Sir Joseph helps Cedar Rapids Kennedy get its boys’ state basketball tournament quarterfinal redemption

DES MOINES — Though he goes simply by Joe, every piece of state tournament literature has him listed as Joseph Bean.

Even the public-address announcer for Wednesday morning’s Class 4A state quarterfinal game kept repeatedly calling him Joseph Bean.

You should make that Sir Joseph.

The senior guard did a whole lot of everything, including shooting his Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys’ basketball team out of a first-half malaise and eventually to a 66-45 win over Dallas Center-Grimes at Wells Fargo Arena.

Top-ranked Kennedy (24-0) can move on from that stunning loss to Pleasant Valley in last year’s 1-8 quarterfinal. It has earned a trip to Thursday’s 4A semifinals against eighth-ranked Ankeny (18-6).

Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

“Exactly. It’s a relief we got past the first game,” said Kennedy’s Micah Schlaak. “Now we can just focus on the next one. Yeah, this feels pretty good.”

A lot of the credit for this redemption victory belongs to Bean, who played so well last year at this tournament as Cedar Rapids Xavier made it to the Class 3A championship game. He splashed three straight 3-pointers as part of Kennedy’s tyranny of treys.

Every Cougars point in the second quarter came from beyond the arc, including a couple of biggies from Griffin Gerdes off the bench. Those seven triples gave Kennedy (24-0) a 30-20 halftime lead.

“I’d say the first quarter, we were just feeling things out,” said Bean, who finished with team highs in points (18), rebounds (7) and assists (5). “Then in the second quarter, we started doing some things out there. It just came to me. I started feeling it.”

“Joe’s a player,” said Kennedy’s Cyrus Courtney. “He can do everything: rebound, shoot, and he got hot. They they started taking him away, and everybody else starting scoring, because he gave us the energy we needed.”

That energy carried over to the second half, as Kennedy padded its margin. This was the Cougars team you have been used to watching: defensively aggressive, offensively fast paced.

Courtney added 15 points and seven rebounds for Kennedy. Schlaak had 14 and six.

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After a 4-for-12 start in the first quarter, Kennedy ended up shooting exactly 50 percent in the game, including making 8 of 10 shots in the fourth, many of those layups after breaking DC-G’s desperation press.

“We were a little tight early, which most teams are,” Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen said. “But I thought they started playing with enjoyment and a lot of poise, excitement and energy starting in the second quarter.

“Shooting is contagious. We talked to the kids before the game about ‘Take team shots.’ If they don’t go in, keep taking team shots every possession.”

Center Calix Cahill led Dallas Center-Grimes (20-4) with 20 points. Jackson Green added 12 for the Mustangs, who play in a primarily 3A Little Hawkeye Conference, but who upset fifth-ranked Waukee in a substate final.

“It’s a big stage, everything is different, so it’s natural to be tight,” Courtney said. “Then you get into it, and, as you saw, we got a big lead, played Kennedy basketball.”

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Photos: Kennedy vs. Dallas Center-Grimes in Class 4A boys’ state basketball quarterfinals

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 66, Dallas Center-Grimes 45

AT WELLS FARGO ARENA

DALLAS CENTER-GRIMES (45): Jaden Jones 0-3 2-2 2, Calix Cahill 7-10 6-6 20, Tate Perrin 2-4 0-0 5, Jackson Green 3-10 3-4 12, Jonathan Howard 1-9 2-2 4, Owen Vasey 0-0 0-0 0, Brogan Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, Dayne Mauk 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-37 13-14 45.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY (66): Cyrus Courtney 7-12 0-0 15, Trevan Krumrei 2-4 1-2 5, Micah Schlaak 6-9 1-2 14, Trey McKowen 2-11 0-0 5, Joe Bean 7-10 1-2 18, Griffin Gerdes 3-7 0-0 9, Pierce McCrary 0-1 0-0 0, Landon Deiters 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 3-6 66.

Halftime - Kennedy 30, Dallas Center-Grimes 20. 3-point goals - Dallas Center-Grimes 4-13 (Perrin 1-2, Green 3-7, Howard 0-4), Kennedy 9-24 (McKowen 1-6, Courtney 1-3, Schlaak 1-3, Krumrei 0-2, Bean 3-4, Gerdes 3-5, McCrary 0-1). Rebounds - Dallas Center-Grimes 19 (Cahill 6), Kennedy 32 (Courtney 7, Bean 7). Total fouls - Dallas Center-Grimes 13, Kennedy 12. Fouled out - None. Assists - Dallas Center-Grimes 6 (Green, Jones 2), Kennedy 13 (Bean 5). Turnovers - Dallas Center-Grimes 12, Kennedy 8.

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