You don't want to challenge Nic Uhlir and Jordan Bohannon to a 3-point shooting contest, because you're probably going to lose.

The two Linn-Mar sharpshooters combined for seven 3-pointers and 32 points Tuesday night as the Lions took care of Prairie, 61-41, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Linn-Mar.

Uhlir, one of the top 3-point shooters in Class 4A at better than 50 percent, hit consecutive triples in the third quarter as Linn-Mar opened a 20-point lead. He finished with four 3-pointers and 15 points.

Bohannon nailed three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points.

"They play very well together and play off each other really well," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "When they're hitting 3's, that makes us pretty good."

The Lions (4-3, 3-1) opened a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter and cruised to victory.

Uhlir, a slender 6-foot junior, and Bohannon, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, give Linn-Mar one of the best young backcourts in the conference. They enjoy playing next to each other and have for a long time.

"It's awesome," said Bohannon, who is averaging 18.1 points. "I always know where he's at, because we've been playing together since first or second grade.

"It's fun playing with him, because I know if I get it to him he'll make that 3."

Uhlir and Bohannon put lots of pressure on opponents, because they're both good ballhandlers and good shooters.

"We can both drive, we can both find the open guy and that's tough to guard," said Uhlir. "We both find windows that are wide-open outside.

"We know each other's games, we know what we like to do, we know what we are really good at and what we're bad at," said Uhlir. "We know how to help each other."

Prairie (2-5, 0-3) scored the first basket of the second half to pull within 25-20, but then Linn-Mar went to work. Lane Halupnik scored on a quick drive and Uhlir drilled a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game at 30-20.

Bohannon nailed a 3-pointer and Jon Schlotterback made a putback, then Uhlir hit a pair of 3-pointers on two straight trips down the court. All told, it was a 16-1 spurt that pushed the Lions to a 41-21 advantage with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Uhlir made three 3-pointers in a little more than three minutes during the 16-1 surge.

"He had a big night," said Robertson. "He hit some big 3's and helped build that lead in the third quarter. He was big for us."

Uhlir has hit 23 triples this season and Bohannon has 19, giving the lethal combo an average of six 3-pointers per game.

Robertson likes to see them pull the trigger.

"We've got confidence in them," he said. "They've got the green light. They know that."

Uhlir and Bohannon like to stay after practice and work on their 3-point shots, but Uhlir declined to say who would win a 3-point contest if they kept score.

"I don't know," he said diplomatically. "Whoever is on that day."

Michael Mims made three 3-pointers for Prairie and led the Hawks with 15 points.

PRAIRIE (41): Brown 0 0-0 0, Mims 6 0-0 15, Clark 0 0-0 0, Fisher 2 2-5 6, Alberts 0 2-2 2, Rima 0 1-2 1, Smith 2 1-2 6, Meeker 1 0-0 2, Lorenz 3 0-0 7, Yanecek 0 0-0 0, Schrader 0 0-0 0, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Moyer 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 6-11 41.

LINN-MAR (61): Uhlir 4 3-3 15, Evans 0 0-1 0, Murphy 3 0-0 7, Vogel 0 0-0 0, Noble 0 2-2 2, Bohannon 7 0-0 17, Larson 1 0-2 2, Schlotterback 2 1-2 5, Bundy 0 1-2 1, Tichy 0 0-0 0, Halupnik 3 2-2 8, Eby 0 0-0 0, Schmidt 1 2-2 4, Brandt 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-16 61.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 25, Prairie 18. 3-point goals - Prairie 5 (Mims 3, Smith 1, Lorenz 1), Linn-Mar 8 (Uhlir 4, Bohannon 3, Murphy 1).