There’s no question that two of the top four teams in boys’ basketball were on show in front of several major college coaches Tuesday night (Dec. 14) at Linn-Mar.  The top-ranked Lions played short-handed but still had enough firepower to beat No. 4 Cedar Falls, 66-61.

 Every time Cedar Falls made a run at the Lions, Coach Chris Robertson’s troops answered with nifty shooting, hard-nosed defense, and super free throw shooting down the stretch.

The big three for Linn-Mar (4-0, 2-0 MVC) were Matt Bohannon with 25 points, Marcus Paige with 16 and Ian McBrayer with 10. Senior Shane Benton  missed the game because of mononucleosis.

Cedar Falls (3-1, 1-1) outscored Linn-Mar 18-8 during the third quarter and kept it close, but an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter helped Linn-Mar keep its lead. The Lions also had spurts of 8-0 in the first quarter and 9-2 in the second period.

Bohannon credited Paige in getting everyone involved in this victory. He cited this game as another key win on the home court and maintain the “home court advantage” that Linn-Mar is known for.  McBrayer praised the efforts of his teammates in this big win over a tough, physical Cedar Falls team that saw Tigers jumping “all over the place.”

Robertson credited a well-coached Cedar Falls team that was well-disciplined in providing competition “toe to toe” for 32 minutes and praised Josh Montague and Bohannon for shooting and playing with confidence. He said he also was impressed with Paige for distributing the ball well and hitting all free throws in the fourth quarter when the Tigers were fouling and trying to play catch up.

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Cedar Falls’ top scorers were juniors James Harrington with 17 and Caleb Konieczny added 15, with three 3-point goals.

Linn-Mar won the sophomore game, 70-34.

CEDAR FALLS (61):    Matt Klinehart  0  1-2  1, Bobby Brummel  0  0-0 0, Tony Johnson  4  2-4  10, James Harrington  6  4-4  17, Caleb Konieczny  6  0-0  15, Kalund Brown 1  0-0  3, Kahlehl Brown  2  0-0  5, Isaac Boettger  3  4-6  10. Totals 22 11-16 61.

LINN-MAR (66): Matt Bohannon  9  4-4  25, Josh Montague  3  0-0  6, Ian McBrayer  3  4-4  10, Marcus Paige  4  8-8  16, Michael Thul  1  0-0  2, Matt Lassen  1  0-0  3, Derik Gogg  1  2-4  4. Totals 22 18-20 66.

Halftime –  Linn-Mar 35, Cedar Falls 24. 3-point goals — Linn-Mar 4 (Bohannon 3, Lassen), Cedar Falls (Konieczny 3, Kalund Brown, Kahlehl Brown, Harrington). Fouls –  Linn-Mar 17, Cedar Falls 19.