Printy’s return to Washington a successful one

CEDAR RAPIDS - As he left the floor for a substitute in the final couple of minutes, Jared Printy gave the old waist-high fist pump. It wasn't an overt celebration or anything like that.

Nothing showy, just kind of subtle. This win meant a lot to the Linn-Mar guard.

'At that point, I was just happy we were able to come out of here,” Printy said, after his team's 69-49 win Thursday night at Cedar Rapids Washington. 'They were making runs, and we had to fight those off ... You could tell they were trying to push, and we just had to keep them off. So when that horn buzzed, and I came out of the game, it was almost like a relief. Yeah, it's definitely a relief that it's over.”

The 6-foot-5 shooter and Western Michigan signee made a high-profile transfer last spring after Washington's season. He was a multi-year starter for the Warriors, and his father, Boyd, an all-stater at the school.

The move definitely raised some eyebrows. Printy said it was a decision he and his family made, and he doesn't want to publicly get into why it was made.

It was kind of cruel irony that his new team's third game of the season came at his old team's gym. Printy handled things well, making four 3-pointers and scoring 18 points to help Linn-Mar improve to 2-1.

'First of all, it was very weird,” he said. 'I have spent so much time in this gym. It was just weird to be back after not having been in here for so long. I knew it would be crazy intense, and that's exactly what it was. I didn't think I could possibly be unprepared for this, as far as underestimating what it would be like. But I did. It was intense out there, both teams played so hard. It was just a really fun game to be a part of.”

Printy got his fair share of chirps from the Wash student section, which was unavoidable since the bleachers are virtually on top of the court.

'We all had his back, no matter what they said,” said Linn-Mar's Jordan Bohannon, who had a game-high 22 points. 'We just told him to keep his head up no matter what happened. He did a really good job with that.”

Washington played a tremendous first quarter, taking a 15-10 lead, but Linn-Mar rallied behind the 3-ball to take a 31-22 halftime edge. The Lions made 7 of 14 from beyond the arc in the half and finished 12 of 23 there in the game.

All five starters had at least one make, with four of the five connecting on two or more.

Meanwhile, Washington (1-2) couldn't buy a bucket after the first quarter. The Warriors shot 35 percent overall, including an abysmal 1 of 15 from long range.

Laveechie Williams is always active inside and led Wash with 18 points and 10 rebounds. But he made only 8 of 20 shots, missing numerous point-blankers.

'I think we had over 20 offensive rebounds, you know what I mean?” said frustrated Washington Coach Justin Decker. 'We had stuff at the bucket that just rolled out. We came out with the defensive energy I thought we would. I just think when we started missing those shots, it started taking away guys' energy and confidence ... I'm happy with the effort. The ball just didn't go in, and then they hit some shots. We knew they were going to. Our goal was to hold them to six 3s, and they made 12.”

With Printy and Iowa signee Bohannon, Linn-Mar is considered one of the best teams in Class 4A. The Lions were humbled by Waukee last week in their season opener, but that loss may turn out to be the best thing to happen to them.

'We were put on a pedestal at first,” Bohannon said. 'We were really cocky. We're confident in ourselves. We haven't lost our confidence, I don't think, but I think that loss put us in our place a little bit.”

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AT C.R. WASHINGTON

LINN-MAR (69): Jordan Brandt 1-5 0-0 3, Beau Klostermann 5-6 0-0 12, Riley Murphy 3-4 0-0 8, Jared Printy 5-9 4-5 18, Jordan Bohannon 6-15 7-8 22, Reese Phillips 0-2 0-0 0, Tyler Voves 0-0 0-0 0, Forrest Cronin 2-3 0-0 4, Kirby Kerr 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Mentzer 0-0 0-0 0, Levi Werkman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 233-45 11-13 69.

C.R. WASHINGTON (49): Laveechie Williams 8-20 2-5 18, Dallas Hobbs 3-3 0-2 6, Noah Dawson 1-2 0-0 2, Keion Wills 2-15 0-0 4, Hunter Strait 6-15 0-0 12, Ian Thomas 2-4 0-0 5, Donovan Beard 1-3 0-0 2, Austin Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, Maleik Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 2-7 49.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 31, C.R. Washington 22. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 12-23 (Brandt 1-4, Klostermann 2-2, Murphy 2-3, Printy 4-6, Bohannon 3-8), C.R. Washington 1-15 (Dawson 0-1, Wills 0-5, Strait 0-4, Thomas 1-3, Beard 0-2). Rebounds - Linn-Mar 29 (Brandt, Printy 6), C.R. Washington 36 (Williams 10). Total fouls - Linn-Mar 12, C.R. Washington 15. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Linn-Mar 9, C.R. Washington 8.

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