In a ragged, rugged affair that resembled football without the pads, the ninth-ranked Kennedy boys were barely tough enough to withstand City High’s finesse-free style, 59-54, Friday night at home.

Except for 6-foot-6 jumping jack Jerel Moore, the Little Hawks' lineup is made up of football players. And they bring a lot of that game to the court.

With no outside threat to speak of, the Little Hawks drive to the basket and then bang around for rebounds.

“We knew they were going to be big and athletic and that they would crash the boards,” said Cougar Trevor Heitland, who won the game from the free throw line.  “Things got a little out of control for awhile. But we kept our composure toward the end. We made some basic, simple plays (when) we had to make ‘em.”

In a 60-57 loss to Dubuque Senior on Tuesday, Kennedy (4-1, 2-1 MVC) made just six of 15 free throws.  At 13 for 24, the Cougars weren't much better Friday.

But Heitland sank 12 of 17, including six straight in the final four minutes when the heat was on.

“Trevor had a great game,” said fellow senior Josh Jahlas, who had 10 points to go with Heitland’s team-high 22.  “He saved us down the stretch.”

With City High mostly throwing the ball away or missing shots, the Cougars raced out to 19-8 lead early in the second quarter.  But then they hit a cold spell over the last four minutes of the half, scoring just a single point on 1 of 6 free throws.

Behind all the way to that point, City High went ahead 23-22 at the buzzer on a long jumper by Tony Perry.

The Little Hawks’ flashy springboard Moore opened the second half with two of his team-high 20 points on a thunderous dunk on a alley-oop pass.

The score see-sawed back and forth from there, with each team mounting short spurts.

Kennedy looked to be comfortably ahead at 49-41 with 3:30 to go after Cody Bell drained a 3-pointer.

City High battled right back, however, on a trey by Perry, a free throw and yet another slam dunk by Moore on a rebound.

In the end, though, the Little Hawks’ bruising, ball-hawking style of play caught up with them. They committed 25 fouls, putting Heitland on the line when the outcome depended on him.

The savvy senior delivered.

For the game, City High (1-4, 0-3) outrebounded Kennedy 26-22, including a dozen on the offensive glass.  But the Hawks also had 25 turnovers to 19 for the Cougars.

Winning Coach Bob Fontana acknowledged that it wasn’t a pretty victory and that he wasn’t pleased with his team’s overall performance.

“But,” he said, “I’ll take a win anytime we get one. We were very fortunate to get this one.

“I’m not real happy. But I’d rather be unhappy with a win than unhappy with a loss.”

IOWA CITY HIGH (54); Alex Perry 0 4-4 4, Jerel Moore 9 2-5 20, Ronald Thompson 3 0-0 8, Tony Perry 6 0-0 14, Cortez Barfield 1 0-0 2, Lonnie Chester 2 0-0 4, Jasper Washington 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Johnson 0 2-4 2, Andrew Hein 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-13 54.

KENNEDY (59): Alex Hayden 2 0-1 5, Trevor Heitland 5 12-17 22, Josh Jahlas 5 0-2 10, Cody Bell 4 0-0 9, Elliott Christians 2 0-0 4, Anthony Carter 0 0-0 0, Patrick Martin 2 0-2 5, Ben Struss 1 1-2 4. Totals 21 13-24 59.

Halftime – City High 23, Kennedy 22. 3-point goals -- City High 4 (Thompson 2, T.Perry 2), Kennedy 4 (Hayden, Martin, Bell, Struss). Total fouls  – City High 25, Kennedy 15. Fouled out – A.Perry, Barfield, Jahlas.