Kennedy takes Pemsl, Wahlert to OT but still falls

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cordell Pemsl is healthy, Cedar Rapids Kennedy seems to be getting healthier but still needs some wins to turn around its season.

Iowa Hawkeyes signee Pemsl picked up 20 hard-earned points, and his Class 3A top-ranked and two-time defending state championship Dubuque Wahlert squad eked out a 53-47 overtime win Friday night over Kennedy in Cougarland. The 6-foot-8 senior had knee surgery March 14 and looks to be a significantly better and more explosive player than the one who gimped through the 2014-15 season.

He came in averaging 21 points a game and shooting 64 percent from the field.

'I'm playing the best I have in my four years here,' Pemsl said. 'The surgery went well, the rehab went well, everything went well, no setbacks. The worst thing I've felt is a little soreness, just after a series of games. I feel a lot better than last year. A lot better.'

Kennedy made him work for what he got, keeping a couple of guys in the lane to defend him most of the game. Pemsl said he really couldn't name exactly what kind of defense the Cougars were running at him and his team, only that it was effective.

This was a 5-4 game after a quarter, 17-14 Kennedy at halftime and still only 26-26 headed to the fourth. Offense was merely a suggestion on both sides.

'I thought we did a great job on (Pemsl),' said Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen. 'When he did score, he made really good plays. It wasn't something where we weren't matched up on him right or didn't guard him right. We made him go to secondary moves and made him work to get the ball.'

Kennedy (3-6, 1-4 in the MVC's Mississippi Division) seemed to be swinging a pretty big hammer after it scored seven points in a row to begin the fourth quarter, forcing a Wahlert timeout. But the Golden Eagles (8-2, 3-2) regrouped and eventually took a 41-40 lead on a Pemsl inside bucket with 45 seconds left.

Two Derrick Diggins free throws put Kennedy back ahead with 22.3 left, 42-41, but Pemsl was undercut and fouled by Matt Gardner on a lob pass with six seconds remaining. He made his first foul shot but missed his second, with Kennedy unable to get off an attempt to win it.

The teams traded blows in OT, with a huge Cougars turnover with 40 seconds left giving Wahlert the ball with a 49-47 lead. Kennedy never recovered.

'We talked about how we've got to figure out how to transfer the looseness of practice over into games,' said McKowen. 'We played well for three-and-a-half quarters, but when it got really tight there, we didn't play loose. Every day is a step forward for us. I mean, this is a good group that works hard. They are just a group that gets tight.'

Diggins led Kennedy with 15 points off the bench. The Cougars played a good team into overtime despite shooting 32.6 percent from the field.

Contrarily, Wahlert won despite going just 12 of 25 from the free-throw line. The teams combined for 34 turnovers, which goes back to the sluggish offense theme.

'Give Kennedy credit because they play tough defense,' said Wahlert Coach Tom English. 'They really come out and really play you hard. We're in a little rut right now where we're just not hitting shots. Teams are really able to roll it up in the paint against us. We didn't make many shots in the first half, so we didn't score many points. We loosened up a little bit in the second half, hit a couple 3s, got to the free-throw line and started clicking a lot more. Then we were able to get it inside, where our strength is.'

AT C.R. KENNEDY

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (53): Sage Maiers 1-4 1-2 3, Cordell Pemsl 8-12 4-7 20, Riley Till 1-2 1-3 3, Austin Kluck 1-2 4-6 7, David Wedewer 3-12 2-3 10, Josh Schmitt 3-6 0-1 8, Judd White 0-0 0-0 0, David Iwowari 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-40 12-25 53.

C.R. KENNEDY (47): Drake Brewster 0-2 2-2 2, Shaun Beyer 0-5 0-2 0, Derek Girling 2-4 2-4 6, Michael Bisenius 3-9 0-0 9, Matthew Gardner 3-8 0-0 7, Matthew Berst 1-3 0-0 3, Derrick Diggins 5-13 3-5 15, Adam Wall 2-4 1-1 5, Jackson Foley 0-2 0-0 0, Nic Duehr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 8-14 47.

Halftime — Kennedy 17, Wahlert 14. End of Regulation – Wahlert 42, Kennedy 42. 3-point goals — Wahlert 5-17 (Maiers 0-2, Pemsl 0-1, Till 0-1, Kluck 1-2, Wedewer 2-9, Schmitt 2-3), Kennedy 7-28 (Brewster 0-1, Girling 0-1, Bisenius 3-9, Gardner 1-6, Berst 1-2, Diggins 2-7, Foley 0-2). Rebounds — Wahlert 33 (Kluck 8), Kennedy 27 (Bisenius, Berst, Wall 5). Total fouls — Wahlert 15, Kennedy 22. Fouled out — Wall. Turnovers — Wahlert 19, Kennedy 15.

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