Metro Sports Report

Bohannon nets 30 as No. 6 Lions roll along

When it comes to defensive schemes, Linn-Mar's slick tandem of Jordan Bohannon and Nic Uhlir have seen just about all of them.

The Lion sharpshooters got a variety of defensive looks from Waterloo West in Friday night's Class 4A substate semifinal at Linn-Mar.

None of them proved successful.

Bohannon torched the Wahawks for 30 points, including six 3-point baskets, and Uhlir finished with 17 as the No. 6 Lions (18-4) rolled to a 66-45 victory.

That sets up the much-anticipated rematch with Kennedy in the substate final Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Cougars advanced with a 71-55 win over Cedar Falls in their substate semifinal at Kennedy.

West dropped a 60-50 decision to the Lions in the regular-season finale last Thursday in Waterloo as both teams stuck to the basics in anticipation of Friday's tournament contest.

RoughRiders skating on thin ice

MUSKEGON, Mich. - The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders lost to Muskegon, 4-1, Saturday night before 4,086 fans at L.C. Walker Arena and are clinging to a one-point lead in the Eastern Conference of the USHL standings.

The RoughRiders have a 32-16-0 record for 64 points with 12 games left in their regular season. Youngstown is sitting at 29-13-5 for 63 points with 13 games remaining, giving them a game in hand over Cedar Rapids in the battle for first place.

Muskegon scored two goals in the first period and tacked on two more goals in the second period for a 4-0 lead. The RoughRiders got their only goal in the third period from Jiri Fronk.

Ryan Larkin stopped 30 of 34 shots in goal for Cedar Rapids.

No.9 Cougars roll by Tigers

Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen has preached to his team all year about the importance of playing their best basketball at the end of the season when it really counts.

The Cougars are getting pretty darn close.

Kennedy rode two different 13-0 streaks Friday night to an impressive 71-55 conquest of Cedar Falls in the Class 4A substate semifinals at Kennedy.

Now comes the showdown that Metro fans have craved with the ninth-ranked Cougars (17-5) facing the sixth-ranked Linn-Mar Lions (18-4) in the substate finals Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center for a berth in the state tournament.

Cole Murdock and Zach Daniels picked Cedar Falls apart with their sharp passing Friday night, the Cougars attacked the backboards with reckless abandon and Brendon Manning got the place jumping with a rebound dunk with the game just 20 seconds old.

Warriors earn shot at Iowa City West

The Cedar Rapids Washington players and coaches aren’t the only ones who think they can bump off top-ranked and undefeated Iowa City West in the Class 4A substate finals this Tuesday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

“West for a long time has played at a different level than, really, the rest of the state,” said long-time Burlington Coach Jeff Bloomer after watching his undermanned Grayhounds get pummeled by the Warriors, 62-39, Friday night.

“We all know that," he said. “But Washington has a lot of length and a lot of athleticism. When you have a combination of those two things, you can pose problems for anyone.

“They’re a tough team. They’ll be hard for anybody to matchup against.”

Always-upbeat Washington Coach Adam Sanchez knows it will be a tall task to upset a 22-0 Trojan juggernaut that has steamrolled nearly every team in its path this year. West dumped the Warriors, 68-46, in their fourth game of the season back in mid-December.