DES MOINES - The Late Show with the Xavier Saints had an unhappy ending Thursday night.

Dubuque Wahlert defeated the Saints, 67-54, in the semifinals of the Class 3A boys state basketball tournament in a battle of Mississippi Valley Conference teams at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Wahlert (17-9) will play LeMars (22-4) in the championship game Saturday night, with the Golden Eagles from Dubuque seeking their second state title in a row.

Xavier (17-9) will meet Williamsburg (25-1) in the consolation game for third place Saturday afternoon at 12:05.

Thursday night's game, scheduled to begin at 8:15, did not start until 9 p.m. after LeMars beat Williamsburg in double-overtime in the other semifinal, and the game did not end until 10:30 with the Saints walking unhappily off the court.

Xavier bolted to a 23-11 lead in the first half and appeared to be in good shape with Wahlert star Cordell Pemsl saddled with two early fouls, but the Golden Eagles battled back and controlled the second half.

"It couldn't have started any better for us, to be honest with you," said Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "But you know with the talent they have and how well-coached they are, they're going to make a run back.

"And certainly they did and we just didn't have an answer down the stretch. And we couldn't buy a basket as well.

"You just have to tip your hats to them," said Luehrsmann. "They're the defending state champs for a reason."

The Saints scorched the nets when they beat Wahlert, 78-74, at Xavier three weeks ago, but this time they shot only 34 percent from the field (17 of 50) and 25 percent on 3-pointers (6 of 24).

Adam McDermott scored 19 points for Xavier and made a strong big for the all-tournament team after netting 24 in the quarterfinals against Pella, but he shot only 5-for-17 from the field and was 2-for-10 on 3-pointers.

Calvin Winker scored 14 points despite mild foul problems, but he was 4-for-12 from the field and 1-for-5 on 3-pointers. Mitchell Burger had 10 points and Michael Mims added nine.

McDermott liked the way the game began, but not the way it ended.

"They're a great team. We knew they were going to make a run back at us," he said. "I think in the second half, we had good looks and we just couldn't convert."

The Saints led 31-25 at halftime, but the game melted away from there. "In the locker room we were saying, '16 more minutes, 16 more minutes,'" Mims remarked.

As it turned out, those 16 minutes were all Wahlert needed to take control. The Golden Eagles scored the first six points of the second half and tied the game, 31-31, on a dunk by Josh Carter. It was tied again, 35-35, with 2:21 left in the third period, but Wahlert used a 20-7 spurt to take command at 55-42 with 2:52 left to play.

Pemsl, a 6-foot-8 junior who has committed to Iowa, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but he wasn't the one who killed the Saints. Nolan Timp poured in 24 points for the winners and grabbed eight rebounds. David Wedewer popped in four 3-pointers and scored 16 for Wahlert and Carter also had 16.

Luehrsmann thought Wedewer was the difference in the two games against Wahlert.

"I thought David Wedewer grew up," he said. "He didn't shoot the ball very well when we played him the first time. He was very tentative. And tonight he stepped up and made some big 3's.

"That made it a lot harder on our zone to sag in when you have to honor him when he's sticking from deep. I'd say he was the biggest difference."

Wahlert Coach Tom English said he was not terribly worried when his team was trailing 23-11 in the first half with Pemsl on the bench with foul problems.

"We've been the type of team that doesn't get too excited about being down big and we've made some big comebacks throughout the year," he said. "So I wasn't panicking, and I didn't think our kids were panicking."

Xavier had an 8-8 record in January before embarking on a nine-game winning streak that carried the Saints all the way to the semifinals of the state tournament, including the first victory at the state tournament in school history.

"I think this group has reached its full potential," said Luehrsmann. "I'm very happy, very pleased with the effort these guys have given us all year, how they've stuck together.

"At the end of the day, the definition of success is getting the most of your ability and talent," he said, "and I think this group has done that."

XAVIER (54): Mims 3 2-2 9, McDermott 5 7-8 19, Burger 4 0-0 10, Ramlo 1 0-0 2, Winker 4 5-6 14, Welch 0 0-0 0, Downey 0 0-0 0, Otting 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 14-16 54.

WAHLERT (67): Wedewer 4 4-4 16, Timp 6 11-13 24, Carter 6 4-6 16, Till 0 0-0 0, Pemsl 3 4-4 10, Nemmers 0 0-0 0, Kluck 0 0-0 0, Iwowari 0 0-0 0,Adams 0 0-0 0, Timmerman 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 24-29 67.

Halftime - Xavier 31, Wahlert 25. 3-point goals - Xavier 6 (McDermott 2, Burger 2, Mims 1, Winker 1), Wahlert 5 (Wedewer 4, Timp 1).