Guerin Catholic works hard to take down Pendleton Heights

By RICHARD TORRES

For The Reporter

NOBLESVILLE – On paper, Tuesday night’s matchup with Class 4A Pendleton Heights seemed like another double-digit win in the waiting for 3A No. 3 Guerin Catholic.

The Arabians (1-5) had other plans, however, forcing the Golden Eagles (6-1) to survive their first tightly-contested game of the season, 62-59, inside The Nest.

Through GC’s past five wins, the program triumphed by a margin of 15-plus at minimum each time with a pair of 30-point victories as well.

Against the Arabians, Guerin Catholic’s largest lead stood at 10 points, but PH made it a two-possession game throughout and had a chance to tie the game on its final possession before a turnover and a steal by senior Ryne Paris sealed victory No. 6.

“I think it’s good for us to be in games like this. Our whole season right now is us being in a process of trying to improve every single day,” GC head coach Bobby Allen said. “I’d rather be in games like this than being in games where you win by double figures. I thought we grew tonight.”

Their growth came with some frustration, as the Golden Eagles shot 5 of 18 from 3-point range with PH doubling 6-foot-7 big man Bryson Cardinal, who finished with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Cardinal had six points by halftime with the Arabians tying the Golden Eagles six times in the game and leading five times.

By halftime, GC led 29-24 despite shooting 1 for 10 from behind the arc.

“We’re working every single day, trying to get our guards more confidence. We have no problem with them taking those shots, but obviously when we’re in a situation where it’s tight games, our strength is getting the ball inside,” Allen said. “Even when we do get it inside, Bryson is getting doubled, so we have to learn to make sure he has options on who to pass it to. Sometimes, we get caught staring a little bit.”

In the second half, the Golden Eagles built three possession leads and were up 59-49 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the game.

However, 10 of 23 shooting from deep by PH and a trio of double-digit scorers kept the contest at two and one possession in the final minutes.

Paris countered PH’s defensive attention with a game-high 19 points with five rebounds and two assists. The senior shot 6 of 8 from the floor and buried 7 of 8 free throws, including the game’s final two points with 6.3 seconds remaining.

Cardinal entered the night with three 20-plus point performances. He had back-to-back 30-point games this month.

“He’s had some big-time games, and he’s deserving of that attention, but we can’t rely on him to have to bail us out every situation,” Allen said. “We do have guys who are inexperienced right now but look at Ryne Paris tonight. A senior, and he was incredible for us.”

The Golden Eagles’ resilience late paid off as PH funneled its offense through junior Cooper Sims (team-high 16 points) and seniors Joe Estes (12 points) and Evan Mozingo (14 points).

The PH Arabians shot 48 percent overall compared to GC’s 47 and tallied 30 points off 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles countered with 17 of 23 free throws made, while PH went 7 of 9 from the foul line.

“It’s just a process for us right now, and we will continue to work on their confidence whether it’s from the perimeter or whether it’s Bryson inside making some great plays for us,” Allen said. “They play very hard, and they’re very well coached. They hit 10 3-pointers tonight, so they shot the ball well. They did some really good things, but at the same time, we had situations where we simply didn’t make plays.”

A 3-pointer by Sims with 7.5 seconds left cut GC’s lead to 60-59. A dagger 3-pointer by Hayden Fox, who had seven points, with 43 seconds left pulled PH within three points, 59-56.

Jake Grissom split a pair of free throws with 19.4 seconds on the clock to increase GC’s lead 60-56 before Paris knocked down a pair and recorded the final steal, marking the Arabians’ 13^th turnover of the game.

Guerin Catholic faces 4A Evansville Harrison on Saturday in Evansville before heading to the Lawrenceburg Tournament on Dec. 27. This season, GC has gone 4-1 against teams classified 3A or 4A with a 2-1 mark against their larger opponents.

“We want to make sure we’re putting ourselves up against those guys because we want to find out where we are. I think our guys feel like they belong a little bit, and we’re getting the opportunity to prove it,” Allen said. “We just need to be more consistent with what we’re doing, and I think that’ll come.”