Kennedy Boys Basketball

Balanced Cougars knock off Prairie

Two boys basketball teams in desperate search of a victory clashed Tuesday night at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

The Kennedy Cougars found what they were looking for, but the Prairie Hawks are still searching.

Drake Brewster led a balanced attack with 18 points as the Cougars bounced the Hawks, 69-51, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.

Kennedy entered the game with five losses in its last six games, while Prairie arrived for tipoff with a four-game losing streak and a bunch of lopsided defeats by 37, 24, 19 and 33 points.

The night ended with both clubs sitting at 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the conference, but the Cougars felt pretty good about themselves and the Hawks went back to the drawing board.

"I think we played a lot better than we have in recent games," said Brewster, a versatile 6-foot-5 junior. "One of our main goals with the struggles we've had was to have some fun.

"We started having some fun and started smiling a little bit and got more confidence about ourselves."

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Cougars topped by Wahlert in OT

Dubuque Wahlert edged the Kennedy Cougars, 53-47, in overtime Friday night in a low-scoring Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Kennedy.

Kennedy led 5-2 after the first quarter and 17-14 at halftime in the defensive struggle. The game was tied, 42-42, after four quarters before the Golden Eagles pulled away in overtime.

Derrick Diggins led Kennedy (3-6) with 15 points. Cordell Pemsl, who has signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes, scored 20 points for Wahlert (8-2).

WAHLERT (53): Iwowari 1 0-0 2, Schmitt 3 0-1 8, Wedewer 3 2-3 10, White 0 0-0 0, Kluck 1 4-6 7, Maiers 1 1-2 3, Till 1 1-3 3, Pemsl 8 4-7 20. Totals 18 12-22 53.

KENNEDY (47): Brewster 0 2-2 2, Gardner 3 0-0 7, Girling 2 2-4 6, Berst 1 0-0 3, Duehr 0 0-0 0, Diggins 5 3-5 15, Foley 0 0-0 0, Bisenius 3 0-0 9, Beyer 2 1-1 5, Wall 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-14 47.

Halftime - Kennedy 17, Wahlert 14. Regulation - Kennedy 42, Wahlert 42. 3-point goals - Kennedy 7 (Bisenius 3, Diggins 2, Gardner 1, Berst 1), Wahlert 5 (Schmitt 2, Wedewer 2, Kluck 1).

Balanced Lions dunk Cougars by 20

If you thought the Linn-Mar Lions were a one-man band, take another look and guess again.

The Lions played like a finely tuned orchestra Tuesday night in a 76-56 victory over the Kennedy Cougars in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Linn-Mar.

Linn-Mar star Jordan Bohannon does not have to score 40 points for the Lions to mow down a Metro opponent like he did against Prairie two weeks ago, not when his teammates are hitting all the right notes like they did against Kennedy.

Bohannon had a sub-par shooting night and scored only 17 points -- six points under his average -- but it hardly mattered with a balanced attack that kept Kennedy off-balance much of the night.

Riley Murphy had a hot hand and tossed in 17 points for Linn-Mar, Jared Printy notched 16 points, Jordan Brandt had 12 points and Beau Klostermann nearly made it five guys in double figures with nine points.

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Brewster sparks Cougars by Solon

SOLON - Drake Brewster scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds Monday night as the Kennedy Cougars topped Solon, 68-44, at Solon.

The Cougars enter the holiday break with a 3-4 record.

Derrick Diggins collected 10 points and six assists for Kennedy. Shaun Beyer scored nine points, Derek Girling eight points and Nic Duehr eight points.

KENNEDY (68): Haynes 3 0-0 7, Brewster 6 1-1 14, Gardner 0 1-3 1, Girling 3 0-0 8, Berst 0 0-0 0, Duehr 3 2-2 8, Olejniczak 0 0-0 0, Krall 1 0-0 2, Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Diggins 4 2-4 10, Foley 0 2-2 2, Bisenius 2 0-0 5, Harris 0 0-0 0, Beyer 4 0-0 9 Wiebel 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, Wall 1 0-1 2. Totals: 27 8-13 68.

3-point goals - Girling 2, Haynes 1, Brewster 1, Bisenius 1, Beyer 1.