Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys will be 4A's new No. 1

CEDAR RAPIDS — Ladies and gentlemen, it's your new top-ranked team in Class 4A.

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy Cougars vaulted into the No. 2 spot in this week's Gazette boys' basketball rankings and will ascend to No. 1 after beating Cedar Rapids Xavier, 62-51, Tuesday night at Kennedy.

The Cougars weren't even ranked two weeks ago, but they're 6-0 as they go to the holiday break, a surprise to many but not themselves. They'll be at the top because Iowa City West got beat Tuesday night by Cedar Rapids Prairie.

'I want to be there at the end of the year,' laughed Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen. 'I mean, it's something you shoot for. We didn't expect it to happen this early. The guys have played well, they've played solid, so whatever happens, happens right now.'

Kennedy won handily despite off nights from its top two scorers Derrick Diggins and Drake Brewster. They came in averaging 17 points apiece, but Diggins had just five and Brewster 11 on 3-for-15 shooting.

Other guys picked them up big time. Matt Berst splashed five 3-pointers en route to a 17-point night, while diminutive guard Jackson Foley had three more in an 11-point game.

Kennedy made 10 of its 20 shots from distance.

'I don't know, I just picked up my team the first half,' said Berst, an Illinois State baseball commit who had 14 first-half points. 'They were working really hard, it was a good team effort. We still have a lot to work on. But I had some open shots, and I guess they fell in tonight.'

McKowen wasn't surprised.

'He's one of the toughest kids we have,' McKowen said. 'He has been in the gym before school, after school, at lunch time. He and his dad have been in here on Sundays, outside of practice, getting ready to knock down shots.'

You figured Kennedy's pressure defense would be a factor, and it was. Xavier (2-4) had 20 turnovers, playing without exceptional junior point guard Matt Mims, who has an ankle injury.

Mims will be back right away to begin the new year. Give props to sophomore Quinn Schulte for holding his own at the point despite an almost impossible situation for him.

Jackson Joens led Xavier with 13 points. The Saints shot over 50 percent from the field and made 7 of 15 treys.

'It put a lot more pressure on us, not having our primary ball handler,' Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann said. 'But I thought Quinn Schulte did a heck of a job for a sophomore. I'm hoping he gains a great deal of confidence with this experience tonight because that's one of the best presses in the state.'

'We really feel like we can turn a lot of teams over,' McKowen said. 'I thought we were really good on the ball tonight. Off the ball, we weren't good at all. We stood and watched it ... I thought there were 15 to 20 opportunities where maybe we shouldn't have gotten the steal, but we should have engaged to get the steal. That's a small thing, but, to us, it's a big thing.'

AT C.R. KENNEDY

C.R. XAVIER (51): Bryce Schulte 4-4 0-0 10, Nolan Butkowski 3-6 0-0 7, Max Techau 4-6 0-0 8, Jackson Joens 5-12 0-0 13, Quinn Schulte 1-6 0-1 2, Max Johnson 3-3 0-2 6, Spencer Dempewolf 0-0 2-2 2, Matt Ropp 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 21-38 2-5 51.

C.R. KENNEDY (62): Matt Berst 6-9 0-1 17, Drake Brewster 3-15 5-6 11, Derrick Diggins 2-6 1-3 5, Jackson Foley 3-8 2-2 11, Malik Haynes 3-4 0-2 7, Nick Duehr 0-1 0-0 0, Isaiah Harris 2-6 0-0 5, Keeler Dix 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 22-44 8-14 62.

Halftime — Kennedy 36, Xavier 24. 3-point goals — Xavier 7-15 (B. Schulte 2-2, Butkowski 1-3, Joens 3-7, Q. Schulte 0-2, Ropp 1-1), Kennedy 10-20 (Berst 5-6, Diggins 0-2, Foley 3-4, Haynes 1-2, Brewster 0-1, Duehr 0-1, Harris 1-3, Dix 0-1). Rebounds — Xavier 26 (Techau 8), Xavier 24 (Berst, Brewster 7). Total fouls — Xavier 16, Kennedy 12. Fouled out — Techau. Turnovers — Xavier 20, Kennedy 7.

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