Prairie gives Kennedy a tussle

CEDAR RAPIDS - The first step is being competitive, the second is winning. The Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks seem close to conquering that first step.

“It's just getting back into games to where it's still a ballgame (late in) the fourth quarter,” Prairie guard Jacob Aune said after his team gave Class 4A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy fits in a 62-48 loss last night at Kennedy. “I think that's the first step in any program that's trying to rebuild.”

Sure, Prairie is only 3-11, 2-7 in the Mississippi Valley Conference, but consider that it ended a 53-game MVC losing streak just last season. Players have transferred to other schools in part because of the lack of competitiveness.

First-year coach James Moses has definitely improved these Hawks in that area. Prairie already has more wins than last season and had lost its previous four games by a total of 19 points.

It held an 11-8 lead after a quarter on Kennedy (12-2, 7-2), and it was still anybody's game in the fourth. The Cougars' interior advantage and superior free-throw shooting prevailed.

“The guys are starting to see you've got to pay attention to detail,” said Moses, a former Iowa Hawkeye guard. “It's kind of like raising kids. Your kids wait for you to be wrong and tell you that you're not right. Hopefully I'm saying some things that they can relate to.”

“We've come together as a team,” said Aune, who led Prairie with 18 points. “Every day, it's the same mentality. Mental toughness and getting better. It's starting to show now on the court, which is good.”

Give Kennedy credit for getting through a game in which it didn't play particularly well. Jake Manning continued showing off his vastly improved game, scoring 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 5 of 5 free throws.

Josiah Coleman, one of those former Prairie guys, added 14 points and Kyle Lamaak 12.

“There are no wins before you play the games,” said Manning, a 6-foot-5 forward who has more than doubled his scoring average this season to 12 points per game. “You have to be ready for every game.”

“I'd rather win ugly than lose ugly,” said Kennedy Coach Bob Fontana. “It's a deal where ... you're trying to get their attention about respecting everybody. I knew Prairie was going to come after us.”

Here is the game boxscore:

AT C.R. KENNEDY

C.R. PRAIRIE (48): Brandon Lafferty 2-4 0-1, Matthew Jantzen 1-3 0-0 3, Jerome Frazier 4-7 2-3 10, Jacob Aune 7-16 2-3 18, Matt MacDougall 2-7 0-0 4, Tyler Mougin 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas Eilers 1-1 0-0 3, Chaz Boots 1-2 0-0 2, Brooks Kehoe 0-1 2-3 2, Blaine Hilgenkamp 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-44 6-10 48.

C.R. KENNEDY (62): Kyle Lamaak 4-12 4-6 12, Christian French 2-2 0-0 4, Jake Manning 8-9 5-5 21, Josiah Coelman 5-11 2-3 14, Jake Misener 1-7 0-0 2, Darius Fuller 0-1 8-8 8, Elliott Christians 0-1 0-0 0, Herschel Dixon 0-2 0-0 0, Trevor Heitland 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 20-53 20-24 62.

Halftime - Kennedy 26, Prairie 19.

3-point goals - Prairie 4-13 (Jantzen 1-3, Frazier 0-1, Aune 2-6, Eilers 1-1, Kehoe 0-1, Hilgenkamp 0-1), Kennedy 2-8 (Lamaak 0-1, Coleman 2-4, Misener 0-2, Heitland 0-1).

Rebounds - Prairie 21 (Frazier 5), Kennedy 30 (Coleman 6).

Total fouls - Prairie 15, Kennedy 13.

Fouled out - Lafferty, Aune.

Turnovers - Prairie 11, Kennedy 10.