Metro Sports Report

No. 3 Eagles dumped by John Wood

The Kirkwood men's basketball team went from being unloved and unranked all the way to No. 3 in the new national poll Tuesday, but the glossy achievement turned sour by the end of the night.

The John Wood Blazers dominated the sluggish Eagles from start to finish and handed Kirkwood its first loss of the season, 75-65, in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

"We're not the No. 3 team in the country. Bottom line," proclaimed unhappy Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen, whose club fell to 9-1.

They certainly were not the No. 3 team Tuesday night. The Eagles shot poorly from the field, had trouble finishing at the rim, played porous defense and got pounded on the backboards.

The Eagles belted John Wood by 21 points when they met four weeks ago in Quincy, Ill., but this was an entirely different story. The Blazers surged to a 17-point lead in the first half and Kirkwood never fully recovered.

Xavier girls make Tigers dizzy

What might seem to be a helter-skelter style of play by the Xavier girls is fully by design.

“We’re going to get a lot of kids in, and we’re going to get them in early,” said veteran Saints Coach Tom Lilly after his team blew past Cedar Falls, 48-36, Tuesday night on their home floor.

“We want to play an aggressive pressure defense and an up-tempo offense. The goal is by the fourth quarter the other team won’t have much left.”

To play that way for a full 32 minutes means Lilly is shuttling girls in and out (often three and four at a time) every whistle. They pass a baton to each other on each substitution to keep track.

“We work on subbing practice,” said senior guard Lizzy Bailey, who led all scorers with 15 points. “So we all know what we’re doing when we’re out there.”

Saints gobble up Panthers in opener

The Xavier Saints snacked on some Thanksgiving leftovers in their season opener Monday night, but they know the menu will get a lot tougher from here.

Adam McDermott popped in 20 points as the Saints belted the young Mount Pleasant Panthers, 66-24, on the first day of high school boys basketball at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

Mount Pleasant, with three freshmen in the starting lineup, was no match for Xavier with its "Big 3" of McDermott, Calvin Winker and transfer Michael Mims on the floor with Mitchell Burger and Connor Ramlo.

The Saints raced to a 25-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game and ignited the continuous clock with a 35-point bulge late in the third quarter.

"I thought we came out and executed our plays like we wanted to, pushed the break like we wanted to," said McDermott, a 6-foot-4 senior who has signed with North Dakota. "I thought we played really well on the defensive end."

Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann liked the way his team performed.

Molitor coming to Kernels banquet

New Minnesota Twins Manager Paul Molitor is scheduled to be the featured guest at the 19th annual Cedar Rapids Kernels Hot Stove Banquet, to be held Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in downtown Cedar Rapids.

The banquet will include a silent auction featuring sports memorabilia and local items, the appearance of the Minnesota Twins Winter Caravan as well as the induction of the Class of 2015 into the Cedar Rapids Baseball Hall of Fame. This year's Hall of Fame Class includes Nick Adenhart, Chili Davis, Lanny Peterson and Burt Wilson.

This is the third time the Minnesota Twins Winter Caravan has visited Cedar Rapids and will feature Twins All-Star closer Glen Perkins, Molitor, coach Gene Glynn and a roundtable discussion with Q&A sessions and autographs. Kris Atteberry from the Twins Radio Network will emcee the Twins Winter Caravan. Players and coaches appearing with the Twins Winter Caravan are subject to change.