Guerin Catholic has been from one tough basketball gym to another this week, but the result both times was a win for the Golden Eagles.
Less than 48 hours after a big Tuesday win at Lapel, Guerin traveled west to Lebanon for a Thursday game at the Tigers’ Rosenstihl Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles fought their way to a 61-52 victory, giving them back-to-back wins this week.
“I think that our guys are slowly coming together as a group, playing the way we want them to play, making better decisions, especially down the stretch when we have a lead and we’re commanding the ball,” said GC coach Bobby Allen.
Guerin Catholic outscored Lebanon in each of the four quarters. The Golden Eagles led 13-10 after one quarter, with Lucas Parker scoring five of those points. The second period was slightly more up-tempo, and Guerin Catholic was in front 29-25 at halftime. Will Grissom had nine points during that quarter, including two 3-pointers.
“I think Will Grissom is playing high-level basketball right now,” said Allen. “He was 9 of 12 from the field tonight. He was 7 of 10 the other night, playing very, very efficiently for us.”
Kamea Chandler also helped during the second period, with five points. Allen noted that balance is a key, especially with Grissom getting so much attention.
“When the other teams are focusing on him, we got other guys making shots right now,” said Allen. “Lucas Parker hit three 3s tonight. Robert Sorensen’s knocking down shots. Josh Holba made his second start of the season tonight inside for us. The great thing about it is, we won a couple games here and we still have a lot of room for improvement, which we’re excited about going into Christmas Break.”
Parker made one 3-pointer each in the first, third and fourth periods. Meanwhile, Grissom added another four points in the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles led 40-34 going into what would be a high-scoring fourth quarter, as GC put in 21 points to Lebanon’s 18. Grissom added another nine points, including a 5-of-6 effort from the free-throw line. He also made a big three-point play late in the quarter. Parker also added another five points during the period.
“Very physical game. We knew that coming in here,” said Allen. The Golden Eagles will return to Lebanon in March, as the Tigers will host Class 3A Sectional 27.
“It’s a tough place to play,” said Allen. “Their coach does a great job getting them set up. But our guys were focused today. I’m pretty happy about our effort, especially with an afternoon game today.”
And while the two teams could see each other again in the sectional, Allen said his team approached Thursday’s contest as a normal game.
“We’re still trying to figure ourselves out a little bit as a group,” said Allen. “We have a lot of good pieces right now. We don’t even have the pieces in the right spot yet, but we’re getting closer and closer, which is exciting for us.”
Grissom finished with 26 points, while Parker scored 13, making all three of his 3-point attempts. Holba had six rebounds and four assists, while Jack Cherry dished out four assists as well.
Guerin Catholic is 5-3 for the season. The Golden Eagles will be off for a few days, then play in the Phil Cox Memorial Tournament next week at Kokomo. Guerin plays in the Wednesday opener, a 10 a.m. tip-off against Warren Central.
Other first-round games at the tournament are South Bend Adams vs. Brownsburg at noon, Valparaiso vs. South Bend Riley at 6 p.m. and University vs. Kokomo at 8 p.m. The teams return to Kokomo on Thursday, Dec. 30 to determine the champion.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 61, LEBANON 52
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Jack Cherry 2-6 0-2 4 2
Robert Sorensen 3-5 3-5 9 0
Will Grissom 9-12 6-7 26 3
Josh Holba 1-4 0-0 2 2
Lucas Parker 5-7 0-0 13 3
Matthew Etchison 0-2 2-2 2 1
Kamea Chandler 2-2 0-0 5 2
Patrick Baird 0-1 0-0 0 1
Ty Sanders 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ryan Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 22-39 11-16 61 15
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 13 16 11 21 – 61
Lebanon 10 15 9 18 – 52
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (6-11) Parker 3-3, Grissom 2-3, Chandler 1-1, Cherry 0-1, Sorensen 0-1, Baird 0-1, Etchison 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (19) Holba 6, Grissom 4, Parker 4, Etchison 2, Cherry 1, Baird 1, team 1.