By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Guerin Catholic began play at its own sectional with a win on Tuesday, taking care of Bishop Chatard 71-51 in the first round of Class 3A Sectional 27.
It took the Golden Eagles a couple minutes to get going, but they finally got on the board at the 5:43 mark with a 3-pointer by Kian Sills. The Trojans scored their first basket a few seconds later, when Cody Albin hit a jumper.
But after that, it was all Guerin Catholic. The Golden Eagles skipped off on an 11-0 run, which included back-to-back baskets from Clay Hepp, and was capped by another 3 by Sills. Just like that, Guerin led 14-2, and the momentum carried the Golden Eagles to an 18-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
“I thought we were ready to play,” said GC coach Pete Smith. “We just came out with two minutes of nerves and didn’t score when we had great opportunities, missed layups. So I was really happy with the way they started out, their intensity.”
Guerin Catholic made another run in the latter minutes of the second period, scoring nine unanswered points to take a 37-20 lead at halftime. Zach Munson hit a 3-pointer of his own, Sills scored off a steal and Jack Hansen beat the buzzer with a layin.
Chatard made a push in the second half. The Trojans’ Cooper Lewis opened the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, and another 6-0 run cut Guerin’s lead to 41-32. Munson got GC’s lead back to 48-34 by scoring five straight points, including a three-point play.
Bishop Chatard trimmed the Golden Eagles lead to seven at two points, first to 48-41 by going on a 7-0 run late in the third. Hansen ended the period with a layin, but two free throws from Jason Moore opened the fourth and kept the Trojans within 50-43.
“I can tell you, when you’re up 17 points against a team you’ve already beat, it was really hard to get them focused the second half,” said Smith. “We were trying, but we were just going through the motions. If Chatard wouldn’t have been playing as hard as they were, it wouldn’t have mattered, but because they gave great effort, they were able to keep the game in striking distance for a lot of the game.”
Hepp stepped up to score consecutive baskets for Guerin Catholic, and Sills made it a 6-0 run by hitting two free throws. With the Golden Eagles now up 56-43 with 4:53 left, the danger had passed, and Guerin was able to slowly build its lead until the buzzer. The Golden Eagles helped themselves by going 13-of-14 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Four GC players reached double figures. Hansen scored 19 points, Hepp added 14, Sills scored 13 (including three 3-pointers) and Godfrey contributed 12. On the rebounding front, Hansen corralled nine boards, with Hepp, Godfrey and Munson collecting five each.
Godfrey dished out seven assists, while Sills and Hepp both handed out four.
Guerin Catholic is now 16-8 and will play Cardinal Ritter in the sectional semi-finals at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Guerin Catholic 71, Bishop Chatard 51
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Kian Sills 4-9 2-3 13 1
Clay Hepp 4-5 6-6 14 2
Luke Godfrey 1-6 0-0 2 1
Zach Munson 5-10 1-1 12 0
Jack Hansen 7-11 5-5 19 3
Drew Thieme 2-2 2-2 6 0
Bernie McGuinness 2-4 0-0 4 1
Roc Ricker 0-0 1-2 1 0
Matt Parenteau 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kameron Osswald 0-0 0-0 0 0
Josh Osborn 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 25-47 17-19 71 8
Score by Quarters
Bishop Chatard 9 11 21 10 – 51
Guerin Catholic 18 19 13 21 – 71
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (4-11) Sills 3-5, Munson 1-3, Godfrey 0-2, Hansen 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (33) Hansen 9, Hepp 5, Godfrey 5, Munson 5, Sills 4, Thieme 2, McGuinness 1, Osborn 1, team 1.