Linn-Mar Boys Basketball

Lions eye spot in state history

The Linn-Mar Lions can make history Tuesday night if they beat North Scott and earn their eighth straight trip to the boys state basketball tournament.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Linn-Mar is currently tied with Cedar Rapids Regis for the longest streak in history with seven consecutive trips to state. Regis, which combined with LaSalle to form Xavier High School in 1998, made seven straight trips from 1989 through 1995.

Davenport High School (1947 through 1952) and Hull Western Christian (1988 through 1993) made six straight trips to the boys state basketball tournament, according to records posted on the IHSAA website.

Linn-Mar began its streak when it won the Class 4A title in 2004. The Lions also won the 4A crown in 2007. They finished second in 2005 and 2009, placed third in 2008 and 2010, and were fourth in 2006.

The top-ranked Lions have compiled a gaudy 182-18 record during the past eight seasons heading into Tuesday night's game against North Scott, including a 22-0 mark this season.

Cedar Rapids Washington (16-8) and No.8 Cedar Rapids Jefferson (16-5) also are playing in Class 4A substate finals Tuesday night.

Washington will face Dubuque Hempstead in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader at approximately 8 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center, following Linn-Mar's game with North Scott. Hempstead upset Kennedy Friday night to reach the substate fans, denying Metro fans a chance to see the Warriors and Cougars tangle for a third time this season.

Jefferson will travel to the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls to face Waterloo West in the substate finals there. Waterloo West upset Cedar Falls to reach the finals.

Washington and Jefferson qualified for the 2010 state tournament, but both teams lost in the first round.

The Class 4A state tournament will be staged at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines from March 9-12.

Lions show why they're No. 1

The Linn-Mar Lions showed why they are the No. 1 ranked boys basketball team in the state Friday, scoring from all over the court and employing suffocating full-court pressure defense to beat Xavier, 69-45, at Linn-Mar in a Class 4A substate semifinal.

Senior guard Shane Benton led the way for Linn-Mar (22-0) with 21 points and North Carolina-bound junior Marcus Paige added 20 points for the Lions. Senior center Ryan Mains paced Xavier (7-16) with 10 points.

Linn-Mar started the game slow. Xavier's final lead came at 8-7 with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.

"We got off to a slow start and a lot of that has to do with having a week off and having a bye," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "It's hard to stay sharp when you're used to playing and then you just practice for five days."

The Lions employed their full-court pressure and picked up the pace. Linn-Mar scored 10 straight points in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter. The Lions continued to sprint away from the Saints in the second period and put the game out of reach with a 28-point halftime lead.

They were able to get going in transition and pick up the pace, Robertson said.

"We wanted to get the tempo going, obviously, our full-court pressure is what we rely on to do that," Robertson said.  "We got some transition baskets in the second quarter and it just broke the game open and got everybody relaxed and playing. When we are playing that style our guys are having fun and that is probably our strength."

The Lions stretched their lead to as many as 33 before Xavier started to chip away. Despite the one-sided score, the Saints battled hard in the second half, coming back to within 21 points with just under 4 minutes left in the game. But Linn-Mar never let them get any closer than that.

"(The) second half, I thought we got a little sloppy with things," Robertson said. "Sometimes it's hard playing with a big lead when the other team comes out and keeps fighting. We didn't match that intensity in the third quarter."

With the win, the Lions move on to Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. substate final at the U.S. Cellular Center where they will face North Scott.  The Lancers beat Pleasant Valley, 46-44, Friday.

Although Robertson was not sure who they would be facing immediately after the game he was confident that his team would be up to the challenge.

"We will have a couple good days to get ready," he said. "Our guys know what's at stake, that's what's nice about this team. We have a lot of seniors, a lot of experience, so they know what it's going to take Tuesday night."

Senior forward Ian McBrayer played for the first time since he was injured Feb. 8 and scored six points. Senior forward Josh Montague remained sidelined with a leg injury. Senior guard Michael Thul left the game in the first quarter with a bad ankle.

XAVIER (45): McLaughlin 2 2-4 6, McDermott 1 0-0 3, Hosch 2 0-0 5, Dunkirk 2 0-0 5, Valentine 1 1-2 3, Ropp 1 2-2 5, Clasen 1 3-5 5, Mains 4 2-3 10, Mattke 0 3-6 3, Sampson 0 0-0 0, Frazier 0 0-0 0, Woods 0 0-0 0, Schulte 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Kokontis 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 13-22 45.

LINN-MAR (69): Soyer 0 2-2 2, Kruise 2 0-0 4, Benton 6 8-10 21, Paige 7 4-4 20, Johnson 0 1-2 1, Bohannon 3 3-4 10, McBrayer 3 0-0 6, Gentzler 1 1-2 3, Gogg 1 0-0 2, Thul 0 0-0 0, Lassen 0 0-0 0, Lancial 0 0-0 0, Henry 0 0-0 0, Hutchins 0 0-0 0, Malone 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 19-24 69.

Halftime -- Linn-Mar 44, Xavier 16. 3 point goals -- Linn-Mar 4 (Paige 2, Benton, Bohannon), Xavier 4 (McDermott, Hosch, Dunkirk, Ropp).

Lions finish regular season unbeaten

With their two big men still on the bench with injuries, the Linn-Mar boys sent their 10 seniors off with a bang on Senior Night Thursday in the regular season final by pounding Dubuque Wahlert, 71-50.

The win gave the 4A top-ranked Lions (21-0, 16-0 MVC) their second consecutive undefeated conference season. In the last three years, they are 47-1 in the  Mississippi Valley, the only blemish coming two years ago against Cedar Falls.

"That's a great accomplishment," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. "I couldn't be happier for our seniors to go out with a win."

Next up is a home game next Friday night against Xavier or Ottumwa as substate tournament play begins.

Robertson said of his two senior stalwarts, 6-foot-6 Ian McBrayer should be ready to suit up. He's been hobbled by a groin injury.

The good news for 6-foot-7 post man Josh Montague is that he will not face surgery for a strained  ligament. Roberston said he's in therapy now and might be back in a couple of weeks if the team continues winning.

In their absence, however, Linn-Mar may have found an able substitute Thursday night in 6-foot-7 sophomore string-bean Derrick Gogg. He came off the bench and more than  held his own against the shorter but far bulkier Wahlert crew around the basket.

The rail-thin Gogg scored eight points but also clogged up the middle on defense and battled for rebounds.

"Derek played really well," Roberston said. "We play better in man-to-man than zone, and with him in there we were able to pressure more.

For a change, Lions long-range gunner Matt Bohannon had an off-night shooting, missing his first eight 3-point attempts before finally connecting with two minutes to go in the game.

"They wanted us to shoot from the outside," said Bohannon, who scored 30 against Jefferson Tuesday night. "I was having kind of a rough night, but when we started to go inside we got better shots and pulled away."

Despite scoring below his 16.8 average with 11 points, he and fellow senior Shane Benton picked up the slack on the boards. Benton also put up 13 points, including three treys.

Left-handed floor magician Marcus Paige, a junior who came in as a reserve on Senior Night, once again showed he can do almost anything he wants on the floor. While he uncharacteristically missed a few floaters he normally sinks, he still scored a game-high 23 points and said his primary focus was dishing off to teammates.

He  turned the ball over just once as the primary playmaker. For good measure, though, he scored once on a two-handed backwards dunk and another on a dipsy-doodle driving lay-up.

Paige also turned what had been a tenuous four-point lead at halftime into an 11-point cushion going into the final period with a 3-point buzzer beater from the corner. But, on Senior Night, it was fitting that the final bucket came from first-time starter Braxton Lancial on a twisting drive with time running out.

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Bohannon and Paige torch J-Hawks for 30 apiece in win

Linn-Mar senior Matt Bohannon knows how to lighten the mood before a big game.

The top-ranked Lions, crippled and missing their two tallest starters, were about to play Jarrod Uthoff and the Jefferson J-Hawks Tuesday night when Bohannon said something on the bench that had everybody laughing.

The Lions were still smiling after the game.

Bohannon and Marcus Paige poured in 30 points apiece as Linn-Mar topped the 10th-ranked J-Hawks, 70-64, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Jefferson.

The 30 points were career highs for both players and lifted the Lions to their 20th straight win.

Bohannon and Paige couldn't remember what Bohannon said before the game, or perhaps they didn't want to share a secret.

"We just had to stay loose and make the guys feel comfortable," claimed Paige.

"I said we have to play bigger than ourselves tonight, we have to play taller tonight," countered Bohannon. "We did a good job of that."

Maybe Bohannon said something like this to Paige to draw a few guffaws before the game: "Marcus, I know you're a great point guard and you'll be going to North Carolina and all that, but just for fun, why don't you move to forward in our 2-3 zone and help us keep Uthoff under control. And we'll both score 30."

Or something like that.

The Lions (20-0, 15-0 MVC) played without 6-foot-6 center Ian McBrayer (groin injury) and 6-7 forward Josh Montague (knee), so Coach Chris Robertson got creative and put five guards in the starting lineup and moved Paige to forward in their zone defense.

"I've never played the bottom of a 2-3 before," said Paige. "It was definitely something new."

Bohannon, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, was the tallest starter for Linn-Mar, but the Lions managed to swarm all over Uthoff and limit his touches. Uthoff finished with 26 points, but it was an uphill struggle despite his four-inch height advantage.

"I thought we'd be able to get the ball inside more," said Uthoff. "We had a big height advantage. We weren't able to do that against their zone. They played great. They're a great team."

Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman said he wanted to feed Uthoff near the basket, but the plan failed. "I'm very frustrated we weren't able to do that," he said.

Bohannon tossed in six 3-pointers en route to his career performance. Paige nailed five 3-pointers and reached 30 points on a free throw with nine seconds left.

Paige was averaging 17.4 points when the game began and Bohannon was sitting at 16.2 in a normally balanced attack.

"We usually have pretty deep groups here at Linn-Mar that doesn't require one guy to do it all," said Paige. "It's nice to have the balance we have."

This time, the Lions needed two guys to do it all. Bohannon and Paige combined for 60 out of 70 points.

"Me and Matt talked a lot before this game and decided we needed to step up," said Paige. "We really tried to take the initiative and pick our guys up by being aggressive early."

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