Linn-Mar walks the line in win over Clinton

DES MOINES - Have you ever seen a bunch of Lions line dance?

No, that's not a punch line to a bad joke. It's the tale of this Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal.

The Linn-Mar Lions lived and made Clinton die at the free-throw line in their 67-60 Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal victory last night at Wells Fargo Arena.

Linn-Mar (23-1) went 24 for 30 from the charity stripe, 19 of 22 in the second half, to finally subdue a scrappy bunch of River Kings and keep its impressive quarters record intact. The Lions have made eight state tourney appearances, seven in a row, and have yet to lose a quarterfinal.

By the way, does anyone line dance any more?

“During the season, we did not shoot the percentage we needed to,” said Linn-Mar's Matt Bohannon, who got half of his 26 points from the line. “We're all capable shooters. The main thing is confidence.”

Well, the confidence meter must have been sky high last night. Linn-Mar's last field goal came on a Josh Montague putback with 5:22 left, with 13 of its 15 fourth-quarter points coming via (you guessed it) the line.

Clinton (18-6), meanwhile, went 9 for 16. There's your game, folks.

“That was obviously a big difference, and it definitely helped us down the stretch,” Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson said. “I don't know what our turnovers were. That's one thing we have to clean up as we head into the rest of the weekend. But like they've done all year, the guys stepped up and found a way to get it done.”

Linn-Mar could never shake an athletic Clinton team spearheaded by Northern Iowa football recruit David Johnson, whose quickness around the hoop led to 20 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Jake Mangler added 16.

Bohannon hit a late 3-pointer to put the Lions up after three quarters, 52-46. Then literally it was about toeing the line in the fourth.

“I thought there were stretches where we were playing well,” said Linn-Mar's Marcus Paige, who started and played 26 minutes. The sophomore point guard has been battling mononucleosis and is noticeably less than 100 percent.

“We're not looking for style points,” Robertson added. “We're here to move on.”

Which they will do, drawing Southeast Polk (20-3) in a 3:15 Friday afternoon semifinal. Win that, and it's very likely a rematch of last year's 4A title game against Ames.

Even if it's not a win, Linn-Mar gets a consolation game. That's the thing about winning every quarterfinal you play.

“You guarantee yourself two more,” Robertson said.

Here's a short postgame interview with Bohannon: