Metro Sports Report

Xavier boys get good draw for postseason

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has smiled on the Xavier boys basketball team.

The Saints have received a favorable draw for the postseason tournament  with no major obstacles in their path to a second straight trip to the Class 3A state tournament.

The postseason assignments for Class 3A and Class 4A were announced Monday by the IHSAA.

Xavier is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A and there are no other ranked teams in its eight-team cluster for the district and substate tournaments.

The Saints (9-2) were placed in District 9 with Clear Creek Amana (6-5), the Washington Demons (3-9) and Williamsburg (1-10). The winner of District 9 will face the winner of District 10 in the substate finals at the U.S. Cellular for a trip to Des Moines.

Mount Pleasant (8-3) appears to be the strongest team in District 10 with Fort Madison (6-5), Keokuk (5-7) and Fairfield (4-8).

Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann said he puts a heavy emphasis on trying to get off to a good start each season and have a favorable record when the IHSAA puts the basketball pods together.

"It looks like the committee has rewarded that," he said. "For us to be in a position at 9-and-2, I couldn't be happier with where we're at. I think that had an impact on where we were placed."

The IHSAA put Dubuque Wahlert and Xavier in different clusters, rewarding both teams for their performances so far. Wahlert, which has won the last two Class 3A state titles, is ranked No. 2 and was placed in a district with Marion, West Delaware and Independence.

Metro teams excel at 3-pointers

Two Metro basketball teams are among the state leaders in made 3-point field goals.

The sixth-ranked Linn-Mar boys rank No. 1 in 4A with 103 3-pointers. The top-ranked Kennedy girls are No. 2 in 5A with 99, just three behind Pleasant Valley.

Kennedy's Sydney Hayden leads 5A players with 47 3-pointers. Linn-Mar's Jordan Bohannon is No. 2 in 4A boys with 37.

Bohannon also is No. 2 in 4A in scoring with a 21.7 average. He trails Connor Murrell of Sioux City East (22.7). Washington's Laveechie Williams tops the Metro and is No. 3 in 4A in rebounding average (10.7).

Lela Sellers of Kennedy is No. 3 in 5A girls scoring with a 20.3 average. She also is No. 4 in rebounding average (9.0), just behind Linn-Mar's Amanda Ollinger (9.3).

Jefferson's Avery Guy and Washington's Joniqua Clark are sixth and seventh, respectively, in 5A assists. Washington is No. 1 in 5A in steals (227) and is No. 4 in 3-point goals (90). Clark is No. 1 in 5A steals as an individual.

Boys substates booked for Cell Center

The local boys substate basketball tournaments will be held where they belong again this year.

Brett Nanninga, an associate director with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, has confirmed that the local Class 3A and Class 4A substates will be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids again this season.

"You bet," Nanninga told the Metro Sports Report. "It's just a matter of getting the details done now."

Smith-Drahos wins Metro Spotlight Award

Max Smith-Drahos of Cedar Rapids Prairie is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Smith-Drahos, a 6-foot-1 junior, exploded for a career-high 34 points Friday night when the Hawks defeated Cedar Rapids Washington, 77-72, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game to snap a five-game losing streak.

Smith-Drahos made 11 of 17 field goals, including both of his 3-pointers, and was 10 for 12 at the foul line. He also had eight rebounds, two steals and one assist in the contest.