By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – After Guerin Catholic and University finished their Friday night game at the U Center, both coaches agreed that it was a good way to prepare their respective teams for sectionals, which are not too far away.
The Friday game certainly had a sectional atmosphere, with a large crowd and a Senior Night celebration for the Trailblazers. University played the Golden Eagles tough, even taking a one-point lead with under 30 seconds to go.
But Guerin Catholic scored the game’s last five points, and that was enough for a 67-63 victory. It was the Golden Eagles’ third straight victory.
“This is as good of a team that we can play to get ready for our sectional,” said GC coach Bobby Allen. “They’re very well-coached. They’re very well-disciplined. It’s a hard gym to play in, especially on their Senior Night. So give them a ton of credit. I was real happy with our guys down the stretch and just making some plays”
The game was close all the way through. In fact, Guerin Catholic’s 58-52 lead with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter was the largest lead for either team. Robert Sorensen gave the Golden Eagles that advantage when he made a three-point play.
Guerin Catholic led 62-57 with 2:12 left when the Trailblazers used a 6-0 spurt to take a 63-62 lead. Sabien Cain made two free throws, then scored off a steal. After a time out, Andre Ozlowski made a layin, and University was in front.
The Golden Eagles’ Lucas Parker answered with his own layin, while getting fouled. Parker drained the free throw for the and-1, and Sorensen later made two free throws to finish the scoring.
“When they scored a bucket at the end and took that one-point lead, we had already decided we weren’t going to take a timeout, and Lucas Parker got the ball at the top of the key in his hands and he made a great play and got to the bucket. He finished,” said Allen.
Guerin Catholic’s free-throw shooting was perfect for the game. The Golden Eagles made all 21 of their foul shots, making them only the sixth team to go 100 percent from the line while making 21 or more shots. (Beech Grove and Bloomington South hold the record, each team going 26 of 26 during games in the 1997-98 season.)
Allen called that performance “incredible,” saying that his team is “shooting in the high 90s right now for the last three games from the line.”
The tone was set early, as both teams were blistering in the first quarter. University led 24-20 at the end of the period, with the Trailblazers scorching the nets for six 3-pointers. Seth Hogg and Sabien Cain each hit three of those triples. A basket by Larry Pierce gave the ‘Blazers the four-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
The Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter, and that gave them a 26-24 lead. Aden Cannon and Kamea Chandler both made baskets, and Will Grissom nailed a pair of free throws. But Cain struck again, hitting his fourth 3-pointer to push the ‘Blazers up 27-26. The period continued at that torrid pace, with Parker making the last shot of the half to get Guerin ahead 37-36 at halftime.
Ozlowski and Cain each made layins to give University a 42-41 third quarter lead. Grissom then hit two free throws, and Jack Cherry turned a steal into an and-1. That put the Golden Eagles up 46-43 and they would hold the lead until the fourth quarter.
Sorensen and Grissom both finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while Parker and Chandler both scored nine points. Cherry dished out five assists.
Cain totaled five 3-pointers for the game on his way to 24 points. Larry Pierce added 11 points, with Nate Jeffrey scoring 10. Cain provided six assists, while Ozlowski had four rebounds and two blocked shots. Pierce also had four rebounds.
“Our game plan was to run, which it usually is, and to pick up and pressure them,” said University coach Brandon Lafferman. “We did a great job on the scoring side of the fast break, but we couldn’t get stops. And that was really the difference in the game. I thought offensively, we played really well, good enough to win, but we just couldn’t get stops when we needed to.”
The Golden Eagles are 13-9 and play their regular-season finale Tuesday at Anderson. University is 13-8 and also finishes its season Tuesday, playing at Decatur Central.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 67, UNIVERSITY 63
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Jack Cherry 2-4 1-1 5 1
Robert Sorensen 6-9 5-5 18 1
Will Grissom 4-11 9-9 18 3
Aden Cannon 3-6 2-2 8 4
Lucas Parker 3-5 3-3 9 1
Patrick Baird 0-2 0-0 0 0
Matthew Etchison 0-1 0-0 0 3
Kamea Chandler 4-6 1-1 9 1
Josh Holba 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-44 21-21 67 14
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (2-9) Sorensen 1-4, Grissom 1-2, Parker 0-2, Baird 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (25) Sorensen 5, Grissom 5, Cannon 4, Chandler 4, Parker 3, Cherry 2, Baird 1, Etchison 1.
University FG FT TP PF
Nate Jeffrey 3-5 4-4 10 0
Kahmi Bracey 0-1 0-0 0 2
Sabien Cain 8-16 3-3 24 1
Larry Pierce 5-12 1-3 11 1
Seth Hogg 3-8 0-0 9 1
Robert Russell 0-2 0-0 0 5
Andre Ozlowski 2-4 1-2 5 5
Bryce Gray 0-0 0-0 0 2
Steven Scott 2-2 0-0 4 1
Totals 23-50 9-12 63 18
University 3-point shooting (8-22) Cain 5-11, Hogg 3-7, Pierce 0-2, Bracey 0-1, Ozlowski 0-1.
University rebounds (20) Ozlowski 4, Pierce 4, Bracey 3, Cain 3, Hogg 2, Jeffrey 1, Russell 1, Scott 1, team 1.
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 20 17 16 14 – 67
University 24 12 13 14 – 63