The REPORTER
Guerin Catholic made its way back to the final four in Class 3A Indiana high school boys basketball last Saturday, as the Golden Eagles played in the Seymour semi-state.
Sixth-ranked Guerin Catholic won a tough first game at Seymour, beating No. 3 Danville 57-52 to advance to the championship game. But the Golden Eagles were stopped in the final by a tall and hot-shooting Scottsburg team, who beat Guerin 70-54 to reach its first-ever state championship game and end the Golden Eagles’ season.
Second-half comeback
Guerin Catholic trailed Danville at halftime before making a comeback in the second half. The Golden Eagles led 10-6 after the first quarter, with Robert Sorensen scoring five points. But the Warriors outscored GC 24-13 in the second period to take a 30-23 halftime lead. Danville’s biggest advantage was 27-18 late in the quarter, but Sorensen hit a 3 and Dylan Murans made a layin to keep Guerin Catholic within shouting distance.
Bryson Cardinal began the third quarter with a three-point play, the first of his 10 points in the period. The Golden Eagles erased a 31-26 Warriors lead with a triple from Cardinal, then Sorensen was good on an and-1 to put his team ahead 32-31.
Another Cardinal 3-pointer pushed Guerin ahead 40-36. Danville’s Evan Lawrence finished the quarter with a jumper and Elijah Tricker tied the game on a layin that started the fourth quarter. The two teams went back and forth for most of the period, with the Warriors taking a 50-48 lead with 3:33 left.
But the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run and held the lead from there. Jack Cherry nailed a 3 to put Guerin Catholic in front for good, then a Murans layin and Cardinal free throw got the Golden Eagles ahead 54-50. Cherry went 3-of-4 from the line in the final 22 seconds to clinch the win.
Sorensen finished the game with 20 points, hitting four 3s along the way, with Cherry adding 14 and Cardinal 13. Cherry and Cardinal each collected five rebounds.
More Warriors
Guerin Catholic had to play another Warriors team in Scottsburg, the team the Golden Eagles beat in last year’s semi-state to reach the state championship game. The game was tight in the first quarter with several lead changes; Murans made a layin to put Guerin Catholic up 12-11 late in the period.
Jack Miller hit a 3-pointer to finish the quarter and put the Warriors up 14-12. It was Scottsburg’s fourth 3 of the period. In the second quarter, the Warriors’ Dare Bowles matched that by himself, nailing four triples to put Scottsburg in control of the game, as it led 34-23 at halftime.
The Warriors led 42-27 during the third, but the Golden Eagles went on a 16-6 run to get within 48-43 by the end of the quarter. Murans took over with seven points of that run, following a dunk with a 3-pointer to get GC within five.
A Cardinal layin kept Guerin within 50-45 early in the fourth, but Scottsburg began to pull away again. Kody Clancy, the Warriors’ 6-foot-9 star, poured in 12 points during the fourth period. Scottsburg led 62-52 with 2:04 left and the Warriors used a 7-0 run, all from the free-throw line, to earn their spot at state.
Cardinal scored 18 points, while Murans totaled 17. Caron had six rebounds. Cherry and Caron both dished out five assists and Murans handed out four.
Guerin Catholic finished its season 22-8, the first time the Golden Eagles reached 22 wins since their 2014-15 campaign.
SEMIFINAL GAME
GUERIN CATHOLIC 57, DANVILLE 52
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Jack Cherry 5-11 3-4 14 4
Robert Sorensen 7-12 2-3 20 0
Andy Caron 2-5 0-0 4 0
Dylan Murans 2-6 0-0 4 2
Bryson Cardinal 3-7 5-7 13 3
Malcolm Houze 1-3 0-0 2 1
Jake Grissom 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ben Grissom 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-44 10-14 57 10
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 10 13 17 17 – 57
Danville 6 24 8 14 – 52
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (7-16) Sorensen 4-8, Cardinal 2-4, Cherry 1-2, Caron 0-1, Houze 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (23) Cherry 5, Cardinal 5, Sorensen 3, Houze 3, Caron 2, Murans 2, team 3.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
SCOTTSBURG 70, GUERIN CATHOLIC 54
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Jack Cherry 4-7 0-1 9 4
Robert Sorensen 1-9 0-0 2 5
Andy Caron 3-7 0-1 6 0
Dylan Murans 7-9 1-2 17 2
Bryson Cardinal 8-12 2-6 18 3
Malcolm Houze 0-2 0-0 0 1
Jake Grissom 1-1 0-0 2 2
Nik Balmuri 0-1 0-0 0 0
Ben Grissom 0-0 0-0 0 0
Hayden Rodgers 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ryne Paris 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 24-48 3-10 54 17
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 12 11 20 11 – 54
Scottsburg 14 20 14 22 – 70
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (3-14) Murans 2-2, Cherry 1-4, Sorensen 0-4, Houze 0-2, Balmuri 0-1, Cardinal 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (22) Caron 6, Cardinal 5, Sorensen 4, Murans 3, Houze 2, Cherry 1, team 1.