Fuller helps Kennedy upset Linn-Mar, 56-51

CEDAR RAPIDS - When your point guard outplays Marcus Paige, you've got a heck of a chance to win a basketball game. It was Darius Fuller, with a little help from Trevor Heitland, that outshined the North Carolina signee Saturday night in Cedar Rapids Kennedy's 56-51 upset of Class 4A sixth-ranked Linn-Mar.

Fullheit, as we'll call them, outscored 4A's leading scorer, 19-18, switching off on him defensively and holding him to 3-for-16 shooting from the field and 10 points under his scoring average. It was Kennedy's first win over Linn-Mar since the 2005-06 season.

“Our plan was to get into him as much as we could, take him out of his game,” Fuller said. “Try and get in his head and try to pressure him as much as we could. It worked pretty well. He got his shots, but we kept (his points) to as minimum as we could.”

A 5-foot-9 junior, Fuller scored 14 himself and added seven rebounds in a terrific individual performance. For the most part, he and Heitland kept Paige in front of them.

Whenever he did get away and penetrate the lane, he was fouled hard and sent to the free-throw line, where he made 11 of 13.

“Darius did have 14 points, but I was more impressed with his overall floor game,” Kennedy Coach Bob Fontana said. “I think he had seven rebounds and a handful of assists. He only turned it over maybe a couple of times. To do that, then have to guard Marcus Paige, too, that's just outstanding. I know the box score says he scored 14, but in my mind, he had a hell of a lot more than that.”

Kennedy (13-4, 8-4 MVC Mississippi Division) rallied from a four-point halftime deficit, seeming to simply out-physical Paige and his teammates in a game that definitely was physical. Maybe a little bit too much for Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson's taste.

Robertson was given a technical foul late in the third quarter after a traveling call on Paige that didn't seem to be a travel. Matt Meier added 14 points off the bench for the Lions (13-4, 9-3), who had three starters foul out, including Paige.

“It's hard to shoot when you've got hands on you,” Robertson said. “It seemed like it got away from the officials a little bit, especially one of them. That was just tough to overcome.”

Here is the game boxscore and a quick video interview with Fuller:

AT C.R. KENNEDY

LINN-MAR (51): Jimmy Roth 2-8 0-0 6, Andy Henry 2-6 1-2 5, Derik Gogg 0-1 0-5 0, Zach Martins 1-4 0-0 2, Marcus Paige 3-16 11-13 18, Matt Meier 5-6 1-2 14, Jon Schlotterback 1-1 0-0 2, Nate Dick 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 16-44 13-22 51.

C.R. KENNEDY (56): Josiah Coleman 1-6 4-6 6, Cody Bell 2-9 3-7 7, Elliott Christians 1-5 7-8 9, Trevor Heitland 2-10 1-2 5, Darius Fuller 5-8 4-7 14, Alex Hayden 3-5 0-0 7, Josh Jahlas 0-0 0-0 0, Patrick Martin 3-3 0-0 6, Ben Struss 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 18-51 19-30 56.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 25, Kennedy 21. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 6-20 (Roth 2-4, Henry 0-2, Martins 0-2, Paige 1-8, Meier 3-4), Kennedy 1-6 (Coleman 0-1, Bell 0-3, Hayden 1-2). Rebounds - Linn-Mar 28 (Gogg, Meier 5), Kennedy 36 (Christians 8). Total fouls - Linn-Mar 22, Kennedy 19. Fouled out - Henry, Roth, Paige. Technical fouls - Linn-Mar bench. Turnovers - Linn-Mar 14, Kennedy 8.