Lafayette Jefferson rallied from a six-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Guerin Catholic 62-57 in boys basketball Saturday night to remain undefeated on the season.
Guerin Catholic fell behind early and trailed 30-22 at halftime. But Coach Pete Smith’s squad came roaring back after halftime. Behind Bernie McGuinness’ nine third-quarter points, the Golden Eagles outscored Jeff 24-11 in the stanza to take a five point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Zach Munson made one of two free throws on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give GC a 47-41 lead. Back to back 3-point field goals by the Bronchos’ Alex Cotton tied the game at 47. Four lead changes took place after that in the quarter, but four GC turnovers and a 10-of-12 shooting effort at the free throw line by Jeff decided the contest in favor of the Bronchos (7-0). Jeff’s Avery Beaver was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points and five 3-pt. baskets.
The Golden Eagles made five more field goals in the contest than their opponents, but was outscored at the free throw line 13-1. “We settled for too many perimeter jumpers instead of attacking the rim,” said Smith. “Our shot selection and execution on offense needs a lot of improvement. We lost Beaver in our zone some, too. I thought we fought back real well in the third quarter and started to execute, but struggled offensively against their pressure defense in the fourth quarter.”
Munson scored 20 points for the Golden Eagles (3-4), while Jack Hansen added 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. The victory for Jeff was their first in four meeting between the schools. Jeff coach Scott Radeker started his coaching career as an assistant at Noblesville High School in 1993 when Smith was the Millers’ coach. Radeker has been the Bronchos’ head coach since 2010, and before that was head coach at North Montgomery for nine years.
Guerin Catholic is back in action Friday night at Lapel.
