Xavier continues to roll

MARION – One guy had a runny nose, another couple have strep throat. A fourth couldn't talk very well.

'Got a bad voice,” Adam McDermott said.

The Xavier Saints are a little sick right now. That's off the court.

On it, they continue to look very healthy and very good. They out and out dismantled Benton Community in a Class 3A district opener Monday night, 74-44, for their sixth consecutive victory.

'They are playing at a high level right now,” said Benton Coach Larry Carlson. 'When you are peaking at this time of the year, that's what you want.”

Xavier (14-8), which jumped into The Gazette's final 3A poll at number seven, got all over its opponent right from the start. It was 18-4 Saints after a quarter and 40-17 at halftime.

The man-to-man defense was tenacious, the transition offense fast, and the half-court offense crisp.

'We wanted to come out and impose our will, push the tempo,” said McDermott. 'Don't play down to their level. Just play our game.”

'We wanted to have a fast start,” said Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. 'That was our key. It's kind of been a key for us during this winning streak, to get out and have good starts. Certainly our guys were able to do that tonight.”

Point guard Michael Mims had a tremendous game with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers. He had 15 points in the first half.

'He was spectacular,” said Luehrsmann. 'Really pleased with how he played. He was under control, did a nice job of penetrating with the basketball. He did everything we wanted him to do as a point guard.”

McDermott contributed 17 points and team-high seven rebounds. Calvin Winker added 13 points and six boards.

And was the defense mentioned?

'We just focused on our ‘D.' Just playing our ‘D' and putting pressure on them,” Mims said. 'Get them out of their offense and stuff like that.”

Xavier played without forward Ryan Stulken, one of the guys with strep. Mims was the one with the runny nose, though he's got it better than his freshman brother Matthew, who also has strep throat.

No one scored in double figures for Benton (8-14). Tucker Schroeder, Tyler Eggert and Brady Kraus led the way with seven points each.

Xavier has Solon (10-12) in a district final Thursday night at Marion.

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AT MARION

BENTON COMMUNITY (44): Tucker Schroeder 3-9 1-2 7, T.J. Morris 2-4 0-0 4, Michael Zittergruen 1-2 3-4 5, Brandon Lewis 2-2 1-2 6, Tyler Eggert 3-9 0-0 7, Brady Kraus 3-5 0-0 7, Jordan Michels 1-3 1-4 3, Lathan Cooper 2-5 1-1 5, Clayton Wheeler 0-4 0-0 0, Colton Kinzenbaw 0-0 0-0 0, Adison Steinford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-43 7-13 44.

C.R. XAVIER (74): Adam McDermott 7-11 0-1 17, Calvin Winker 6-11 1-2 13, Connor Ramlo 2-5 0-0 4, Mitchell Burger 3-8 2-2 9, Michael Mims 7-10 3-4 21, Matthew Downey 1-3 0-0 3, Joe Welch 1-2 0-0 2, Jackson Joens 2-4 0-1 5, Blake Whitten 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Clasen 0-2 0-0 0, Blake Klostermann 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Brems 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 6-10 74.

Halftime – Xavier 40, Benton 17. 3-point goals – Benton 3-17 (Schroeder 0-3, Lewis 1-1, Eggert 1-5, Kraus 1-2, Cooper 0-3, Wheeler 0-3), Xavier 10-26 (McDermott 3-6, Winker 0-2, Ramlo 0-1, Burger 1-4, Mims 4-5, Downey 1-3, Joens 1-2, Clasen 0-1, Brems 0-1). Rebounds – Benton 27 (Schroeder, Morris 7), Xavier 34 (McDermott 7). Total fouls – Benton 12, Xavier 15. Fouled out – None. Turnovers – Benton 14, Xavier 7.

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