C.R. Xavier knocks off undefeated Knoxville to reach Class 3A state hoops semifinals

DES MOINES - Its girls’ team was an eighth seed last week and ended up winning a state basketball championship.

Its boys are a ‘7’ this week. So winning the Class 3A title has comparatively got to be a piece of cake.

Right?

“I don’t know about that,” Cedar Rapids Xavier center A.J. Evans said Tuesday, after his Saints beat second-seeded Knoxville, 52-37, in a state tournament quarterfinal at Wells Fargo Arena. “We’re going to take it one game at a time. I think we can do something great here. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Evans was great here, that’s for sure.

The 6-foot-8 junior had game highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as Xavier (16-9) completely shut down an opponent that came in 24-0 and was averaging 71.5 points per game.

The level of competition the teams played in the regular season was well different, though, and turned out to be significant. Xavier, of course, plays in the mostly 4A Mississippi Valley Conference, while Knoxville plays in the South Central Conference, which consists of a number of 2A schools.

Xavier is now 9-0 this season against opponents in its class. The Saints play sixth-seeded MOC/Floyd Valley (21-4) in a 3A semifinal Thursday at 12:15 p.m.

“I think it was definitely noticeable,” said Xavier’s Lorenzo Pino, who scored 12 points and helped lock down high-scoring Knoxville guard Lincoln Norris.

He was 4 of 19 from the field and 1 for 12 from 3-point territory, scoring nine points, seven under his average. Knoxville shot just 29.2 percent as a team, 3 of 24 from beyond the arc.

  Buy Photo

“They came out hot, came out right. We came out right, too,” Pino said. “We just knew we had to keep that for four quarters. But, yeah, it was definitely noticeable, and it made an impact in this game, for sure.”

“Our kids here at Xavier are tough,” said Xavier Coach Mike Freeman. “We also play in a good league. That’s no disrespect to anybody out here, because every team in the state tournament is good. You win 23, 24 games, you are a dang good basketball team. We’re just coming in here trying to do our job, trying to win basketball games.”

Xavier led after an offensively fun first quarter, 19-15, but the rest of the game kind of became a slog. The Saints went up by nine in the second quarter, Knoxville cut it to a four-game game after three, but Xavier scored eight of the first nine points in the fourth to put things to bed.

Evans was a dude on the interior, with his length and good footwork His point total included a couple of dunks.

Not bad for a kid who battled the stomach flu, respiratory flu and a very high temperature last week that sent him to the ER.

“My coaches were telling me all week that this was a game where I could score, could do my thing,” Evans said. “But I’m not going to give credit to myself, only my teammates. They were getting me the ball, getting me good looks, and I was finishing them.”

Xavier lost in the 3A finals in 2023, but that team had two dominant players in Aidan Yamilkoski and Joe Bean. This one can get something from multiple guys, depending on the game.

For instance, Kaleb Wilgenbusch and Zander Murray helped Xavier overcome a 17-point second-half deficit to Decorah in a 3A substate final. This time around, it was Evans and Pino.

“We talk about some nights it’s going to be you, some nights it’s not going to be you,” Freeman said. “That’s what has been good about this team.”

  Buy Photo

-------

AT DES MOINES

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER (52): Aiden Miller 0-1 0-0 0, A.J. Evans 8-13 5-7 21, Zander Murray 5-14 0-0 11, Kaleb Wilgenbusch 4-9 0-2 8, Lorenzo Pino 4-9 2-4 12, Carter Hoffmann 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Downey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 7-13 52.

KNOXVILLE (37): Koby Higginbotham 3-10 1-1 9, Kaiden Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Landen Norris 6-12 2-3 14, Lincoln Norris 4-19 0-0 9, Drake Larson 1-5 1-2 3, TaShawn Conner 0-1 0-0 0, Cael Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Tristan Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 6-8 37.

Halftime - Xavier 27, Knoxville 20. 3-point goals - Xavier 3-17 (Murray 1-6, Miller 0-1, Pino 2-4, Wilgenbusch 0-1, Hoffmann 0-1, Downey 0-2), Knoxville 3-24 (La. Norris 0-3, Higginbotham 2-6, Larson 0-1, Smith 0-1, Li. Norris 1-12, Conner 0-1. Rebounds - Xavier 38 (Evans 13), Knoxville 28 (Larson, Smith 7). Total fouls - Xavier 12, Knoxville 16. Fouled out - None. Assists - Xavier 9 (Wilgenbusch 3), Knoxville 2 (La. Norris, Larson 1). Turnovers - Xavier 14, Knoxville 12.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com