Burger bombs Xavier past Washington, 74-55

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mitch Burger plans on attending the University of Iowa next year. He wants to study business, maybe help out his dad someday.

Matthew Burger owns Iowa Walls Concrete Construction, Inc., in Marion. Just a free plug there.

Perhaps if some school comes along that interests Mitch Burger, he'll consider college basketball. If not, he'll be one heck of an intramural player.

'I love basketball, and I'd love to play at the next level, if I get some interest and find the right college,' Burger said, after his 30 points lifted Cedar Rapids Xavier past Cedar Rapids Washington, 74-55, at Ron Thillen Gymnasium. 'But I don't know if I want to play at a small school or anything.'

The senior guard helped Class 3A third-ranked Xavier (13-2) pull away in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 50-41 game. From there, he just kept shooting, penetrating and dishing.

And talking a little junk along the way. A high-energy kid with a bit of attitude in his game, Burger can do things like he did Friday when all that energy is focused properly.

It's fun to watch.

'Mitch Burger stepped up huge for us, and hit a lot of shots for us,' said Xavier's Jackson Joens, who chipped in 13 points. 'I do find myself watching him sometimes. It's nuts. We just keep telling him to shoot the ball because they'll keep going in most of the time.'

Burger hit five Burger Bombs, making 10 of his 20 shots overall. He added six assists, too, including setting up a pair of late dunks by Ryan Stulken and Max Techau.

'I like to talk a lot on the court,' Burger admitted. 'I like to have a good time, get into people's heads. But at the end of the day, we're still friends.

'Once I hit one shot tonight, I started to feel it a little bit. But it's not possible without my teammates throwing me the ball and getting me open. Coming open off those screens, it's all their work, not really me.'

Xavier shot 62 percent from the field, scored 47 points in the second half, 30 in the fourth quarter to subdue Washington (5-10). The only negative came when starting point guard Matt Mims (who had 10 first-half points) went down with a third-quarter ankle injury that felled him for the remainder of the game.

Keion Wills had 18 points for Washington, which again suffered from a poor-shooting night. The Warriors were 32 percent from the field, including 2 of 16 from long distance.

'A couple of our key guys got into foul trouble for us,' said Washington Coach Justin Decker. 'I'm not making excuses. Obviously Burger hit some shots that it wouldn't have mattered who was guarding him. The score doesn't really show how hard our guys played. We were it in in the third. We just didn't get enough stops, and they kind of got on a roll. When you play a good team on the road, you can't afford that.'

AT C.R. XAVIER

C.R. WASHINGTON (55): Dallas Hobbs 3-5 0-0 6, Laveechie Williams 3-14 1-5 7, Ian Thomas 3-12 0-0 7, Keion Wills 5-17 7-8 18, Hunter Strait 6-17 0-0 12, Noah Dawson 2-2 1-1 5, Nolan Potter 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, Collin Westmoreland 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Beard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-67 9-14 55.

C.R. XAVIER (74): Ryan Stulken 3-4 0-0 6, Jackson Joens 4-8 3-4 13, Max Techau 6-10 0-0 12, Mitch Burger 10-20 5-7 30, Matt Mims 4-10 1-1 10, Nolan Butkowski 1-4 0-0 3, Blake Whitten 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Schulte 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 9-12 74.

Halftime – Xavier 27, Washington 22. 3-point goals – Washington 2-16 (Thomas 1-6, Wills 1-7, Strait 0-3), Xavier 9-24 (Stulken 0-1, Joens 2-5, Techau 0-1, Burger 5-9, Mims 1-4, Butkowski 1-4). Rebounds – Washington 40 (Williams 16), Xavier 38 (Stulken, Techau 7). Total fouls – Washington 16, Xavier 13. Technical foul – Techau. Turnovers – Washington 10, Xavier 12.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com