When you prepare for a basketball game against the Linn-Mar Lions, the first thing you do is figure out a way to slow down Jordan Bohannon and Nic Uhlir.

Beau Klostermann and Jordan Brandt barely get a mention in the scouting report, but they played a big role for the Lions off the bench Tuesday night.

Klostermann scored a career-high 17 points and Brandt added 10 as the 10th-ranked Lions topped the ninth-ranked Kennedy Cougars, 74-61, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kennedy.

Riley Murphy contributed eight more points off the bench as the Linn-Mar reserves combined for 35 points.

"That's fantastic," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "We'll take that."

Klostermann, a 6-foot-4 junior, had scored 18 points in six games all season before hurting the Cougars with 17 markers, a performance that included three 3-pointers.

"I got a lot of shots up over the holiday break and I felt really confident," said Klostermann. "I just go in there and play as hard as I can, get the most of my minutes. Today was a good night. I've been kind of waiting for this all year.

Brandt, a 6-0 junior, had scored 15 points in six games this season before nicking the Cougars with 10 clutch markers.

"I just want to go out and get my teammates open and pass the ball off, get rebounds, set screens, do whatever it takes to get the win," he said. "It was a fun game to play in."

Bohannon, a 6-1 junior who has offers from Northern Iowa and Drake, popped in five 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Uhlir, a 6-1 senior who began the night as the Metro's top scorer at 17.3 points, settled for 11 against Kennedy.

With the Cougars focusing their swarming defense on Bohannon and Uhlir, the Lions were happy to make the extra pass and find their open teammates as Klostermann, Brandt and Murphy cashed in.

"We're at our best when we make one more pass and sometimes two more," said Robertson. "Especially against that defense, because they scramble around, they're switching, they're helping.

"If you don't make that extra pass you shoot a lot of shots with hands in your face," he said. "If you make one or two extra ones, you get some good looks."

Linn-Mar (6-1) jumped to a 29-16 lead in the first half on a 3-pointer by Klostermann, but Kennedy (5-2) rallied within 35-34 at halftime.

The Cougars kept surging and took a 48-43 lead late in the third quarter, but Brandt beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to pull the Lions within 48-46 entering the final stanza.

Murphy began the fourth period with a 3-pointer to give the Lions a 49-48 edge, then Bohannon hit a triple for a 52-48 lead. Bohannan drilled another 3-pointer and Klostermann hit a follow shot to finish a 14-1 surge and give Linn-Mar a 57-49 advantage.

Kennedy never got closer than six points again.

The Cougars played well in spurts, but at times it looked like somebody had kidnapped the Kennedy players and put strangers in their jerseys as they made a series of uncharacteristic mistakes.

"That's a great way to put it," said Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen. "We weren't ourselves tonight. That wasn't Kennedy basketball.

"But that's why it's January, and we're going to learn from it, we're going to watch it and we're going to move on. We're happy it's not March."

Bryton Heisler and Brendon Manning led Kennedy with 12 points apiece. Zach Daniels scored 11 points and Drake Brewster had 10.

Linn-Mar made 13 3-pointers in the ballgame compared to five for Kennedy. The Lions also whipped Kennedy at the foul line, hitting 13 of 15 while the Cougars went 10 for 21.

LINN-MAR (74): Uhlir 2 7-9 11, Murphy 2 2-2 8, Noble 2 0-0 4, Bohannon 5 0-0 15, Klostermann 7 0-0 17, Tichy 0 0-0 0, Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Brandt 2 4-4 10, Halupnik 3 0-0 7. Totals 24 13-15 74.

KENNEDY (61): Daniels 4 0-0 11, Heisler 5 1-4 12, Murdock 2 0-0 5, Diggins 2 0-0 4, Manning 4 4-5 12, Girling 0 0-0 0, Techau 2 0-2 4, Brewster 3 4-8 10, Gardner 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 10-21 61.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 35, Kennedy 34. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 13 (Bohannon 5, Klostermann 3, Murphy 2, Brandt 2, Halupnik 1), Kennedy 5 (Daniels 3, Heisler 1, Murdock 1). Fouled out - Manning.