By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – On Monday night, Bryson Cardinal worked out with his father, Brian, a former Purdue standout, and focused specifically on 3-pointers.
Twenty-four hours later during Class 3A fifth-ranked Guerin Catholic’s home and regular-season finale against 2A University, the duo’s training session paid off.
Just 30 points shy from reaching 1,000 in his career, Cardinal scored 23 in the first half to help turn a 14-11 deficit into a 42-22 lead by halftime, and then he locked in on history.
Cardinal, a 6-foot-7 senior, converted a pair of shots in the post to start the second half before finding space on the perimeter where he buried his third of four 3-pointers in the game, which brought the Golden Eagles’ faithful to their feet.
“For my 1,000th, it was a great pass from Hayden (Rogers), and then I was able to hit the shot,” Cardinal said. “It was awesome to get it right away to kind of take that off my shoulders and get that over with because that was something I was really hoping to do. It was an awesome moment.”
Cardinal became the seventh Guerin Catholic player in program history to reach the mark, and it only took 17 minutes, 40 seconds to achieve the feat, as the Golden Eagles (20-4) rolled to a 73-47 win.
“He was great tonight,” Guerin Catholic head coach Bobby Allen said. “When you have players that are 1,000-point scorers in your program, as a coach, you just feel blessed to be around kids like that who can do that. Not only is he a great individual player. He’s just a great team leader for us, and that’s probably what’s most important for us.”
Cardinal posted his sixth 30-point game of the season and his fourth three-or-more made 3-pointer performance. He finished the game with a double-double (13 rebounds), which was his 16th this year.
“Our whole thing the entire season has been let it come to me. Don’t force anything, and I was just hoping to go out there and do my thing,” Cardinal said. “I got lucky enough to get the ball the first two possessions, and my teammates put me in a great position to get a bucket.”
Senior Ryne Paris led the Golden Eagles with six assists to go with seven points, while Rogers, a sophomore, dished out five. Both fueled a 15-0 run in the second quarter, as Guerin Catholic swarmed the glass, got out in transition and created offense off seven University turnovers before halftime.
Guerin won the overall points off turnovers battle 18-8, out rebounded the Trailblazers (13-9) 35-16 and tallied 13 second-chance buckets compared to University’s three.
University led late in the first quarter and held the advantage, 14-11, entering the second frame until a 5:35 scoring drought and turnovers opened the door for Cardinal and the Golden Eagles.
Guerin Catholic won the second quarter, 31-8.
“We regrouped, and that second quarter was incredible,” Allen said. “That’s what we’re capable of doing. Our guys need to believe that and understand that we can do that when we want to.”
Cardinal believed, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to end the first half, including a buzzer-beater to put Guerin ahead 42-22.
“It’s something my dad and I have put a ton of time in to. Yesterday, we put up 150, make 150 threes, so it was really awesome to be able to hit the three tonight,” Cardinal said.
His milestone trey halted the game momentarily, as the public address announcer recognized the team captain for his career achievement.
“We knew before the game that I needed another 30-point game, and it’s hard to do, but I think every bucket I had was assisted by my teammates, so I’m just blessed to be in the position I’m in to score 1,000 points and have teammates that gave me as many open looks as I had tonight,” Cardinal said.
“My grandparents came in from up north. Everyone being here to support me, it was truly amazing. I looked up there right after I hit the shot, and my mom (Danielle) was already in tears.”
Cardinal was subbed out after he reached his intended total, and the Golden Eagles pushed the margin to 28 points before the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Jake Grissom had six points. Senior Jake Toles finished with eight points. Senior Jackson Carey added six and sophomore Andrew Riethman chipped in five.
University senior Max McComb paced the Blazers with 14 points followed by junior Blake Gray with eight. Junior Noah Cortez and sophomore Joshua Henderson each had six points.
The Golden Eagles won their first outright Circle City Conference title this year with a 4-0 run in league play and will head to Sectional 25 in Lebanon to face the host Tigers (16-6) on March 5.
“We’re excited. We felt like the season went well for us. Feel like we still even have room to improve before next week, and it’s going to be a difficult task, but we’re up for it. I’m excited to see how they perform against three great teams, hopefully, over the next week,” Allen said. “This is what it’s all about. You have a good season, and now you have to go prove it when it’s time in March.”
Cardinal knows what the postseason can bring. The senior was part of Guerin’s 3A state runner-up lineup in 2023 and played a key role in the team’s final four berth in 2024.
“Sophomore year, we made it to the finals and lost. Last year, we made it to the final four and lost. This year, I’m hoping to go all the way. I think we are an incredible team and an incredible group of just super resilient guys and guys who work super hard. I’m hoping we can do it all this year,” Cardinal said.
