The official stat sheet showed that Linn-Mar stand-out junior Matt Bohannon went into Tuesday night's Class 4A substate tournament final against Pleasant Valley averaging a nifty 17.2 points per game.

Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

But not long ago, after Bohannon scored 16 points in a 55-46 regular-season win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson, his per-game average was almost a basket lower, at 15.5 points a game. His scoring output in the Lions' four games leading up to Tuesday's winner-take-all bout with Pleasant Valley was the reason for the hike.

Bohannon, the younger brother of current NCAA Division I players Jason (Wisconsin) and Zach (Air Force), scored 27 points to lead the Class 4A second-ranked Lions past Dubuque Senior, 56-47, in a substate tournament semifinal Friday night at Linn-Mar. Bohannon drilled three 3-pointers and was 12 of 16 from the free throw line in the win.

That performance came on the heels of 28-, 22- and 22-point outbursts in wins over Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Falls to conclude the regular season. Bohannon averaged 15.5 points in the Lions' first 18 games and 24.7 in their next four.

Coaches want their players to be playing at the top of their games in February and March, and that certainly seems to be the case with Bohannon. His contributions against Cedar Falls and Senior were especially noteworthy while the Lions played without super sophomore point guard Marcus Paige, who is sidelined with mononucleosis. Paige's status before Tuesday's substate final was still listed "day-to-day."

Bohannon wasn't the only player to step up his game in Paige's absence. Junior Michael Thul filled in at point guard and totaled 12 points and nine assists in the wins over Cedar Falls and Senior.

Thul had seven points, five assists and two steals against the Rams. Shane Benton also scored seven points.

The difference-maker for the Lions in their win over Senior was rebounding. Jody Henton grabbed nine boards, Shane Benton eight, Josh Montague seven and Bohannon six to help them to a dominating 41-21 advantage off the glass.

4A second-ranked Linn-Mar, the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division champion with a 16-0 mark, took a 20-game winning streak and a 21-1 record into its game against unranked Pleasant Valley (17-7), a team that tied for fourth-place in the Mississippi Athletic Conference behind Bettendorf, Davenport Assumption and Clinton. Bettendorf was the only team to beat Linn-Mar this season in the Lions' second game in early December.

Linn-Mar was seeking its seventh straight state tournament appearance and eighth overall when it tipped-off against Pleasant Valley. Linn-Mar teams won state championships in 1983, 2004 and 2007, finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2009, ended up third in 2008 and fourth in 2006. The Lions have never been to a state tournament without advancing to the final four.