IC bumps off St. Edward
The St. Edward boys basketball team expected to see some three-quarter court pressure from Immaculate Conception on Saturday.
But expecting it and handling are different.
The Knights went to the press with less than 2 minutes left in the second quarter and went on a 7-0 run to erase a six-point deficit to take a one-point lead into halftime. They continued the momentum into the second half and went on to be the Green Wave, 71-61, in the third-place game of the 4th annual Warrior Thanksgiving Classic at Westminster Christian.
“I was surprised by that (causing problems for St. Edward),” Knights coach Darren Howard said. “They had seen that a couple times in the tournament, Westminster did it to them and they handled it pretty well. It worked well, better than what I thought it would.”
St. Edward (2-2) led the entire first half until 13 seconds remaining. The lead was as big as eight on three occasions, the last being 29-21 after a Michael Ellis 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter. The Green Wave led 34-28 with 2 minutes left in the half. After Anthony Loss hit a pair of free throws with 1:25 left to cut the deficit to 34-30, IC (3-1) went to the press. The Knights forced five turnovers in the final minute and a half. Loss' layup with 13 seconds left off another turnover gave IC its first lead of the game 35-34.
“I thought we had prepared for that,” Green Wave coach P.J. White said of the press. “We had watched them press a little, but obviously we didn't prepare well enough. We made too many turnovers.”
The teams traded baskets, and the lead, early in the third quarter until Loss broke a 40-40 tie with a 3-pointer with 4 minutes left in the third. The Knights would not give up the lead again.
Loss led all scorers with 24 points. Brian Harvey added 18 points and nine rebounds for IC. All-tournament selection Demetrius Mobley finished with 13 points, 10 in the first half.
Ellis scored 19 points to lead St. Edward, which committed 21 turnovers, 10 in the second quarter. Ellis was named the tournament MVP and averaged 25.8 points per game. Ben Lehman finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Edward O'Halloran added 11 points and Zach Brewster had 10.