.

“Prairie really made it hard on us in the second half.  We really struggled to maintain our lead; we just had to weather the storm,” said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins.

That was the case as Prairie (3-15, 2-11 MVC) managed to cut the lead to 48-46 at one point in the fourth quarter. Down the stretch, Xavier (5-14, 4-10) maintained its composure in a loud road environment and the Hawks missed four critical free throws that cooled their comeback effort.

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2nd half collapse sends Saints to loss

Xavier held a slim one-point lead over Dubuque Hempstead at halftime Tuedsay night, but the Saints slipped in the second half and the Mustangs posted a 66-52 victory at Xavier.

"In our huddles in the second half we emphasized the team that could get the most stops will win this ballgame," said Hempstead Coach Curt Deustch. "We got some key stops in the fourth quarter and improved our defensive rebounding to aid in the fourth quarter surge."

The victory kept Hempstead (7-10, 5-7) solidly in fourth place in the Valley Division of the Mississippi Valley Conference. Xavier fell to 3-10 in the MVC and 4-14 overall.

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Saints hang tough but get mauled by Lions

It wasn’t a real pretty game.

Linn-Mar’s Lions, the state’s top-ranked boys team, weren’t as sharp as usual.

The gritty Xavier Saints, meanwhile, played tough as always. They tested the visitors in their home gym Friday night but fell to the better team, 52-33.

“The thing about Linn-Mar is that they always seem to be in control,” said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins.

“Even when they’re having an off night like tonight, you never get the feeling that they’re going to lose. They’re just a great team.”

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