By Josh Sigler
TIPTON — As Carroll boys basketball coach Jeff Hodson developed his scouting report for Guerin Catholic heading into the Cougars’ opening round Class 2A regional tilt Saturday, of the things he noted, he paid particular attention to one facet of the game.
The Golden Eagles, by Hodson’s estimation, played very well with the lead. With that in mind, he knew that a quick start for his club would be of paramount importance.
Just what Hodson didn’t want to see unfolded right before his eyes, as the Cougars suffered a slow start and fell behind 10-2 through the opening minutes of the contest.
And, although Carroll fought back to tie the game early in the second half, Hodson felt that his team never truly recovered in a 70-60 setback, bringing an end to the campaign for the Cougars.
“The first quarter just killed us,” Hodson said of his club, which trailed 16-6 after the first eight minutes. “We made a few runs, but we just never could get over the hump.”
The slow start came as a result of a Guerin zone defense that limited the Cougars to one field goal in its first five attempts through the first five minutes of the contest.
A pair of Tim Ruby treys and a trio of post buckets from fellow reserve Riley Johnson enabled Carroll (13-11) to close to within two on two occasions in the second quarter, but Guerin (15-10) was able to extend the lead back to seven, 34-27, by the half, aided by a pair of triples from Wilson Denari.
Carroll never led, but five consecutive Golden Eagle turnovers to start the second half allowed the Cougars to start the third period on a 7-0 run.
“You take it one possession at a time [at that point],” Hodson said. “You want defensive stops, and then you have to come back down. But, there were times where we had runs going, and we would give up a crucial offensive rebound to them, and they got scores out of it. That happened throughout the game, and was a thorn in our side.”
Freshman Eric Miller’s 3-pointer from the left wing knotted the score at 34 with 4:04 to go in the third.
Guerin retaliated with an 11-0 surge, highlighted by a pair of putbacks by Danny Town and another by Denari.
Carroll pulled to within seven by the end of the third, 47-40, but Guerin’s advantage swelled to as much as 14 in the fourth quarter as the Cougars were forced to gamble and foul. The Cougars were out-rebounded badly in the loss, 45-20, and gave up 19 offensive boards.
Senior Kyle Geheb paced Carroll with 14 points, while Riley and Seth Johnson both added 10 points and Noah Allen followed with nine.
Denari led Guerin, who put four in double figures, with 15.
Carroll won its third straight sectional title this season, the first three sectional crowns in the history of the program.
Hodson took a moment Saturday to reflect on how “blessed” he feels to be leading Cougar basketball.
“These young men have put a lot of time and effort in in the summer, and anything I ask them to do, their parents are right there with us,” he said. “If a coach has the support of the parents and the kids, and they are believing in what you are trying to do, then you can get a lot of things accomplished. That’s what’s happened.”
Southwood upsets Luers
Guerin Catholic moved on to play Southwood in the regional final Saturday night. The Knights shocked Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 70-68, in the morning semifinal of the Tipton Regional, a game that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes.
Deshaun Thomas, likely Mr. Basketball for 2010, scored 34 points to lead Luers in his final high school game.
He finished his career with 3,018 points, making him third on the all-time scoring list in Indiana. He was one point away from tying Marion Pierce (3,019 points) for second all-time.
Damon Bailey scored 3,134 points in his prep career, and is Indiana’s all-time leader.
