by Matt Krause
2011-12 Cardinals varsity boys basketball team
Determination. Grit. Passion. Desire.
These are just a handful of adjectives that could be used to describe a wild game at Godley Gym on Wednesday night in Bishop Ireton’s 2011-2012 men’s varsity basketball home opener against the Wolves of Pope John Paul the Great, a 65-56 overtime win.
Year 3 of the Neil Berkman era already underway, the Cardinals came home to a raucous crowd in Godley Gym. The game was a seesaw affair from the get go, with Ireton scoring first off of a Mark Noe layup. While Ireton scored often in the first quarter of play, John Paul hung in there as the quarter ended 15-13 in favor of the Cardinals. The second period of game action was more in favor of John Paul. Ireton failed to score in the first three minutes of the second. When the halftime horn did sound, the score was a dead heat at 23. Ireton led in the assist, steal, and block category at the break, and Taylor McHugh led the way with six points. After intermission, Pope John Paul came out on fire, taking a 39-34 advantage over an Ireton team that struggled to keep up. John Paul built their lead up to 51-44 with 3 1/2 minutes left. In a timeout, Coach Berkman showed his displeasure with the squad, and a lightbulb was lit. Ireton first cut into the defecit with a clutch three from Da’Von Wiley, followed by a Wiley drive along with an “and 1” foul. John Paul added another bucket and the Cardinals trailed by three. With under a minute to play, Daniel Noe was fouled and sunk two free throws. John Paul proceeded to turn the ball over at their end of the court, and Ireton was in business. Da’Von Wiley sunk a free throw to tie the contest, and we were overtime bound in Godley Gym. The extra session was all Ireton, as the Wolves were without a key player in Desmond Robinson, who fouled out. Ireton made several easy layups, and cruised to a 65-56 win, after which, the fans stormed the floor.
Cardinals return to action on Saturday with a 11am JV start and 12:45 varsity tipoff with Trinity Christian School. As a “Christmas present” to Cardinal fans, no admission will be charged to this non conference event! Enjoy the game and buy your Christmas tree from the crew team tree sale!
Statistics:
Bishop Ireton: (points) Wiley 20, Westbrook 11, M. Noe 7, Moseh 6, McHugh 6, D. Noe 5, Scales 4, Khouri 4, Wilburn 2 (assists) Khouri 4, D. Noe 2, McHugh 2, Moseh 1, Scales 1 (steals) Khouri 4, McHugh 3, D. Noe 2, Banez 1, Westbrook 1 (blocks) D. Noe 3, Wiley 1
John Paul the Great: (points) Robinson 15, Johnson 13, Long 12, Douse 9, Adgei 4, Harring 2
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