C.R. Washington survives furious C.R. Xavier run for win

CEDAR RAPIDS - With just less than six minutes left in last night's game Cedar Rapids Washington had dominated Cedar Rapids Xavier in nearly every facet of the game and had built a 23-point lead at 56-33.

Over the next 4:30, the Saints (8-7, 4-6 MVC Miss.) used a full-court press and quick shots to go on a 23-4 run and made Warriors (8-7, 6-4 MVC Miss.) Coach Adam Sanchez and the rest of the Washington faithful sweat.

But like Tuesday night against Linn-Mar, Xavier's run came up just short, Washington hit just enough free throws and the Warriors escaped with a 69-63 home win Sanchez called the biggest of his three years at the helm.

'(This adds) a lot more years and a lot less hair,” Sanchez said. 'That's the most excited locker room in the three years I've been here. There's almost like a big breath, they can take a big exhale because they held on just enough to get it done. They wanted this one badly, I wanted this one badly.

'Finally for us, it's a game where we beat somebody to prove we're maybe on the map a little bit as we go forward.”

The win gave Washington back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game streak from Jan. 10 against Grinnell to Jan. 16 against Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Washington built its lead last night by way of hot shooting and controlling the glass. Maurice Arrington and Jared Printy led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds apiece. Keegan Moore added 10 rebounds of his own, while Laveechie Williams had eight points and six rebounds - three of which were putback buckets. As a team, Washington out-rebounded Xavier, 37-27.

The confidence the Warriors played with through the first 26 or so minutes wavered slightly, showing up by way of four turnovers in the final four minutes and a slew of missed free throws.

'They're obviously a really good team with a lot of talent, and sooner or later you're going to start making plays and making shots,” Sanchez said of Xavier. 'Their press bothered us a little bit, we played a little too fast and didn't take care of it. I think we kind of played not to lose (for a bit), which happens at times. We didn't make a lot of free throws, but we made just enough.”

For the Saints, it's the second straight game going away with mixed emotions. Coach Ryan Luehrsmann's squad can take solace in knowing they have the ability to play fast and efficiently, but have the pain of knowing the outcomes could've been different had they turned it on sooner.

Luehrsmann pointed to the defense as the main source of needed improvement if Xavier is going to change the results and win some games in the postseason.

'Particularly it's been the defensive end (where) we haven't gotten it done the last two games, and we've got a lot of work to do to improve defensively,” Luehrsmann said. 'I think there's some positives to take away. The second halves of both games were really strong, and we played inspired. We played together; we played the way we need to play. I think that's the message going forward, that we need to buckle down and focus on what we need to correct things defensively.”

AT CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER (63): Michael Mims 4-12 0-0 11, Adam McDermott 4-11 3-4 14, Mitchell Burger 6-8 2-3 16, Calvin Winker 6-17 2-2 14, Ryan Stulken 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Ramlo 0-2 0-0 0, Joe Welch 2-2 0-0 4, Noah Clasen 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Downey 1-4 0-0 3, Tim Otting 0-0 1-2 1. Totals

23-57 8-11 63.

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (69): Steven Kramer 2-4 0-0 6, Hunter Strait 2-3 5-8 10, Maurice Arrington 7-15 5-9 19, Keegan Moore 0-4 0-0 0, Jared Printy 6-11 2-2 19, Laveechie Williams 4-5 0-2 8, Drew Hoeger 1-1 0-0 2, Keion Wills 2-3 1-3 5, Noah Dawson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals

24-46 13-24 69.

Halftime – Cedar Rapids Washington 31, Cedar Rapids Xavier 14. 3-point goals – Xavier 9-29 (Mims 3-9, McDermott 3-7, Burger 2-4, Winker 0-4, Stulken 0-1, Downey 1-3). Washington 8-13 (Kramer 2-4, Strait 1-2, Arrington 0-1, Printy 5-5). Rebounds – Washington 37 (Moore 10), Xavier 27 (Winker 8). Total fouls – Xavier 19, Washington 17. Fouled out – Burger (Xavier), Kramer (Washington). Turnovers

– Washington 7, Xavier 5.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com