(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTOS BY DEIDRE BARNETT)
Lutheran’s KJ Patterson (34) and Bloomfield’s Peter Combs (40) battle for the basketball as Bloomfield’s Quintin Ross (14) looks on. Combs led all scorers with 20 points, but the Saints aggressive defense and board play led to a regional title at Martinsville.
By Al Stilley
Editor
Lutheran’s Kameron Patterson knew where he was going with a handful of seconds left in the IHSAA Class A regional championship game against No. 1-ranked Bloomfield Saturday in the John R. Wooden Gymnasium at Martinsville.
With the game tied, 40-40, the play was for the 6-5 senior to roll off a screen, get the ball and drive to the basket.
“They (Bloomfield) were looking for our guards to go downhill and drive the basket,” Patterson said. “I looked at the spacing, and I was open on the roll and went for the basket.”
Patterson scored on a lay-up, was fouled, and also hit the free throw for the Class A upset of this year’s playoffs so far. Lutheran’s defense forced the Cardinals to throw their long in-bounds pass out of bounds, leaving the ball in Lutheran’s hands for the final seconds.
The No. 8 Saints (17-7) pulled off their biggest win with their disruptive quick-handed defense, timely rebounding, and a winning determination. Bloomfield (24-4) saw its 13-game winning streak and season come to an end.
Riding an eight-game winning streak, Lutheran now faces No. 4 Loogootee (20-7) Saturday at 10 a.m. in the opener of the Class A Washington Semistate. The winner meets the Jac-Cen-Del (18-9) vs. Rock Creek (11-14) winner, each team unranked, at 8 p.m. for the semistate title and to advance to the Class A state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Saints are experiencing territory not seen since 2008 when they earned sectional, regional, and semistate championships before falling to Triton, 50-42 in the Class A state championship game.
Lutheran opened the regional with frantic backcourt pressure that resulted in four Bloomfield turnovers in the first four minutes and a 10-2 lead after six minutes.
“We wanted to get the game-pace going really fast,” coach Woods said. “We had an early warmup and we were ready to roll.”
Bloomfield connected on a couple of 3-point shots that cut Lutheran’s first-quarter lead to 14-10.
“That start helped our confidence,” Patterson said. “We knew how we wanted it played. We knew they couldn’t keep up with our pace.”
Lutheran’s defensive attack came at a cost as defensive leader LJ Ward, a 5-10 sophomore, wound up with three fouls in the first quarter. Ward later picked up a fourth foul in the third quarter.
That left it up to rangy Cayden Loescher to help pick up the slack. Loescher wound up with a team-high 15 points while playing the entire fourth quarter with four fouls.
After cutting down a piece of the net, Loescher recalled, “We were really locked in on defense and focused on their shooters. We couldn’t do too much about the big man (6-8 senior Peter Combs). Our focus was to stick together on defense and be patient on offense so we could get our shots.”
Bloomfield tied it at 14- all, but the Saints remained in control, eventually pushing its lead to 32-22 on Durray Smith’s steal, lay-up and subsequent three throw with 4:11 to go in the third quarter.
The Cardinals went on a 10-1 tear and closed to 33-32 to end the quarter.
And Bloomfield cornered a 36-35 lead on Combs’ follow of a missed free throw.
The Saints, benefitting from their championship savvy in the Edinburgh Holiday tourney, never panicked.
They retook the lead on a Loescher follow-up shot and extended it on a senior Aiden Alialy’s only 3-pointer of the game.
Bloomfield came back and tied it on Combs’ two free throws and a driving layup by 5-10 Brett Sherrard with 30 seconds left that led to Lutheran’s dramatic finish.
“We had been through a lot of crunch situations all season and had to tough our way through it,” Woods said. “Our guys were used to this kind of environment, and I trust our guys. Loescher brought a big game for us especially with Ward on the bench with fouls. The guys stuck together. We came through this one.”
Seven Saints scored with Loescher leading the way. Patterson led with seven rebounds.
Lutheran out-rebounded Bloomfield 34-26, including an impressive 16-10 difference on the offensive board.
Lutheran’s KJ Patterson (34) and Bloomfield’s Peter Combs (40) battle for the basketball as Bloomfield’s Quintin Ross (14) looks on. Combs led all scorers with 20 points, but the Saints aggressive defense and board play led to a regional title at Martinsville.
By Al Stilley
Editor
Lutheran’s Kameron Patterson knew where he was going with a handful of seconds left in the IHSAA Class A regional championship game against No. 1-ranked Bloomfield Saturday in the John R. Wooden Gymnasium at Martinsville.
With the game tied, 40-40, the play was for the 6-5 senior to roll off a screen, get the ball and drive to the basket.
“They (Bloomfield) were looking for our guards to go downhill and drive the basket,” Patterson said. “I looked at the spacing, and I was open on the roll and went for the basket.”
Patterson scored on a lay-up, was fouled, and also hit the free throw for the Class A upset of this year’s playoffs so far. Lutheran’s defense forced the Cardinals to throw their long in-bounds pass out of bounds, leaving the ball in Lutheran’s hands for the final seconds.
The No. 8 Saints (17-7) pulled off their biggest win with their disruptive quick-handed defense, timely rebounding, and a winning determination. Bloomfield (24-4) saw its 13-game winning streak and season come to an end.
Riding an eight-game winning streak, Lutheran now faces No. 4 Loogootee (20-7) Saturday at 10 a.m. in the opener of the Class A Washington Semistate. The winner meets the Jac-Cen-Del (18-9) vs. Rock Creek (11-14) winner, each team unranked, at 8 p.m. for the semistate title and to advance to the Class A state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Saints are experiencing territory not seen since 2008 when they earned sectional, regional, and semistate championships before falling to Triton, 50-42 in the Class A state championship game.
Lutheran opened the regional with frantic backcourt pressure that resulted in four Bloomfield turnovers in the first four minutes and a 10-2 lead after six minutes.
“We wanted to get the game-pace going really fast,” coach Woods said. “We had an early warmup and we were ready to roll.”
Bloomfield connected on a couple of 3-point shots that cut Lutheran’s first-quarter lead to 14-10.
“That start helped our confidence,” Patterson said. “We knew how we wanted it played. We knew they couldn’t keep up with our pace.”
Lutheran’s defensive attack came at a cost as defensive leader LJ Ward, a 5-10 sophomore, wound up with three fouls in the first quarter. Ward later picked up a fourth foul in the third quarter.
That left it up to rangy Cayden Loescher to help pick up the slack. Loescher wound up with a team-high 15 points while playing the entire fourth quarter with four fouls.
After cutting down a piece of the net, Loescher recalled, “We were really locked in on defense and focused on their shooters. We couldn’t do too much about the big man (6-8 senior Peter Combs). Our focus was to stick together on defense and be patient on offense so we could get our shots.”
Bloomfield tied it at 14- all, but the Saints remained in control, eventually pushing its lead to 32-22 on Durray Smith’s steal, lay-up and subsequent three throw with 4:11 to go in the third quarter.
The Cardinals went on a 10-1 tear and closed to 33-32 to end the quarter.
And Bloomfield cornered a 36-35 lead on Combs’ follow of a missed free throw.
The Saints, benefitting from their championship savvy in the Edinburgh Holiday tourney, never panicked.
They retook the lead on a Loescher follow-up shot and extended it on a senior Aiden Alialy’s only 3-pointer of the game.
Bloomfield came back and tied it on Combs’ two free throws and a driving layup by 5-10 Brett Sherrard with 30 seconds left that led to Lutheran’s dramatic finish.
“We had been through a lot of crunch situations all season and had to tough our way through it,” Woods said. “Our guys were used to this kind of environment, and I trust our guys. Loescher brought a big game for us especially with Ward on the bench with fouls. The guys stuck together. We came through this one.”
Seven Saints scored with Loescher leading the way. Patterson led with seven rebounds.
Lutheran out-rebounded Bloomfield 34-26, including an impressive 16-10 difference on the offensive board.
Lutheran’s Saints team members, coaches and cheerleaders are all smiles Saturday while holding their first regional championship trophy since 2008 in historic John R. Wooden Gymnasium at Martinsville High School. The Saints meet Loogootee in the first game of the Washington Semistate at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Senior Aiden Alialy (3) drives in for a layup for the No. 8 Saints in the third quarter against against No. 1 Bloomfield at Martinsville. Alialy scored all five of his points in the decisive second half to help lead the underdog Saints to a stunning 43-40 win.
Lutheran senior Durray Smith (22) turns corner against Bloomfield’s Peter Combs (40) while Bloomfield’s Blake Neill (12) watches. Smith was among seven Saints who scored against the Cardinals and delivered defensively, too.
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