St. Edward salvages a win at Jacobs
By his own admission, St. Edward boys basketball coach Keith Chuipek is still searching for the right combination.
While still experimenting, the Green Wave was able to end play in the Jacobs Holiday Classic Saturday morning with a 51-43 win over Chicago Lindblom.
"We are playing 9 to 10 guys and we aren't sure what their roles will be yet," said Chuipek. "I like the way we came out aggressively offensively and defensively. For the most part, we have come out strong in every game. We have had trouble maintaining our good play throughout an entire game."
The Green Wave (6-8) certainly didn't let an early 9 a.m. start affect their play. Making 6-of-8 shots, St Edward started fast and led 12-0 with only 4 minutes and 42 seconds elapsed. Paul Bianchi and Ben Lehman scored 6 points each in the run.
While clicking on offense, St. Edward was also stellar on the defensive end.
Lindblom, which missed its first 10 shots, didn't score until the 2:57 mark when Jahliel Thurman scored on a layup to make the score 12-2.
St. Edward, which led 35-25 at halftime, seized control of the game by scoring the first 6 points of the third quarter, getting 2 baskets each from Mike Ellis and a bucket from Lehman and led 41-25 with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
Lindblom kept whittling away at the lead and got to within 4, 45-41, on a 12-footer by Lovell Cates with 1:33 left in the game. That was as close as the Eagles would get.
The Green Wave's Nick Kerger made 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the last 1:25 to ice the win.
Lehman led St. Edward with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
"We came out excited to play," said Lehman. "We didn't want to go through the entire tournament without a win. We got a little tired at the end of the game, but we are glad to get the win."
Chuipek appreciates Lehman's efforts.
"Ben always plays hard and is a tough kid," said the Green Wave coach. "He played a great game and is an excellent leader for a junior."
Ellis added 11 points for the winners. Ervin Stanford scored 19 for Lindblom.