The University Trailblazers used a hot shooting first half and some clutch play to come away with a 63-52 road win over Indianapolis Tindley.
“The kids handled some adversity very well tonight” said Blazers coach Brandon Lafferman. “This is the first time we’ve won here. This is a very difficult place to get a win.”
University established control of the game midway through the first quarter and led 26-15 after one behind ten points from junior Joe Martin. The Blazers stretched their lead to 43-31 at halftime and eventually took a 49-34 lead three minutes in to the third quarter. From there the Tigers clawed back in to the game, cutting the lead to 54-44 after three quarters. University managed only two points in the final three and a half minutes of the third – a pair of foul shots by senior Nate Shatkowski off an offensive rebound.
Shatkowski snapped a six-minute field goal drought for University on a put back with 5:46 left in the game and the Blazers still had a ten point lead at 56-46. A pair of Tindley baskets pulled the Tigers within 56-50 before Martin fed junior Jacob Sager for a layin with 3:12 left.
Tindley scored with 2:49 left to cut the lead to 58-52 before the teams turned up the defensive intensity. After a University turnover, Tindley had a chance to make it a one possession game. Shatkowski pulled down the biggest rebound of the game with 1:23 left, wrestling the ball away following a Tindley miss. University ran the clock down to 30 seconds as Tindley needed to commit three fouls to send University to the line.
Martin made a free throw for a 59-52 lead before Sam Mervis stole a pass and went in for a lay-in to ice the game at 61-52 with 21 seconds left. Camden Brown made two foul shots with eight seconds left for the final margin
“Nate Shatkowski was huge off the bench tonight” continued Lafferman. “He played good defense and helped us take care of the ball in the fourth quarter. Nate had a huge rebound at a very key time in the game. Sam Mervis and Joe Martin played good floor games as we took care of the ball in the fourth quarter.”
Max Greenamoyer led University with 14 points. Martin had 13, Shatkowski nine, Sager eight and Brown seven as the Trailblazers featured balanced scoring. University was 22 for 40 from the field (55 percent) and 12 of 16 at the foul line.
The Class 1A third-ranked Trailblazers improved to 13-1 on the season. Tindley falls to 5-7.
University is next in action Friday night at Cardinal Ritter. The Trailblazers and Raiders have played five straight tight games that have been decided by a total of 19 points. The teams have played two overtime games and one three overtime game in that stretch. Ritter has won three of the five games and outscored University 334-333. The teams did not play last year after the game was postponed due to weather and could not be rescheduled. With the home court advantage factored in for Ritter next week, the pre-Friday games Jeff Sagarin ratings make Ritter a one-point favorite.
University 63, Tindley 52
University FG FT TP PF
Sam Mervis 3-4 0-1 6 2
Max Greenamoyer 4-8 2-2 14 1
Jacob Sager 4-4 0-0 8 4
Camden Brown 2-5 4-4 9 3
Joe Martin 4-6 4-6 13 0
Nate Shatkowski 3-3 2-2 7 1
Eric Major 2-5 0-1 4 0
Quinn Steiner 0-3 0-0 0 0
Korey Ash-Simpson 1-1 0-0 2 2
Totals 23-39 12-16 63 13
Score by Quarters
University 26 17 11 9 – 63
Tindley 15 16 13 8 – 52
University 3-point shooting (7-16) Greenamoyer 4-8, Brown 1-2, Martin 1-2, Shatkowski 1-1, Steiner 0-3.
University rebounds (23) Mervis 6, Brown 5, Major 4, Shatkowski 3, Greenamoyer 2, Ash-Simpson 2, Martin 1.