J-Hawks make it a season sweep of Washington

IOWA CITY — Dennis McKinney figured he had the easy part.

'The other guys, they did the penetration, all the hard work. They dumped the ball to me, and I just finished off what they were doing,' he said.

McKinney converted 8 of 9 shots for 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and led Cedar Rapids Jefferson to a 62-58 win over Cedar Rapids Washington in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys' basketball game Friday night at Washington High School.

A one-win team last year, Jefferson improved to 8-12 overall and 4-10 in the MVC, completing a season sweep in the cross-town rivalry.

'We came to the gym hungry every day this summer,' McKinney said. 'We've really jelled as a group.'

Jefferson trailed for much of the first three quarters. But once the J-Hawks seized the lead, they didn't let it go.

An 8-0 run in the fourth quarter was pivotal, boosting a two-point advantage to 57-47.

'It wasn't pretty, but we kept doing our stuff,' said J-Hawks Coach Brandon Horman. 'We didn't make any big changes. Things just started going our way. The boys found a way to win.'

Adam Van Oort struggled through a 1-for-10 shooting performance in the first half, but came on as the J-Hawks made their move. So did Treyton McCauley, whose 3-pointer gave the J-Hawks the lead at 42-40, their first advantage since 2-0. And so did Zachariah Szabo, who had a pair of critical baskets early in the fourth period.

Washington tied it at 42-all on Keion Wills' two free throws, but Van Oort drained a 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer, and Jefferson didn't surrender the lead.

Van Oort finished with 12 points (10 after halftime) and six rebounds. Royshawn Webb tackled on 11 points, and Valentino Green grabbed seven boards and drew four charging fouls on the Warriors (6-12, 3-10).

LaVeechie Williams posted 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors. Wills added 19 points.

Washington led by seven points on three occasions in the first half. It was 31-27 at intermission.

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 62, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 58

At C.R. Washington

C.R. JEFFERSON (62): Royshawn Webb 5-11 1-3 11, Valentino Green 1-3 1-3 3, Kane Kramer 2-6 1-2 7, Adam Van Oort 5-16 0-0 12, Dennis McKinney 8-9 0-0 16, James Brown Jr. 2-4 0-0 4, Treyton McCauley 2-2 0-0 5, Zachary Larsen 0-0 0-0 0, Zachariah Szabo 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 27-54 3-8 62.

C.R. WASHINGTON (58): Hunter Strait 4-9 0-0 8, Christian Beard 0-1 0-0 0, Ian Thomas 0-2 2-2 2, Laveechie Williams 8-13 4-7 20, Nolan Potter 0-1 0-0 0, Keion Wills 4-7 8-8 19, Dallas Hobbs 1-1 2-7 4, Noah Dawson 1-1 1-2 3, Donovan Beard 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-37 17-26 62.

Halftime: Washington 31, Jefferson 27. 3-point goals: Jefferson 5-17 (Webb 0-2, Kramer 2-6, Van Oort 2-6, Brown 0-1, McCauley 1-1, Szabo 0-1), Washington 3-11 (Strait 0-2, C.Beard 0-1, Thomas 0-2, Wills 3-5, D.Beard 0-1). Team fouls: Jefferson 18, Washington 16. Fouled out: Wills. Rebounds: Jefferson 30 (Green, McKinney 7), Washington 24 (Williams 9). Assists: Jefferson 12 (five with 2), Washington 8 (Wills 3). Steals: Jefferson 6 (Van Oort 2), Washington 7 (Strait 3). Turnovers: Jefferson 12, Washington 15.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com