Bob Fontana's basketball team at Kennedy High School plays defense well enough to beat just about anyone.

The Cougars also miss enough free throws and commit enough turnovers to lose to just about anyone.

The eighth-ranked Cougars did enough things right Friday night to clip Xavier, 59-45, in the Class 4A substate semifinals at Kennedy to keep their season alive.

The Cougars (16-6) will face No. 5 Linn-Mar (18-5) in the substate finals Tuesday night at Prairie High School with a berth to the state tournament on the line.

Kennedy beat the Lions, 56-51, on Feb. 4, but that game was played at Kennedy and it was before Matt Lassen rejoined the Lions after missing two months with a severe concussion.

Fontana is not pinning his hopes on what happened three weeks ago.

"We won last time and I know it's coach-speak, but it doesn't mean anything right now," he said. "They're playing really, really well. They're playing at a high level.

"It's going to take our best effort and best game of the season."

Kennedy played its typically stingy defense Friday and held Xavier without a field goal during a 12-minute stretch that began late in the first quarter and did not end until early in the third quarter. By then, the Cougars had grabbed a 27-14 lead.

"Kennedy did a great job of forcing us out of our offense," said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins. "They're very physical, and they forced us to take tough shots."

The Cougars cruised to a 48-28 lead with five minutes left in the game, but then the twin bugaboos - missed free throws and costly turnovers - came back to haunt them. The Saints (10-13) pulled within nine points at 54-45 on a 3-pointer by Brian Ropp before Kennedy got things under control again.

The Cougars made 22 free throws and outscored the Saints 22-8 at the foul line, but they also missed 13 free throws to give Xavier a chance in the fourth quarter.

Kennedy point guard Darius Fuller led the Cougars with 16 points on a series of floaters and tear-drops, but he also committed eight turnovers (not all his fault).

Fuller knows he cannot make that many turnovers against Marcus Paige and the Linn-Mar Lions Tuesday night. "We definitely have to take care of the ball more than we did tonight, because they'll take advantage of that," he said.

Elliott Christians, a 6-foot-7 senior who is being recruited by a long list of Division II and Division III schools, set the defensive tone for Kennedy in the first quarter when he blocked three shots and altered several others.

"Defense is the key," said Christians. "We know if we play our best defense the whole game we can beat anybody."

Kennedy used a variety of defenses against the Saints with full-court pressure, a two-thirds trap, a half-court trap and a sticky man-to-man. Xavier scored only three points in the second quarter, all on free throws by Carter Valentine, as the Cougars grabbed control.

The Cougars also helped themselves with a strong performance on the boardboards, with Josiah Coleman leading the way with 11 rebounds. He also scored nine points, but made only one field goal (along with seven free throws).

Trevor Heitland scored all nine of his points on free throws for Kennedy, going 9-for-10 at the foul line. Cody Bell popped in two 3-pointers and scored 10 points.

Kevin Hosch paced Xavier with 15 points and Ben McDermott finished with 11, including back-to-back triples that gave the Saints a chance in the fourth quarter.

Jenkins was proud of his club for winning 10 games, finishing 8-8 in the Mississippi Valley Conference and winning a postseason game this season.

"There were a lot of positives," he said. "I think overall things went well for us."

XAVIER (45): Sampson 0 0-0 0, McDermott 4 1-2 11, Hosch 6 2-2 15, Valentine 2 4-5 8, Mattke 0 0-0 0, Nelson 2 0-0 4, Frazier 0 1-2 1, Ropp 1 0-0 3, Clasen 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 8-11 45.

KENNEDY (59): Fuller 7 2-4 16, Heitland 0 9-10 9, Bell 4 0-2 10, Christians 2 3-4 7, Coleman 1 7-12 9, Jahlas 1 0-0 2, Hayden 1 0-0 3, Martin 0 0-0 0, Struss 1 1-3 3. Totals 17 22-35 59.

Halftime - Kennedy 27, Xavier 14. 3-point goals - Xavier 5 (McDermott 2, Hosch 1, Ropp 1, Clasen 1), Kennedy 3 (Bell 2, Hayden 1). Fouled out - Clasen.