Linn-Mar Boys Basketball

Xavier boys fall short at Linn-Mar

The Xavier Saints have miles to go before they can dream about winning the Class 3A basketball title again this season.

The good news? It's still early.

The Saints struggled in the second half Friday night and lost to Linn-Mar, 55-47, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game in the Linn-Mar gym.

Xavier scored only 18 points in the second half and did not get a single point from any of its reserves while falling to 1-2 for the season. The Saints were a polished outfit last March when they claimed the first state title in school history, but this is a new year and a new team.

"I try to tell everybody it's a different year and a work in progress," said Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "We've got a lot of nice pieces that are back, but it's tough.

"It's tough when the expectations are different. People look at you a little differently, right or wrong. I think we've struggled with it a little bit.

"The good thing is," said Luehrsmann, "it's only three games in."

Xavier's other loss was to Waverly-Shell Rock, the top-ranked team in 3A, by 22 points in Waverly.

Read more...

Bohannon MVC's best in Valley Division

Linn-Mar senior Jordan Bohannon was named the Valley Division Athlete of the Year as a part of the Mississippi Valley Conference's All-Division Selections released Thursday.

Bohannon, who closed his career with a 44-point effort in a 76-74 overtime loss to Cedar Falls in the Class 4A substate final on Tuesday, was one of three unanimous selections to the first team along with Dubuque Wahlert's Cordell Pemsl and Iowa City West's Connor McCaffery.

West Coach Steve Bergman and his staff received the division's Coach of the Year honor.

Class 3A state qualifier Xavier had two players, Mitchell Burger and Max Techau, named to the Mississippi Division first team. Also on the first team were Prairie's Max Smith-Drahos and Washington's Leveechie Williams.

Waterloo East's Isaiah Wade was the division's athlete of the year while Iowa City High's Don Showalter and his staff received Coach of the Year honors.

VALLEY DIVISION
FIRST TEAM

* Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar, *Cordell Pemsl, Dubuque Wahlert, *Connor McCaffery, Iowa City west, Tra'Von Fagan, Cedar Falls, A.J. Green, Cedar Falls, Wali Parks, Iowa City West, Devontae Lane, Iowa City West.

* - Unanimous selection

SECOND TEAM

Dennis McKinney, Jefferson, Drake Brewster, Kennedy, David Wedewer, Dubuque Wahlert, Beau Klostermann, Linn-Mar, Carter Stevens, Dubuque Senior, Riley Till, Dubuque Wahlert, Jared Printy, Linn-Mar.

HONORABLE MENTION
(Metro Only)

Jefferson: Adam Van Oort, Valentino Green.
Kennedy: Derrick Diggins, Michael Bisenius
Linn-Mar: Jordan Brandt, Riley Murphy

Athlete of the Year: Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar
Coach of the Year: Steve Bergman and staff, Iowa City West

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION
FIRST TEAM

Max Smith-Drahos, Prairie, Laveechie Williams, Washington, Mitchell Burger, Xavier, Max Techau, Xavier, Micah Martin, Iowa City High, Isaiah Wade, Waterloo East, Amel Kuljuhovic, Waterloo West.

SECOND TEAM

Jalen Rima, Prairie, Naeem Smith, Iowa City High, Keion Wills, Washington, Hunter Strait, Washington, Matt Mims, Xavier, Connor Duax, Dubuque Hempstead, Gabe Pepin, Waterloo West.

HONORABLE MENTION
(Metro Only)

Prairie: Cal Clark, Jake Eilers
Washington: Ian Thomas, Dallas Hobbs
Xavier: Ryan Stulken, Jackson Joens

Athlete of the Year: Isaiah Wade, Waterloo East
Coach of the Year: Don Showalter and staff, Iowa City High

Bohannon hits 44, but Lions fall in OT

Jordan Bohannon pulled his Linn-Mar jersey over his head and covered his eyes to hide the agony and tears Tuesday night as he left the court at the U.S. Cellular Center.

He played the most spectacular game of his brilliant prep basketball career with a career-best 44 points and seven 3-pointers, but it was not enough to save the Lions in the Class 4A substate finals.

Cedar Falls sophomore A.J. Green, who could succeed Bohannon as the next big star in the Mississippi Valley Conference, hit a cold-blooded jumper in the final second of overtime to give the seventh-ranked Tigers a 76-74 victory over the 10th-ranked Lions in a classic battle in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Linn-Mar rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half with Bohannon popping in 25-footers from all over the place, but Cedar Falls had the final possession in overtime and Green delivered the knockout punch with the last of his 31 points.

"That game could have gone two or three overtimes and it still might have been a one-possession game," said Linn-Mar coach Chris Robertson.

Bohannon, an all-star guard who will play for the Iowa Hawkeyes next season, scored 16 of Linn-Mar's 17 points in the fourth quarter and added another nine markers in overtime, but he was still a little red-eyed when he emerged from the locker room after the game.

Read more...

Printy wins Metro Spotlight Award

Jared Printy of Linn-Mar is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Printy, a 6-foot-5 senior, is one of the stars for the 10th-ranked Linn-Mar basketball team that will face No. 7 Cedar Falls in the Class 4A substate finals Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Printy poured in 23 points and hit five 3-pointers, both season-highs, when the Lions defeated Waterloo East, 79-63, in the substate semifinals Friday night at Linn-Mar. Printy had made four 3-pointers in five different games this season, but never five in one game for the Lions.

Read more...