Linn-Mar rolls past Xavier, 59-35

CEDAR RAPIDS - The average to below-average Linn-Mar can lose to anyone. The good to really good Linn-Mar?   You saw what it can do Friday night. The Lions got something from everyone offensively and defended up a storm - an impending winter storm, of course - in a 59-35 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier at Thillen Gymnasium.   Linn-Mar (7-6) has played a brutal schedule that should prepare it well for the postseason but has suffered road losses the past two weeks to seemingly inferior teams Cedar Falls and Ankeny that left you scratching your head. Kind of up and down, up and down.   This was a major "up."   "It's always been a consistency factor. But with this team, we never get our heads down," said Linn-Mar's Lane Halupnik. "We're always keeping our heads up, focusing on the next game. Even after a bad loss, we'll come back the next game focused."   "We've had a huge win, then the next game we lose to a team that we should be able to play with," said Linn-Mar's Jordan Bohannon, who led his club with 15 points. "But our schedule is really going to help us out. We played at Sioux City (North), at Bettendorf. We've just been all over the state. That helps a lot."   What helped Friday night was Xavier's inability to make any shots. The Saints shot a woeful 23 percent, and that was despite a size advantage.   Six-foot-8 center Matt Nelson had plenty of interior looks but made just 1 of 9 shots from the field in a five-point night. Wingman Adam McDermott came in averaging 17.3 points per game but finished with only eight.   Xavier played Thursday night at Waterloo West, so perhaps the legs simply weren't there. It was something because the Saints were off.   "You've got to give credit to the Linn-Mar kids," said Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "I think they were hurting from their loss on Tuesday to Ankeny. They came out and played inspired ball. When they get it going with their guards, the dribble penetration and 3-point shots, it's tough to defend."   The Lions (7-6) had 10 guys play significant minutes, and all 10 of them scored. They had the lead the entire way.   Xavier (7-6) crept within 34-27 in the third quarter, but Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson called timeout and his team responded with 19-2 run that silenced a large and loud Saints student section and ended whatever doubt there may have been about who would win.   "The big thing was we lost a couple of shooters (defensively)," Robertson said. "And we weren't really patient (offensively). That's what we talked about at halftime. Really moving the ball, moving bodies. Sometimes we're a little too quick at putting the ball on the floor and going. We wanted to make them defend."   Bohannon was Linn-Mar's lone double-figure scorer. Calvin Winker led Xavier with nine points.   "We really locked down on the defensive end tonight," Bohannon said.   "This is a fun team," Halupnik said. "Everybody plays well together. One night it could be one guy, the next night another guy."   Here is the game boxscore   :AT C.R. XAVIER   LINN-MAR (59): Ben Larson 1-1 0-0 2, Jon Schlotterback 1-3 0-0 2, Lane Halupnik 3-5 0-0 8, Nic Uhlir 2-8 4-7 9, Jordan Bohannon 4-10 5-6 15, Ryan Schmidt 1-3 0-2 2, Riley Murphy 1-2 2-2 5, Jordan Brandt 2-3 2-2 8, Trevor Noble 3-3 0-0 6, Griffin Brennecke 1-1 0-0 2, Jason Tichy 0-1 0-0 0, Darrin Eby 0-1 0-0 0, Garrett Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Curtis McCrary 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 13-19 59.   C.R. XAVIER (35): Adam McDermott 3-10 0-0 8, Calvin Winker 3-6 3-5 9, Matt Nelson 1-9 3-4 5, Andrew Bisenius 0-3 0-0 0, Mitchell Burger 3-8 1-1 7, Frank Hill 1-5 0-0 3, Connor Ramlo 0-1 0-1 0, Joe Welch 0-2 0-0 0, Matt Downey 1-5 0-2 3, A.J. Brems 0-1 0-0 0, John Peters 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-52 7-13 35.   Halftime - Linn-Mar 28, C.R. Xavier 17. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 8-16 (Halupnik 2-4, Uhlir 1-2, Bohannon 2-5, Murphy 1-2, Brandt 2-2, Eby 0-1), C.R. Xavier 4-17 (McDermott 2-4, Bisenius 0-1, Burger 0-4, Hill 1-3, Welch 0-1, Downey 1-3, Peters 0-1). Rebounds - Linn-Mar 36 (Bohannon 6), Xavier 29 (Nelson 8). Total fouls - Linn-Mar 16, C.R. Xavier 19. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Lin-Mar 9, C.R. Xavier 9.