Don’t be fooled by his appearance

CEDAR RAPIDS – It's not meant as a slight. It's really a compliment.

Zach Daniels is almost always the least physically imposing player on the basketball floor. He's this wispy little 5-foot-11 kid who appears absolutely harmless.

But don't let his stature fool you one bit. The kid can play.

'He has an amazing aura about him,” Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen said, after his senior guard helped the Cougars fend off Cedar Rapids Washington, 75-64, Friday night in a beauty of a boys' basketball game. 'He's a very quiet kid. Whether he's on the pitching mound in the state tournament or shooting a 3, he always looks the same. He's the same way in practice, too … If we have one shot in a pressure situation, we know what Zach is going to give us, and we try to get it to him.”

It was a 58-58 game in the fourth quarter when Daniels had his usual clutch moment.

He tipped a ball away from Washington's Keion Wills on the dribble, leading to a Brendon Manning layup. Then after another Kennedy defensive stop, he popped a 3-pointer out front that put his Cougars ahead by two scores.

Washington couldn't recover.

'I think I'm quick, have a quick shot,” Daniels said, modestly, when asked how he is able to perform at the level he does despite his smaller frame. 'I feel like I can get teammates the ball when they're open. So I think that's why I'm effective.”

Kennedy (12-5) was effective all night offensively, shooting a blazing 60 percent from the field, 65 percent in the second half. Keep in mind, these weren't your garden variety layups and 4-footers, either.

These mostly were jump shots.

'That's incredible,” said Daniels, who had 19 points. 'That's what we're looking for. We know we can do it, too ... We shoot it just like that every day in practice. It's no surprise to us that we're knocking down shots.”

'Unfortunately they're sometimes a tough matchup for our guards because they are quick and they can shoot it,” said Washington Coach Adam Sanchez. 'We don't have the quickest guards on the perimeter sometimes. They can exploit you by spacing them. That's what they've done all season: space you out and shoot it.”

Manning also had 19 points for Kennedy, with Bryton Heisler and Derrick Diggins adding 11 each. Freshman Diggins had a trio of treys, including a clutch one in the final two minutes.

Washington (8-9) was no slouch on offense, either, shooting 54 percent by exploiting its size advantage on the interior. Keegan Moore had 17 points, with Wills and Maurice Arrington adding 12 apiece.

While Kennedy was 9 of 19 from the arc, Washington finished 4 of 18. That was important.

'That was obviously our strength going into the game, the inside,” Sanchez said. 'We did a good job getting the mismatches and a really job of low-post feeds. From two-point land, we were really, really good. Unfortunately we weren't from behind the arc.”

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AT C.R. WASHINGTON

C.R. KENNEDY (75): Brendon Manning 7-10 4-5 19, Bryton Heisler 4-7 3-3 11, Derrick Diggins 4-6 0-0 11, Cole Murdock 2-4 0-0 5, Zach Daniels 7-11 2-2 19, Matthew Gardner 1-2 0-0 2, Derek Girling 0-0 0-0 0,, Drake Brewster 2-6 3-4 8, Max Techau 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-46 12-14.

C.R. WASHINGTON (64): Keegan Moore 7-9 3-5 17, Maurice Arrington 5-6 2-3 12, Jared Printy 2-8 0-0 6, Steven Kramer 0-3 1-2 1, Hunter Strait 2-8 0-0 6, Laveechie Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Keion Wills 6-8 0-0 12, Drew Hoeger 0-0 0-0 0, Julian Good-Jones 4-5 0-0 8, Noah Dawson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-50 6-10 64.

Halftime - Kennedy 34, Washington 32. 3-point goals - Kennedy 9-19 (Manning 1-1, Heisler 0-1, Diggins 3-4, Murdock 1-3, Daniels 3-6, Brewster 1-3), Washington 4-18 (Printy 2-8, Kramer 0-3, Strait 2-5, Wills 0-1). Rebounds - Kennedy 23 (Manning 9), Washington 20 (Moore, Kramer 4). Total fouls - Kennnedy 12, Washington 16. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Kennnedy 13, Washington 10.

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