DES MOINES - Adam McDermott had a great time watching his cousin Doug McDermott help Ames High School win the state basketball title in 2010 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Now he'd like to help Xavier High School do the same thing.

McDermott cashed 15 of 16 free throws and scored 24 points Tuesday night as the Saints held off Pella, 65-61, in the opening round of the Class 3A tournament.

It was the first victory at the boys state basketball tournament in school history for Xavier, which opened its doors in 1998 and lost in the first round here in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Xavier (17-8) will play Dubuque Wahlert (16-9) in the semifinals Thursday night at 8:15.

The Saints built a 40-21 lead midway through the third quarter, but Pella stormed back and pulled within one point on three separate occasions in the fourth quarter before the Saints salted it away in the final minute.

"Defense. We quit playing defense," said McDermott. "We quit rebounding, quit pushing the ball on them, we quit getting to the free throw line at that time, so that didn't help."

Adam McDermott was in the seventh grade when Doug McDermott, now with the Chicago Bulls after an All-American career at Creighton, helped Ames win the 2010 state title.

"I think the first round I sat in the cheap seats with my friends, but then I was sitting down there with his family," McDermott recalled. "So that was a good time."

McDermott was a phenomenal free throw shooter during the regular season for Xavier at 89.9 percent, but he actually raised that figure to 90.4 percent Tuesday night with his 15 for 16 showing.

His two free throws with 2:01 left gave the Saints a 59-56 lead. He made two more for a 64-58 edge with 38.6 seconds left. He made his first foul shot with 16.6 seconds remaining to make it 65-58 before finally misfiring after making 15 in a row.

Pella (21-3) outscored Xavier 18-4 in the last five minutes of the third quarter, slicing a 40-21 deficit all the way down to 44-39. The Little Dutch scored the first two points of the fourth quarter to make it 44-41 and the Saints were in trouble.

Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann, who picked up his first technical foul of the season in the first half, credited Pella's style of play for the way it stormed back.

"It's frenetic, it's fast-paced, it's 94 feet of chaos," he said. "You just knew they had a run in them. They're too talented a team. You don't win 19 in a row and get down here and get blown out.

"I was just pleased with our composure down the stretch," he said. "They made solid decisions. They knew when to be aggressive and when to score, and most important we needed to get it into No. 3's hands. When we get it in 3's hands we feel pretty good."

No. 3 is McDermott, a 6-foot-4 senior who will play his college basketball at the University of North Dakota.

Calvin Winker picked up his fourth foul with 3:35 left in the third quarter and took a seat on the Xavier bench with Pella in the midst of its 20-4 surge. He returned with 7:27 left in the game and the Saints clinging for their lives with a 44-41 edge.

Instead of backing off with four fouls, Winker went to work and scored seven points in the fourth quarter to help the Saints prevail.

"I knew I had to step up," said Winker, who has signed with Missouri Western. "My team needed me. I just realized I needed to get smart: Don't jump, stay on the floor, don't try to block that shot. I was just lucky enough that the refs didn't call anything and I got to play the best of the game."

Winker said the first victory at the state tournament in school history "felt great."

"I didn't realize how big this game was until last night," he remarked. "I was getting texts, I was getting phone calls saying, 'This is a big game, just play your game.'

"It kind of hit me that night. I didn't sleep well last night, but I'll sleep well tonight."

Winker finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. McDermott also grabbed eight rebounds. C had nine points and five assists.

Isaac Naaktgeboren led Pella with 19 points. Ryan VanWyk had 16.

The Saints won the game at the foul line, hitting 23 of 28. Pella was 8 for 11 at the foul line.

The Little Dutch defeated Xavier in the semifinals of the Class 3A football playoffs last season, 27-0, but the Saints evened the score in basketball.

Xavier beat Wahlert, 78-74, in the final game of the regular season at Xavier. Wahlert is the defending state champion.

XAVIER (65): Mims 3 2-4 9, McDermott 3 15-16 24, Burger 2 3-5 7, Ramlo 2 3-5 7, Winker 6 3-3 15, Welch 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 23-28 65.

PELLA (61): Vander Lune 2 0-0 5, Naaktgeboren 7 3-5 19, Johnson 1 2-2 5, Warner 2 0-0 4, VanWyk 8 0-0 16, Judkins 0 0-0 0, Scholten 3 3-4 9, Jansen 1 0-0 3.

Halftime - Xavier 29, Pella 19. 3-point goals - Xavier 4 (McDermott 3, Mims 1), Pella 5 (Naaktgeboren 2, Vander Lune 1, Johnson 1, Jansen 1).