Metro Sports Report

Xavier boys fall short at Linn-Mar

The Xavier Saints have miles to go before they can dream about winning the Class 3A basketball title again this season.

The good news? It's still early.

The Saints struggled in the second half Friday night and lost to Linn-Mar, 55-47, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game in the Linn-Mar gym.

Xavier scored only 18 points in the second half and did not get a single point from any of its reserves while falling to 1-2 for the season. The Saints were a polished outfit last March when they claimed the first state title in school history, but this is a new year and a new team.

"I try to tell everybody it's a different year and a work in progress," said Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "We've got a lot of nice pieces that are back, but it's tough.

"It's tough when the expectations are different. People look at you a little differently, right or wrong. I think we've struggled with it a little bit.

"The good thing is," said Luehrsmann, "it's only three games in."

Xavier's other loss was to Waverly-Shell Rock, the top-ranked team in 3A, by 22 points in Waverly.

No. 1 Eagles hold off Illinois Central

Miles Wentzien scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday  afternoon as the top-ranked Kirkwood Eagles trimmed Illinois Central, 76-69, in a men's basketball game at Johnson Hall.

The game was tied, 63-63, with less than four minutes remaining, but  the Eagles marched to the foul line and made 13 of 14 free throws in  the last 3 minutes, 15 seconds to secure the victory.

Kirkwood was hot at the charity stripe all day, sinking 39 of 46 free  throws for 84.8 percent. The Eagles made only 14 field goals in the ballgame and made only five two-point shots, but they won the game  with a 39-19 bulge in free throws.

Wentzien and Kaliph Fagan shot 9-for-10 at the foul line, Harp was  7-for-8 and Chris King was 6-for-6. Harp snapped the 63-63 tie with a pair of free throws and Fagan followed with a pair to make it 67-63.

Fagan finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Harp had 12 points  and four assists. Da'Rion King contributed eight points and nine rebounds. Chris King had nine points and three assists.

There were nine ties in the ballgame and 12 lead changes. Neither team  led by double digits.

Ira, Robertson join MSR softball league

Two more former all-state softball players have joined the new Iowa Women's Softball League, which will begin its first season of competition this May.

Emily Ira, a product of the famed program at Solon High School, and  Sydney Robertson, a former star at Vinton-Shellsburg, are the 20th and  21st players to join the program.

Ira was named the All-Iowa Elite Softball Player of the Year by the  Des Moines Register in 2015 and was a three time all-state selection.  She helped Solon make five trips to the state tournament during her  career and twice was named to the all-tournament team.

Ira compiled a 28-2 record and 0.53 ERA as a senior at Solon, with 363  strikeouts and only 35 walks in 185 innings. She also hit .588 with  three home runs and 58 RBIs that season.

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Ira continued her good work as a freshman pitcher at Western Illinois  last season. She collected 137 strikeouts and was named the school's  Female Rookie of the Year. She also made the spring academic honor  roll in the Summit League and was named a distinguished scholar.

Xavier girls fall to No. 7 IC West

It's just the first week of December, but Xavier Coach Tom Lilly  already has a raspy voice from yelling instructions at his team.

Lilly's vocal chords got a real workout Friday night as the Saints  fell to seventh-ranked Iowa City West, 44-35, in a ragged Mississippi Valley Conference game at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

"Move! Move!," barked Lilly at one point. "Screen! Screen!"

Sometimes his instructions worked and sometimes they didn't as the  Saints committed a string of costly turnovers. The Trojans also committed their fair share of mistakes, but the visitors had 6-foot-1  junior Logan Cook and she was the best player on the floor.