Unsung guy Jace Scott a key in top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s blowout win over No. 7 Waterloo West

CEDAR RAPIDS — You game plan for Colby Dolphin and Kenzie Reed. Duh, they’re all-state guards.

You worry about athletic kids like Cyrus Courtney, skilled big guys like Micah Schlaak and shooters like Carter Newhouse. It’s a pretty good starting five Cedar Rapids Kennedy throws out there at you.

But that’s not where it ends with these Cougars. There are dudes off the bench that have hurt opponents this season, too.

Then Tuesday night there was Jace Scott.

He wasn’t necessarily the MVP Tuesday night for Class 4A top-ranked Kennedy in its 89-46 blowout of No. 7 Waterloo West. But he was really good, another example of just how much depth this club can throw out there.

“He has practiced really well,” said Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen. “He’s so good defensively. Anticipating, getting his hands on balls, winning 50-50 balls. And he’s been shooting it well. To be quite honest, in JV games he has been shooting it well, playing well, so he has earned himself a spot ... It was kind of his night.”

The 6-foot-4 junior scored 10 points, including hitting a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer that gave Kennedy a 45-30 lead. It was momentum the Cougars carried over into an absolutely dominant second half.

Keep in mind, Scott hadn’t even played in every game for a team whose ‘closest’ wins have been by nine and 10 points.

“My teammates were just giving me good looks,” he said. “When you’re playing out there with Kenzie and Colby, it makes it a lot easier. Just go to your spot and wait. When the ball comes, you hope it’s your night, you know?”

Kennedy (15-0) got a game-high 19 points from Reed and 16 each from Dolphin and Schlaak. Its trademark in-your-face defense turned West (13-3) over 17 times and forced it to shoot poorly from the field, including 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

You don’t ordinarily blow out an opponent that’s also a top-10 team, but this was an indication of how the Cougars played ... Tuesday and all season thus far.

“I thought we really wore them out in the second half,” McKowen said.

“They changed the way we wanted to play tonight,” said West Coach Cliff Berinobis. “They’re well coached, I’ve got a lot of respect for Jon. But I think more so tonight, they made us play dysfunctional with their defensive pressure. That really got us off balance, we hung on to the ball way too long. That’s a credit to them. It was something we worked on, knew was going to happen. But it’s different when it’s actually game speed.”

AT CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY

WATERLOO WEST (46): Joseph Hudson 0-3 0-0 0, Keishaun Pendleton 4-8 1-3 11, Keadyn Leiss-Demus 5-7 2-2 13, Dayton Bruce 0-4 0-0 0, Si’Marion Anderson 3-9 2-2 8, Jahlil Manago 4-7 2-2 10, Shuncere Wortham 0-1 0-0 0, Davonte Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Yairh Gonzalez 1-1 0-2 2, Kailib Fisher 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-41 7-11 46.

C.R. KENNEDY (89): Micah Schlaak 8-9 0-0 16, Cyrus Courtney 2-5 2-2 7, Carter Newhouse 2-4 1-1 7, Colby Dolphin 6-13 1-2 16, Kenzie Reed 6-9 4-4 19, Trey McKowen 1-8 0-0 2, Landon Deiters 0-0 3-4 3, Trevan Krumrei 2-4 0-0 5, Jace Scott 4-6 0-0 10, Griffin Gerdes 0-1 0-0 0, Reid Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Micah Jauhianen 0-1 0-0 0, Tristan Steichen 1-1 0-0 2, Nolan Grawe 1-2 0-0 2, Reece Murray 0-1 0-0 0, Donovan Slick-Driscoll 0-1 0-0 0, Colton Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 11-13 89.

Halftime - Kennedy 45, West 30. 3-point goals - West 3-16 (Hudson 0-2, Pendleton 2-4, Leiss-Demus 1-2, Bruce 0-3, Anderson 0-4, Manago 0-1), Kennedy 12-37 (Courtney 1-3, Newhouse 2-4, Dolphin 3-9, Reed 3-6, McKowen 0-3, Krumrei 1-3, Scott 2-4, Gerdes 0-1, Hall 0-1, Grawe 0-1, Murray 0-1, Slick-Driscoll 0-1). Rebounds - West 23 (Manago 5), Kennedy 36 (Courtney 8). Total fouls - West 11, Kennedy 8. Technical fouls - Bruce, West bench. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - West 17, Kennedy 5.

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