Wyatt Lohaus did not score any points against Kennedy in the first quarter Tuesday night, but the all-state guard made up for lost time after that.

Lohaus poured in 27 markers as No.3 Iowa City West handled the ninth-ranked Cougars, 68-51, in a Mississippi Valley Conference showdown for second place in the Valley Division.

Kennedy chopped a 16-point deficit to eight points, 46-38, thanks to technical fouls against Iowa City West freshman Connor McCaffery and West Coach Steve Bergman late in the third quarter, but Lohaus led the Trojans out of danger.

"He's solid," Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen said of Lohaus. "The most impressive thing about him is his demeanor. He never gets high, he never gets low. He's just a solid basketball player."

Lohaus scored 11 points in the second quarter to give Iowa City West (12-2, 8-1) a 32-22 cushion at intermission, then scored 16 points in the second half to keep Kennedy at bay.

"You let the game come to you," said the 6-foot-2 senior. "If you're open, you shoot it. If your teammates are open, you pass it."

University of Northern Iowa Coach Ben Jacobson was in the stands to watch Lohaus, who will play for the Panthers next year. Jeremy Morgan, who helped Iowa City West win state titles in 2012 and 2013, is playing for Northern Iowa and Lohaus is on the way to Cedar Falls.

"I've been really lucky to have the Jeremy Morgans and the Wyatt Lohauses, who are fantastic players who can put up huge numbers," said Bergman. "But they care entirely about the team's success."

Bergman said Lohaus struggled at times Tuesday, but it was hard to notice.

"He's going to watch that film tonight, I guarantee you. That's just how he is," said Bergman. "He watches a lot of film, and he's in the gym all the time working on what he perceives to be his deficiencies. You can't ask for any better.

"He's going to be a tough guy to replace. I'm just enjoying him for as long as I can."

Kennedy (11-3, 7-2) missed its first six shots and dug itself into an early 15-point hole at 23-8. The Cougars trailed 46-30 with a minute left in the third quarter before they caught a break.

Bryton Heisler made two free throws to pull Kennedy within 46-32. Then McCaffery, the son of Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery, picked up his fourth foul on the in-bounds play and was slapped with a technical for making an inappropriate comment, sending him to the bench for the rest of the game with five personal fouls.

Cole Murdock hit both foul shots on the technical, pulling Kennedy within 46-34. The Cougars retained possession and A.J. Carter hit a driving layup and completed a three-play play to lift Kennedy within 46-37.

Lohaus was then called for an offensive foul and Bergman was slapped with a technical when he said "Unbelieveable!" with a little too much force. Murdock made one free throw on that techical and suddenly it was a 46-38 ballgame, thanks to two technical fouls within 14 seconds and eight straight points by Kennedy.

The Cougars never drew any closer than that, however. They committed too many turnovers and missed too many shots near the rim.

"We went through a lull on the wrong night," said McKowen. "We had 29 turnovers and we average about nine turnovers a game. So we had 20 wasted possessions and a lot of them were early."

McKowen credited Iowa City West for playing the passing lanes and making it tough for Kennedy's 3-point shooters.

"We didn't adjust and we didn't finish around the hole," he said. "And I think in the first half we gave up 22 points from point-blank range. That's unacceptable.

"I thought we turned up the pressure in the second half and gave ourselves a chance. We just could never get the offense in the flow tonight."

Kennedy has a small starting lineup with four 6-foot guards and 6-foot-4 center Drew Heitland, compared to an Iowa City West lineup that measured 6-foot-6, 6-foot-6, 6-foot-5, 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-2. However, McKowen does not think his team is too short to beat a top-10 team like Iowa City West or top-ranked Dubuque Senior.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not," he said. "Defensively is where we should be hurt (with a small team), and we're not getting hurt.

"So you force 22 turnovers versus the No.3 team in the state and I think you force 25 turnovers versus the No.1 team in the state. Our defense isn't the problem," he said. "Our problem tonight was on the offensive side and not getting into the flow."

Carter led Kennedy with 15 points and Heitland scored 12. David DiLeo picked up 11 points for Iowa City West and Chike Ukah had 10.

IOWA CITY WEST (68): Klein 1 0-0 2, Yarbrough 0 0-0 0, T.Lohaus 2 0-0 4, W.Lohaus 8 10-12 27, Gallagher 1 3-4 5, McCaffery 0 0-0 0, DiLeo 4 1-1 11, Parks 3 3-3 9, Ukah 5 0-0 10. Totals 24 17-20 68.

KENNEDY (51): Daniels 1 2-2 5, Carter 6 2-3 15, Jacobus 0 1-2 1, Murdock 1 3-4 6, Buck 0 0-0 0, Heisler 1 5-6 7, Holzer 1 0-0 2, Manning 1 1-1 3, Heitland 5 1-4 12. Totals 16 15-22 51.

Halftime - Iowa City West 32, Kennedy 22. 3-point goals - Iowa City West 3 (DiLeo 2, W.Lohaus 1), Kennedy 4 (Daniels 1, Carter 1, Murdock 1, Heitland 1). Fouled out - McCaffery. Technical fouls - McCaffery, Iowa City West Coach Bergman.