Knights have plan ready for Walther

Having dispatched Driscoll on Wednesday, Immaculate Conception coach Darren Howard climbed the bleachers to scout the talent he'll face in tonight's Class 2A Timothy Christian regional final.

He might not have liked what he saw - to a degree - after Walther Lutheran defeated Timothy Christian 59-52.

"If I had my preference, to be perfectly honest it would be Timothy," Howard said before the outcome. "But we'll be ready for either of them."

No. 1 seed Immaculate Conception (17-10) was ready for No. 2 Walther Lutheran when the teams met in Elmhurst on Jan. 3. The Knights won 57-40, getting 19 points and 16 rebounds from 6-foot-5 Matt Purdom, 11 points from forward Antonio Taylor and 17 points combined from 3-point artist Kevin Nutley and sophomore Demitrius Mobley.

Brandon Smith, a 5-foot-11 swingman who averages about 17 points and comes off Wednesday's 25-point effort, was the Broncos' sole double-figure scorer as Walther (19-8) committed 19 turnovers.

"We had poor execution that game and they played extremely well," said Walther coach Bob Koehne. "The big guy, Purdom, just killed us, and Antonio Taylor was dominant. So we need to work hard to try to find a way to stop them if we can."

Walther blitzed Driscoll off the opening tip by scoring in transition and secondary transition. Along with Smith and four players standing at least 6-4 in the rotation, guards Jeremy James, Logan Davis and Brandon Sims are bulldogs who will hassle Knights point guard Mike Randick, Dan Muisenga, Taylor and Mobley the full length of the court.

"Walther is a wide-open team that pressures the ball," Howard said.

Immaculate Conception runs deliberate, half-court offense and likes to hunker down in a zone defense with Purdom - or 6-3 Joe Burke, if Purdom lands in foul trouble - clogging the middle.

May the best plan win.