Metro Sports Report

Eagles shrug off poor start to upset NIACC

Totally lost does not always mean a loss.

Kirkwood shrugged off a mistake-prone first half  and beat third-ranked NIACC, 81-68, Friday night in a men's junior college basketball game at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (7-5, 1-0 ICCAC) committed many of its 23 turnovers in the first half, but surprisingly only trailed 34-32 at halftime.

“They were who we thought they were,” Kirkwood Coach Doug Wagemester said of NIACC. "They did exactly what we prepared for and our kids were totally lost.”

Saints notch 1st MVC win for Luehrsmann

Three players scored in double figures and gave Xavier boys basketball coach Ryan Luehrsmann his first Mississippi Valley Conference victory Friday night in a 57-45 win over Dubuque Hempstead at the Xavier gym.

Trey Sampson led the Saints with 14 points. Matt Nelson and Corbin Woods added 11 points apiece.

“It’s a fun group and they have the right approach to the game and are very well-disciplined,” said Luehrsmann, whose team is off to a 4-0 start in his rookie season.“We needed to keep them off the boards and they are very athletic and second chance points were a factor, too.”

Prairie clipped by No. 4 Rams, 52-34

Turning the ball over often and getting substantially outrebounded doesn’t usually translate into a victory.

Especially when it comes against the No. 4 team in the state.

Prairie committed 18 turnovers and was outrebounded 28-12 by Dubuque Senior as the highly ranked Rams beat the Prairie Hawks, 52-34, Friday night at the Prairie gym.

The Rams unleashed their imposing front line and pounded both the offensive and defensive glass all night. Seth Bonifas (6-foot-9), Kyle Haber (6-7) and Josh Weeber (6-6) collected more than six rebounds apiece, resulting in numerous putbacks and second-chance scoring opportunities.

Weeber had his way on the offensive end, leading all scorers with 16 points.

Prairie matmen dump No. 2 Linn-Mar

The Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling team huddled around Coach Blake Williams for a few minutes Thursday night after whipping second-ranked Linn-Mar and finished the meeting with a quietly confident two-word chant.

"State champs," they said in unison, announcing this year's goal for everyone to hear.

Based on what happened Thursday, they could be headed in that direction.

The fifth-ranked Hawks won nine of 14 matches and dumped the highly regarded Lions, 35-22, with a convincing performance at the Linn-Mar gym.