Leading scorer Mitchell Burger returns, C.R. Xavier wins Class 3A state tourney opener

DES MOINES — As he was substituted out of the game with six seconds left, Mitch Burger got to the Cedar Rapids Xavier bench and received one great big ol' bear hug from smiling Saints Coach Ryan Luehrsmann.

Redemption can feel pretty sweet sometimes, and it sure seemed like it did here. Burger's return from being exiled for two games couldn't have gone much better.

He scored 25 points, as Xavier fended off Spirit Lake, 58-47, in a Class 3A state basketball tournament quarterfinal Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

'I'm just blessed to have another chance to play,' Burger said. 'I'm happy with another chance, and I wanted to make the most of it. Go as hard as I could, play as hard as I could.'

Burger is Xavier's leading scorer but did not play or dress in the Saints' district final win over Clear Creek-Amana or their substate final victory over Mount Pleasant. Luehrsmann labeled the 6-foot senior guard's absence a 'coach's decision,' preferring to keep details private.

Burger said he knew there was a chance his prep career was over. He didn't start Tuesday night but made a huge splash after he came into the game midway through the first quarter.

He had an and-one transition layup for his first points, then had nine points in the second quarter as Xavier (17-8) turned a one-point deficit into a 29-19 lead at halftime.

The Saints play Pella (23-1) in a 3A semifinal Thursday night at 8:15. It's a rematch of their quarterfinal from last season, a game Xavier won en route to a third-place finish.

'Mitch is just really a tough kid. He's got a big heart, loves to compete, so it didn't surprise me that he came out and played the game that he did,' Luehrsmann said. 'It was just a situation where I think he has learned a lot through the last week or so. It's just things that young guys need to do to grow up and become better adults. And he's a kid, yet. So we're real happy we were able to get him back and thrilled with the way he performed tonight.''

'I think I've learned a lot through this experience,' Burger said. 'I'm really blessed to have another chance to be on the floor with my teammates. I just want to keep playing (with them) as much as possible.'

It wasn't just Burger's offense that helped Xavier eliminate Spirit Lake (21-4). The Saints did a terrific job defensively on Spirit Lake's two Division I college signees: Ryan Kriener (Iowa) and Billy Brown (North Dakota).

Kriener did end up with 18 points, though six of those came via a pair of meaningless late-game 3-pointers. Every time the 6-foot-11 center touched the ball, he was immediately swarmed by two or three Xavier defenders.

A switch to a 2-3 zone defense then seemed to take guard Brown out of his game offensively. Kriener and Brown were 10 of 28 from the field and had 29 points, 15 under their combined average.

'We knew we couldn't let just one guy guard him,' said Xavier center Max Techau. 'We had to front him first, then every time he touched the ball, we sent two or three guys at him. We did a great job. We just had to be tough with him. He's a big guy, he's really strong, he's got good moves and stuff. He's a D-I player. So it had to be a collective thing defensively.'

'In practice, we brought in a couple different guys, big guys, to go against me and Max,' said Xavier forward Ryan Stulken, who had 12 points and seven rebounds. 'We worked together in practice, talking. Communication was key. That was probably the biggest part in stopping him. It worked well tonight. Our defense played really well.'

Spirit Lake ended up shooting 39 percent from the field. Burger and point guard Matt Mims combined for seven steals, which led to a plethora of runouts and easy layups.

'We did a terrific job defensively. Probably our best defensive job of the year,' Luehrsmann said. 'I thought in our man-to-man, we were very aware where Kriener was at all times. Our guards did a great job of coming down and taking it out of his hands. Just making life difficult for him. Then when we went to zone, I thought that was a real game changer for us. They looked to be fairly stagnant against it. They did hit a couple of 3s, but Brown, at that point, seemed to lose a little of his aggressiveness. I want to give a lot of credit to my team for really zeroeing in and executing a game plan to perfection.'

Xavier fans can buy advance tickets for Thursday night's game Wednesday and Thursday at the school's activities office.

AT DES MOINES

C.R. XAVIER (58): Ryan Stulken 3-5 5-6 12, Max Techau 3-7 0-0 7, Jackson Joens 1-5 0-0 3, Nolan Butkowski 1-2 1-2 4, Matt Mims 2-4 3-4 7, Mitch Burger 8-14 6-9 25, Michael Fettkether 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Whitten 0-0 0-0 0, Spencer Dempewolf 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Schulte 0-0 0-0 0, Reese Houtakker 0-0 0-0 0, Max Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 15-21 58.

SPIRIT LAKE (47): Logan Backhaus 2-4 0-2 4, Peyton Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Kriener 6-14 4-7 18, Billy Brown 4-14 2-2 11, Frankie Ramos 2-3 0-0 6, J.P. Walz 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Christensen 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Heitritter 2-2 2-2 8, Zack Dykstra 0-0 0-0 0, Kyler Olsen 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Van Dyke 0-1 0-0 0, Kyle Vugteveen 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Seemann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-41 8-13 47.

Halftime — C.R. Xavier 29, Spirit Lake 19. 3-point goals — C.R. Xavier 7-16 (Butkowski 1-2, Joens 1-3, Stulken 1-2, Techau 1-3, Burger 3-6), Spirit Lake 7-19 (Brown 1-6, Backhaus 0-2, Kriener 2-3, Ramos 2-3, Smith 0-1, Walz 0-1, Christensen 0-1, Heitritter 2-2). Rebounds — C.R. Xavier 24 (Stulken 7), Spirit Lake 23 (Backhaus 8). Total fouls — C.R. Xavier 12, Spirit Lake 19. Fouled out — Techau, Brown. Turnovers — C.R. Xavier 10, Spirit Lake 14.

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