Best boys’ basketball team in the MVC? Might just be Cedar Rapids Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS — The game is “Who Is The Best Team In The MVC?” and the wheel with the names of the 14 conference schools has been spun.

Wisk, wisk, wisk, wisk, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick ...

OK, the wheel has landed on Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Let’s make a case for the Cougars.

A 71-51 win Tuesday night over Dubuque Hempstead on the northeast side was Kennedy’s eighth in a row. The Cougars are 10-2 overall, 8-0 in the Valley Division and ranked fifth in Class 4A.

They avenged one of their losses last week by beating Linn-Mar. The other was to No. 1 Ames.

Kennedy went into Tuesday second in 4A in points per game (72.4), third in point differential per game (17.8), first in assists per game (18.8) and second in 3-pointers made per game. It’s a team that’s deep, has a tremendous three-headed guard court, a couple of versatile forward-center types who can do damage from range or inside and an aggressive defensive style that can turn over opponents.

That’s a pretty good resume.

“No one plays defense like we do,” said Kennedy point guard Kenzie Reed. “It’s the defensive side of the ball that really gets us going. Our defense leads to our offense. Then our offense, when we hit shots like we usually do, it’s hard to stop us.”

Kennedy trailed by a pair after the first quarter, then started making just about everything. The Cougars built a 56-35 lead through three quarters by hitting 15 of 26 shots from the field in the second and third quarters, including going 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.

That’s what these Cougars can do: pile up points in a hurry.

“I think that’s just how we play,” said Kennedy forward Jackson Bowman. “Most teams don’t practice the way we practice. We practice hard every day. Our stamina just took us through that game.”

Reed led the way with 17 points, with Bowman and guard Colby Dolphin adding 11 each. Emerging 6-foot-11 senior center Cameron Fens had 22 points to lead Hempstead (7-6).

The game was moved up an hour and a half to 6 p.m. because of the cold weather.

“Really, we just got our energy going,” Reed said. “The gym was, like, dead, not much fan energy, so we had to create energy ourselves. Once we got going, we just started rolling.”

This is the most parity top to bottom the Mississippi Valley Conference has had in years. The cliche fits that literally anyone can beat anyone on a particular night.

Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen therefore was rightfully reluctant to say his team is the best of the bunch.

“We’ve played eight games, and obviously we’re sitting there undefeated in the conference still. But we could lose our next four, too,” he said. “This conference is crazy. Every night, you better prepare the right way or somebody is going to get you. It’s been that way for a long time. Maybe the teams in the past that you couldn’t beat even if they have a bad night, we don’t have those this year. So it’s just taking everybody’s best shot every night.”

AT CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY

DUBUQUE HEMPSTEAD (51): Kellen Strohmeyer 7-14 1-2 18, Noah Pettinger 1-2 0-0 2, Cameron Fens 10-12 2-3 22, Michael Hall 2-3 0-0 4, Derek Leicht 1-5 0-0 3, Nathan Kaesbauer 1-4 0-0 2, Reed Strohmeyer 0-4 0-0 0, Jonny Muering 0-0 0-0 0, Reggie Porter 0-1 0-0 0, Anthony Houselog 0-1 0-0 0, Charlie Besler 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Roling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 3-5 51.

C.R. KENNEDY (71): Jackson Bowman 5-11 0-0 11, Craig Mills 3-5 0-0 7, Colby Dolphin 4-10 2-2 11, Kenzie Reed 5-10 3-3 17, Carson Blietz 2-4 0-0 6, Cyrus Courtney 4-5 0-0 8, Carter Newhouse 2-3 0-0 5, Connor Jefford 1-2 0-0 2, Brenden Linde 2-2 0-0 4, Isaiah Morgan 0-0 0-0 0, Gannon Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Deven Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 5-5 71.

Halftime - Kennedy 33, Hempstead 22. 3-point goals - Hempstead 4-16 (K. Strohmeyer 3-8, Hall 0-1, Leicht 1-1, R. Strohmeyer 0-4, Porter 0-1, Houselog 0-1), Kennedy 10-27 (Bowman 1-4, Mills 1-2, Dolphin 1-6, Reed 4-7, Blietz 2-4, Courtney 0-1, Newhouse 1-2, Jefford 0-1). Rebounds - Hempstead 24 (Pettinger, Fens 6), Kennedy 22 (Bowman 6). Total fouls - Hempstead 7, Kennedy 5. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Hempstead 10, Kennedy 4.

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