Kennedy surprises No. 3 North Scott (w/video interview)

CLINTON - Someone on Twitter posted seconds after the final buzzer that the Cedar Rapids Kennedy Cougars had just shocked the world.If you knew anything about them, you knew that Tweet was inaccurate. A 46-43 Class 4A substate final win over third-ranked North Scott was a surprise Tuesday night, but not a shock.Really nowhere near a shock."It doesn't shock us," shrugged Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen. "If you are going to go to practice and work as hard as we do, you'd better believe."These Cougars believe, and you'd be wise to believe in them now, too. They take an 18-5 record to next week's state tournament in Des Moines, a sixth seed that plays third-seeded Sioux City North (21-3) in a Wednesday, March 12 quarterfinal at 8:15 p.m.This is the seventh year in a row McKowen has led a team to state. He took Cedar Falls NU High there in 2005, then Ottawa High School to the Kansas state tournament six consecutive years before coming back to Iowa and turning the trick again.The guy knows something about coaching, and his team now knows something about winning. That's a dangerous combination to contend with for the rest of the 4A field."We're not going to be a team that's overlooked anymore," said Kennedy guard Zach Daniels. "We're not going to be there for one game. We're going to give it our all."(Quick video interview with A.J. Carter) North Scott (21-2) was on the brink of putting this game away, building a 27-19 lead halfway through the third quarter. But Kennedy regrouped and responded with a stunning 13-0 run that gave it a 32-27 edge headed to the fourth.A steal led to an Austin Holzer layup that put the Cougars up for what turned out to be good."We knew we could win this game," said Kennedy's A.J. Carter. "They were very similar to us, (and) we knew they hadn't seen a team like us, that attacks the ball and plays great defense as a team collectively. And one that can have five different people score at all times on the floor. We just went out and played our game the rest of the way."Partially because of early foul problems, Carter was limited to eight points, half his average, but other guys came up clutch offensively. Daniels had three 3-pointers and 10 points, Holzer six big points in the second half, Bryton Heisler five.Five of Kennedy's six field goals in the first half were from distance. The Cougars didn't shoot a free throw in the first half but had 22 of them in the second, making 15."My team told me I needed to get 20. I had to get 20, or we'd lose," Carter said. "But other guys stepped up, and that's what matters. Basketball is a team game, not an individual sport."Kennedy's aggressive man defense always extends to the perimeter, which helped bamboozle North Scott. Cortez Seales, an athletic 6-foot-5 wing with an offer from Northern Iowa, had a game-high 18 points, but no other Lancer was much of a factor.Truthfully, Kennedy didn't have anyone who could have guarded Seales consistently on the interior, but he dribbled with the ball out front most of the game and tried to penetrate. Carter made one of two free throws with 5.1 seconds left for a three-point Cougars lead, with Marlon Stewart's running 3-point attempt to tie coming up well wide."They just made a run at that point (in the third quarter)," Stewart said. "We made our run, and they made theirs."Kennedy has played a whopping 18 games this season decided by 10 points and won 15 of them."We know what that's about, and our kids made good decisions down the stretch, just like they have all year," McKowen said. "That's the reason we have 18 wins. It could be eight if we don't finish those (games)."

AT CLINTON

C.R. KENNEDY (46): Drew Heitland 2-5 1-2 5, Cole Murdock 2-6 2-2 8, Derek Jacobus 0-1 0-0 0, A.J. Carter 1-4 5-8 8, Zach Daniels 3-10 1-2 10, John Bardsley 1-2 1-2 4, Austin Holzer 2-2 2-3 6, Bryton Heisler 1-2 3-3 5. Totals 12-32 15-22 46.

NORTH SCOTT (43): Ricky Grimes 0-3 1-3 1, Cortez Seales 8-16 1-1 18, Trey Kilburg 2-6 1-1 6, Marlon Stewart 3-9 4-5 10, Grant Graham 3-8 0-1 8, Tanner Greve 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Sacia 0-0 0-0 0, Miles Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Albers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 7-11 43.

Halftime - Kennedy 17, North Scott 16.

3-point goals - Kennedy 7-17 (Murdock 2-6, Carter 1-1, Daniels 3-8, Bardsley 1-2, Heisler 0-1), North Scott 4-17 (Grimes 0-1, Seales 1-1, Kilburg 1-5, Stewart 0-5, Graham 2-5).

Rebounds - Kennedy 19 (Heitland 4), North Scott 30 (Seales 13).

Total fouls - Kennedy 16, North Scott 22.

Fouled out - None.

Turnovers - Kennedy 13, North Scott 13.