Metro Sports Report

Mustangs rally to top Viterbo

LA CROSSE, Wis. - Mount Mercy overcame an 11-point second half deficit, behind the strong play of guard Dondre Osborne, to top Viterbo 65-56 in a Midwest Collegiate Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night.

Osborne scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half as the No. 10 Mustangs (22-3, 9-0) remained perfect in league play. Osborne also had a team-high 7 rebounds and dished out a team-best 4 assists.

Ian Matos added 15 points for Mount Mercy.

Saints stun No. 4 Lions, 83-73

When Xavier hosted Linn-Mar earlier this season, a slow, sluggish start was too much for the Saints to overcome.

The Lions raced to a 23-point lead before hanging on for a 66-57 win on Jan. 27.

The Saints, led by junior guard Mitchell Burger, weren't about to let it happen again Tuesday night.

Burger knifed through the Lions defense and scored 21 points as Xavier stunned the fourth-ranked Lions, 83-73, before a loud crowd at Linn-Mar.

"We finally got off to a good start," Burger said. "When you come to Linn-Mar it is one of the biggest games of the year. It's a fun environment and we just wanted to come here and get the win."

Burger was not the only offensive star for the Saints (10-8, 6-7). Calvin Winker led the way with 22 points and Adam McDermott had 19.

Riders tie game late, win in shootout

Adam Guadette scored at 18:19 of the third period and Dylan McLaughlin scored the only goal of the shootout, lifting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to a 3-2 win over Des Moines Wednesday night before 2,062 fans at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Des Moines (18-14-8, 44 points) led 2-0 and appeared to be in control of the game until Charlie Curti netted a short-handed goal at 13:47 of the second period to get the Riders on the board.

Ryan Larkin stopped 27 shots to get the win as Cedar Rapids (29-13, 58 points) increased its division lead to six points over idle Dubuque

Botkin joins 1,000/500 club for Cougars

Stephanie Botkin missed her first two shots Tuesday night and had only five points for the Kennedy Cougars in their home game against Jefferson.

She didn't miss a whole lot after that and ended up becoming only the ninth player in Metro history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career.

Botkin popped in 24 points and Lela Sellers had 26 as No. 8 Kennedy recovered from a sluggish first half and pounded the J-Hawks, 65-26, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.

Botkin, a lanky 6-foot senior, began the game with 981 points and knew exactly what she needed to reach 1,000 in her four-year varsity career.

That contributed to her relatively slow start.

"In the first half I was a little nervous, because I knew what I needed," she said. "I missed a couple of shots, but I guess during halftime I focused a little bit."