Metro Sports Report

Manning paces Cougars by Solon

Brendon Manning broke his ankle midway through the season last year and made only a marginal contribution to the Kennedy basketball team at 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

The 6-foot-4 senior is a different guy this year.

Manning scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Saturday night as the Cougars topped Solon, 63-49, in a sluggish affair at the Kennedy gym for his second big outing in a row.

Manning collected 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists Friday when Kennedy upended eighth-ranked Dubuque Hempstead, 83-76, in Dubuque. That means he averaged 21.5 points and 11 rebounds for the weekend, a far cry from what he contributed a year ago.

Manning is averaging 14 points and 6.7 rebounds overall for Kennedy, which raised its record to 5-1 Saturday.

Lembeck, Vipond shine for Xavier matmen

Clint Lembeck and Jeff Vipond enjoyed perfect days for the Xavier Saints Saturday in the Doug Phillipp Duals at Xavier.

Lembeck, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A at 132 pounds, went 5-0 in the tournament with four pins and a major decision. Vipond, wrestling at 106 and 113, also collected a 5-0 record with four pins and a regular decision.

Mediapolis won the round-robin tournament with a 5-0 record with lopsided victories over West Liberty, Dubuque Hempstead, Marion, Anamosa and Xavier.

Hempstead placed second with a 4-1 mark, followed by Xavier (3-2), West Liberty (2-3), Marion (0-4) and Anamosa (0-4).

The Saints topped Anamosa (58-14), Marion (44-36) and West Liberty (40-39 on a tiebreaker). The Saints lost to Hempstead (60-12) and Mediapolis (54-20).

Keegan Schultschik had two pins and a major decision for Xavier. Michael Maher had two pins for the Saints.

Colin Conway had three pins for Marion. Caleb Conway finished with two pins and a major decision for the Indians. Trey Clifton and Jack Serbousek had two pins.

Halupnik sparks Lions by Prairie

There were a lot of smiles on the faces of Linn-Mar's players and coaches as they came out of the locker room Friday night at Prairie.

None were bigger or brighter than the one on the face of senior Lane Halupnik. On a team where guards Jordan Bohannon and Nic Uhlir do the bulk of the scoring, Halupnik is the guy who does the little things.

Against the Hawks, Halupnik did some of the big things as well. He scored 14 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets as part of 14-2 run in the third quarter, and the Lions went on to post a 66-54 win before a near-capacity crowd in the Prairie gym.

"Lane really buys in defensively, he knows that is his role," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "He always guards the best player on the other team.

"It was nice to see tonight that he got a little offense going," added the Lion coach. "We needed that because we weren't moving the ball that well in the first half."

No.1 Trojans roll by Warriors

Iowa City West keeps winning state titles, they keep graduating top-notch players and they keep rolling right along with new stars.

Amazing.

The top-ranked Trojans strolled by Cedar Rapids Washington, 68-46, in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Washington Friday night with an impressive display of offense and defense.

Iowa City West has captured three state titles in a row and has a glittering 81-3 record the past four seasons, including a perfect 6-0 mark this year.

The Trojans cruised Friday night with five underclassmen in the starting lineup for Coach Steve Bergman's juggernaut. David DiLeo, a 6-foot-7 senior, is nursing a deep thigh bruise and has played only one game this season while trying to get healthy.