By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The words of the evening for the Guerin Catholic boys basketball team were efficiency and composure, when the Golden Eagles hosted Indianapolis Washington Thursday at the Eagles Nest.
The Continentals came in to the game with 15 wins, a tough press defense and a hot-shooting night for one of its stars. The Golden Eagles kept their composure while navigating those things, and were extremely efficient from the field and the free-throw line, which added up to a 59-53 victory.
“They’re a very good team,” said Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen. “They’ve won 15 games for a reason. They’re well-coached. They play hard. They’re going to be a very dangerous team.”
The Golden Eagles led for the majority of the game, with the exception of the start, when Washington’s Latraveon Enright scored the first basket. Lucas Parker and Robert Sorensen answered with 3-pointers to get Guerin Catholic ahead 6-2. Parker drained another 3 later in the quarter, and baskets by Jack Cherry and Matthew Etchison gave the Golden Eagles a 13-5 lead at the end of one.
The Continentals started the second period with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back 3s by Ammon Burns, who was just getting warmed up. That tied the contest at 13-13. Patrick Baird got GC ahead with a layin and Will Grissom made two foul shots to end the run.
Burns’ third triple of the game pushed Washington ahead 18-17, but Cherry answered with a traditional three-point play. Guerin was able to hold that lead until halftime, when the score was 22-19.
Parker opened the second half with another 3 to put the Golden Eagles up 25-19. Guerin Catholic wouldn’t trail again, although the had to absorb Burns’ scorching shooting, as he made four 3s in the period. One of those triples tied the game at 28-28, but Aden Cannon made an and-1 to get the Golden Eagles ahead for good at 31-28. Kamea Chandler and Cherry later hit 3s, with Cherry’s basket finishing the third quarter and giving GC a 41-34 lead.
“We were balanced tonight,” said Allen. “We shot the ball well from the perimeter. We were 6-of-12 from the 3-point line. It was nice to see Lucas Parker knock a couple down and then Robert Sorensen hit one early for us. Jack Cherry had 12 points and six rebounds for us. He’s someone who’s been playing a lot more aggressive here down the stretch and I think that’s a big difference for us. When he goes hard, I think the other guys respond well to him.
Cherry hit a layin early in the fourth to give the Golden Eagles a 43-35 lead, matching their biggest advantage of the game. Washington continued to play tough throughout the quarter, but Guerin Catholic stayed in front thanks to a perfect fourth period from the free-throw line. The Golden Eagles made all 12 of their free-throw attempts. Allen noted that Guerin Catholic was 17 of 18 overall from the line.
Sorensen led the Golden Eagles with 13 points, followed by Cherry’s 12 points. Parker finished with 11 points, including three 3s. Sorensen collected five rebounds and Grissom dished out five assists, also scoring nine points. All nine GC players that took to the floor scored at least two points, and the team collectively shot 53 percent, from the field, making 18 of 34 attempts.
“We’re trying to share the ball more,” said Allen. “When we move the ball, we feel like we have mismatches out there. We have a lot of guys that can shoot the ball, we have guys that can drive. But tonight, it came down to us making a couple more plays than them in the fourth quarter without turning the ball over, then knocking down free throws and that’s what we needed.”
Burns finished the game with 26 points, including eight 3-pointers.
The Golden Eagles are 11-8 and host Roncalli Tuesday to finish Circle City Conference play.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 59, INDPLS. WASHINGTON 53
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Jack Cherry 4-6 3-3 12 3
Robert Sorensen 4-6 4-4 13 3
Will Grissom 1-8 7-8 9 3
Lucas Parker 3-5 2-2 11 3
Aden Cannon 1-1 1-1 3 2
Matthew Etchison 1-1 0-0 2 1
Kamea Chandler 2-3 0-0 5 0
Josh Holba 1-3 0-0 2 1
Patrick Baird 1-1 0-0 2 0
Totals 18-34 17-18 59 16
Score by Quarters
Washington 5 14 15 19 – 53
Guerin Catholic 13 9 19 18 – 59
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (6-12) Parker 3-4, Cherry 1-2, Sorensen 1-2, Chandler 1-2, Grissom 0-2.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (20) Cherry 6, Sorensen 5, Parker 3, Etchison 2, Baird 1, Cannon 1, team 2.