Mon - 22 Feb
Written by Jim Ecker
The Xavier Saints needed a game where they could score lots of points and feel good about themselves again.
They needed a laugher Monday night and they got it.
The Saints crushed Williamsburg, 90-47, in the semifinals of the Class 3A district tournament at Xavier to snap a six-game losing streak and move within two victories of reaching the state tournament.
Xavier (14-8) will face Clear Creek Amana (12-10) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the district finals at Prairie.
The Saints played a brutal schedule during the last three weeks of the Mississippi Valley Conference with games against state powers like Iowa City West, Linn-Mar, Cedar Falls and Dubuque Wahlert. They also had to deal with injuries to star guards Mitchell Burger and Matt Mims during that six-game skid, which dropped their record from a glossy 13-2 to 13-8.
"I don't know that anybody's had a tougher stretch of games at the end of the year than us," said Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "Our kids know the reality of that situation and who we played and just how good they are and have maintained a positive attitude through some difficult times.
"It makes you a little tougher, it makes you hungry to figure out what it takes to win again. I'm just glad we were able to do that tonight."
Williamsburg (3-19) offered some resistance at first, but the Saints were simply too good for the Raiders. Luehrsmann rested all five of his starters in the fourth quarter and gave his deep reserves a chance to shine in the final home game of the year.
Mims led the onslaught with 18 points. Burger collected 16 points and Ryan Stulken added 15. The Saints were hot from 3-point range, nailing 13 of 27, with six different players hitting at least one triple.
The Saints felt good after the tuneup.
"It gave us a lot of confidence and momentum," said Mims. "We played some tougher teams in the conference the last few games, but this will definitely give us a lot of momentum and confidence that we can make a run.
"I really believe we can do big things. I think things will go our way."
Luehrsmann liked what he saw Monday night, except for a few stretches of leaky defense in the first half.
"Any time you can get back in the win column and build some positive energy out of it, it's just what we needed," he said. "We needed a game at home to take care of business. I'm real happy with the kids."
The Saints received a favorable draw in the postseason tournament, but Luehrsmann is not taking anything for granted. They still need two more victories for a second straight trip to the state tournament.
"We're not thinking right now about Des Moines," he said. "Yeah, it's in the back of your mind, just like it's in the back of the mind of every team.
"Right now we're just focused on Clear Creek Amana. We got a chance to see them up close and they looked good. A pretty athletic team. We just have to come ready to battle on Thursday, because we know they will."
Clear Creek Amana nipped the Washington Demons, 75-71, in the first game at Xavier Monday.
WILLIAMSBURG (47): Van Etten 0 0-2 0, Buch 1 0-0 2, Heitshusen 2 0-0 4, Greiner 2 0-0 5, Broeg 0 0-1 0, Subbert 2 1-1 5, Powell 2 0-1 5, Miller 0 0-0 0, Francis 2 4-5 8, Blythe 3 3-4 9, Culp 2 2-2 6, Schlesselman 1 0-0 3, West 0 0-0 0, Gustafson 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-16 47.
XAVIER (90): Q. Schulte 0 0-0 0, Burger 7 1-1 16, Mims 5 5-5 18, Butkowski 1 0-1 2, Fettkether 2 3-3 7, Whitten 2 0-0 6, Joens 3 0-0 8, Dempewolf 0 0-0 0, Stulken 4 3-4 15, B. Schulte 0 0-0 0, Houtakker 1 0-0 3, Lux 0 2-3 2, Techau 4 1-2 9, Johnson 2 0-0 4. Totals 31 18-31 90.
Halftime - Xavier 48, Williamsburg 30. 3-point goals - Williamsburg 3 (Greiner 1, Powell 1, Schlesselman 1), Xavier 13 (Stulken 4, Mims 3, Whitten 2, Joens 2, Burger 1, Houtakker 1).
