Metro Sports Report

Saints pull away late, beat No. 3 Knights

The Xavier boys kept making runs, but they just couldn't shake Davenport Assumption.

The Saints would get a lead, the Knights would catch back up.

That was the way it went until about 4 1/2 minutes were left in Tuesday night's basketball game at Xavier.

But that's when senior Ben McDermott hit a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to give the Saints the lead for good. And then he added another 3.

No. 5 Wash girls stunned by Wahawks in OT

Turnovers and free throws. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

Waterloo West shot a remarkable 47 free throws and forced Washington into a jaw-dropping 37 turnovers Tuesday night in an exciting Mississippi Valley Conference game at Washington.

Those numbers helped Waterloo West stun the fifth-ranked Warriors, 83-80, in overtime.

Washington (5-1, 5-1) lost for the first time this season, while Waterloo West moved to 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the MVC.

No. 8 Xavier girls trim Assumption, 52-46

Katlyn Anderson worked her way into the lane and kissed the ball off the board with 1:38 remaining to tie the game and hit her free throw to complete the three-point play to give Xavier a 45-44 lead Tuesday night.

That was the play of the night.

The Saints outscored Davenport Assumption 7-2 from there and gave Assumption its first loss of the season, 52-46, at Xavier.

“It was just a regular play,” said Anderson. “Just like we run in practice and I got fouled, too. I have to focus on free throws, I can’t make them bigger than they are, just shoot them.”

Xavier, ranked No .8 in Class 4A, raised its record to 9-2 heading into the holiday break. Assumption, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, fell to 6-1.

Jamie Zaruba living life in the fast lane

Jamie Zaruba is making up for some of the things he missed from high school.

He's studying theater arts and hopes to teach it some day soon. He sings in two school choirs. And here's something he wasn't able to do back when he was a student at Jefferson High School 20 years ago: He is a full-fledged member of his school's bowling team at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids.

Zaruba is 37 years old, married and the father of two children. He's an Army veteran with all kinds of experience in civilian jobs. And he's a senior at Mount Mercy about to launch a whole new career.

"I'm about 18 years behind the curve," he says of reliving, or re-inventing, his youth.

Bowling wasn't a sanctioned high school sport until a few years ago. There were club teams that competed on a friendly basis when Zaruba was in high school. Not like today, with eligibility rules, state-certified coaches, conference schedules and state tournaments.

College teams were unheard of when Zaruba attended Jefferson. Now, promising prep bowlers can earn four-year scholarships.