Mount Vernon undeterred by being big underdog

MOUNT VERNON – He'll see a lot of familiar faces Monday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Families in the stands. Guys on the sideline.

Wes Bruns was the very first boys' basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Xavier, serving the school in 1999, 2000 and 2001. There will be a lot of emotion for him when he leads his Mount Vernon Mustangs into a Class 3A substate final against Xavier.

But not because of that.

'Nope. Not at all,” Bruns said. 'My father never went to state. He was a hall of fame coach, but he never took a team to the state tournament. That's what would get me.”

Though Mount Vernon and Xavier share the same record of 15-7, Bruns knows how much of an underdog his team will be when the game tips off at 8 p.m. Defending champion Dubuque Wahlert and Crestwood open Monday's double-header at 6:30 in another game of David versus Goliath.

Like Wahlert, Xavier competes in the 4A Mississippi Valley Conference. Mount Vernon is the smallest school in 3A, would actually be a 2A school if you looked at enrollments right now.

'What a great opportunity for our kids,” Bruns said. 'Playing Xavier is a huge challenge … I hope we're ready to play. We've started to turn the corner as a team. Like I told the kids, it's like being a family. It's not always going to be perfect, you're not always going to get along. But you push through, you mesh together somehow, someway.”

Bruns said he did shed a tear or two last week when Mount Vernon upset Davenport Assumption for a district championship. He was an assistant coach for Assumption's Andy Craig for three seasons, and the two have a strong friendship.

That 61-44 win - accompished in part by sophomore Austin Ash's 21 points off the bench - should give the Mustangs some hope Monday night. They played three-time defending 4A champ Iowa City West in the season opener as well, losing by 19.

'We've faced the best,” Bruns said.

They've won six in a row down the stretch here, too. Though you look at the other side and see Xavier has won seven straight and looked very impressive in doing so.

The Saints are a prohibitive favorite here. But, as they say, you've got to play the game.

'You know, it's been a good year,” Bruns said. 'There were times this season when I questioned some things, but I always could see light at the end of the tunnel. It kept getting brighter and brighter, and now here we are.”

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Mount Vernon (15-8) vs. Cedar Rapids Xavier (15-8)

- Location: U.S. Cellular Center, 8 p.m.

- Scouting Report: No one in 3A is playing better basketball right now than Xavier. The Saints are clicking on all cylinders offensively, averaging 71 points per game during a seven-game win streak. The emergence of Mitchell Burger has been crucial. He averages 14 points, three behind senior Adam McDermott's team-leading average of 17.3 … Mount Vernon takes a six-game win streak into this one. The Mustangs lost twice in the regular season to rival Solon, which Xavier defeated in the district finals, 88-57. Connor Herrmann and Tommy Hook are a good 1-2 punch for MV, averaging 13.7 and 13.2 points, respectively … Xavier has not been to state since a three-year streak in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Saints have never won a state tournament game. The smallest school in 3A, Mount Vernon has qualified for the state tournament four times, including championships in 1973 and 2012.

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Williamsburg vs. Fort Madison (21-2)

- Location: Muscatine, 7 p.m.

- Scouting Report: This is a matchup of the second and third-ranked teams in 3A by The Gazette. Fort Madison is number two, coming off an overtime district final win over Keokuk. Number three Williamsburg eased past Clear Creek-Amana in the district finals … Fort Madison's two losses came very early in the season back to back and without top player Miles Wentzien. The 6-foot-3 senior 21.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and also leads the Bloodhounds in assists and steals … Adam Klein averages 16 points per game for Williamsburg. No team has scored more than 56 points in a game this season against the Raiders … Fort Madison has not been to the state tournament since 1976. Williamsburg has qualified once, in 2003.

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State Around The State

LeMars (19-4) vs. Spirit Lake (20-3) at MOC/Floyd Valley, 7 p.m.

Webster City (14-9) vs. Waverly-Shell Rock (20-2) at Iowa Falls, 7 p.m.

Crestwood (12-10) vs. Dubuque Wahlert (14-9) at U.S. Cellular Center, 6:30 p.m.

Pella (20-2) vs. Norwalk (17-6) at Southeast Polk, 7 p.m.

Dallas Center-Grimes (19-4) vs. Perry (18-5) at Johnston, 7 p.m.

Denison-Schleswig (19-4) vs. Glenwood (11-12) at Atlantic, 7 p.m.

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