Cedar Rapids Xavier prevails in OT ‘slugfest’ against Dubuque Wahlert for boys’ state basketball spot

MANCHESTER — Four quarters weren’t enough to determine a winner in a “slugfest” between Dubuque Wahlert and Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Ultimately, the Saints landed the final punch.

The Saints (18-6), led by junior Joe Bean, defeated Dubuque Wahlert (13-11), 48-44, in overtime Monday night at West Delaware High School in a Class 3A boys’ basketball substate final.

With the win, 3A’s fourth-ranked Saints head to the boys’ state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the first time since 2018.

“Obviously, we’re super excited,” Xavier Coach Mike Freeman said. “Wahlert is a class program, a tremendous program. One of us couldn’t go, but I’m super excited for our guys.”

Entering the fourth quarter, Xavier led by five.

The Saints and Golden Eagles went punch-for-punch, with Wahlert’s Duke Faley hitting a shot late to tie the game at 37-all and send it to OT.

“We told them it’s going to be the toughest game we have,” Freeman said. “It’s going to be a grind. They beat us on their court (earlier this season), so we knew it was going to be a slugfest.”

Bean got off to a hot start in overtime, scoring five of his 17 points to begin the extra period.

“The whole time, Coach was telling me to drive because it creates so many opportunities,” Bean said. “That’s kind of what I did. Stuck with the game plan and it worked out.”

Bean’s five points gave Xavier a 42-39 lead with 2:31 to go.

Faley answered, putting Wahlert back within a point with 1:09 left.

Following a miss, the Saints secured an offensive rebound and called a timeout with 28 seconds left and one second on the shot clock.

Out of the timeout, Josef Lemker caught the inbound pass from deep and launched the ball in midair …

Swish.

“I knew there was one second left and we had a little play drawn up,” Lemker said. “We had a couple different looks. I was kind of the last option so when I got it, I knew I had to get it up quick and it went in.

“That specific play is a play we practice a lot. We were practicing some plays like that yesterday and I hit a very, very similar shot yesterday in practice so it was really cool to see that translate to the game.”

Lemker’s 3 put Xavier up 45-41.

“That’s something we’ve prepped all year,” Freeman said. “We know what it is. We were there, Josef made a play, they knew exactly what they were doing so kudos to our guys. They were ready to go.”

Wahlert’s Luke Smith sank a 3 with 5.8 seconds to go to make it 47-44.

McDermott then hit the front end of a one-and-one to give Xavier a two-possession lead and seal the win.

“Joe Bean was huge in overtime to get us started,” Freeman said. “And then different guys making free throws. Really proud of our group.”

Xavier’s state tournament appearance is the first under fourth-year head coach Freeman.

“It’s not about me,” Freeman said. “It’s about our team and our program. It’s these seniors, we’ve got winners. I told the coaches before, we’ve got a bunch of winners. We’ve got a bunch of football players that have played in big moments, guys that have played in baseball tournaments. We had some guys step up tonight.”

“We worked for this,” Bean said. “We’re trying to win it all. We’ve got a really good chance. We’ve got a lot of hoopers on our team.”