3A semistate: Guerin Catholic leans on bigs to knock off defending state champ Beech Grove
SEYMOUR – The dense crowd packed inside Seymour’s Lloyd E Scott Gymnasium rattled Guerin Catholic’s Bryson Cardinal momentarily Saturday afternoon.
Then, the 6-7 sophomore remembered the lessons learned from his father, Brian Cardinal, a former Purdue standout, and everything fell into place once the ball was tipped for the Class 3A Semistate 4 semifinals.
“He’s taught me so much from the mental state, from being locked in and knowing what’s going on to the inside work and shooting,” Bryson said. “One of the main things I learned from him is the hustle.”
IHSAA basketball tournament: Semistate scores, live updates, schedule
Cardinal and the 12th-ranked Golden Eagles (19-8) channeled their pregame nerves and transmuted them into production, breaking three first-quarter ties with defending state champion Beech Grove (17-7) to advance into tonight’s semistate final against No. 11 Scottsburg with a 58-46 semifinal win.
A week after the Golden Eagles utilized a pair of “20 pieces” from junior Robert Sorensen (20 points) and senior Kamea Chandler (21 points) to claim the program’s fifth regional title, they shifted their attention inside against the Hornets to pull one win away from a potential third semistate title in 11 years.
Cardinal led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds, including a 3-pointer to tie the score at 9-9 in the first quarter and a putback basket minutes later to make it 11-9.
Guerin Catholic never trailed afterwards.
“Watching the first game, it was a little bit nerve-racking just because there are so many people here,” Cardinal said. “I finally got settled into that atmosphere.
“It’s a brand-new experience for me, and a brand-new experience for a lot of people on our team.”
The Golden Eagles didn’t let much derail their focus, as 6-7 junior Dylan Murans finished with 12 points, 6-4 senior Lucas Parker had 11 points and Cardinal shot 5-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Guerin Catholic minimized Beech Grove’s second-chance opportunities with 24 defensive rebounds and totaled 12 assists compared to the Hornets' four.
“We felt like all week we were preparing to have an advantage in the paint. We told our bigs there’s no reason for them not get any rebound they want to,” Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen said. “We’ve been right on the boards for three weeks now. Don’t let the other team out tough you, and fortunately for us, it hasn’t happened yet.”
The Golden Eagles made their push with an 8-2 run to open the second quarter before a 11-2 run to start the third increased their lead to 38-24.
Junior Jack Cherry, who played during Guerin Catholic’s 54-46 semistate loss to Silver Creek in 2021, had five points and a team-high five assists. Sorensen added eight points and six rebounds, while Chandler finished with four points and three rebounds.
“The bigs had to come up big today because their guards were pressuring us really hard around the 3-point line, so we had to step up on the inside and get the rebounds,” Cardinal said. “Our guards really help our bigs. Kamea and Cherry did a really good job of dishing the ball off to us on the inside. We work really well together.”
Quick foul trouble in the third quarter hurt Beech Grove, as the Hornets were whistled for four in the first 1 minute, 50 seconds and reached seven by the 2:12 mark.
A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Parker kept the Golden Eagles’ lead at 14 points to end the third quarter, while Guerin Catholic converted 13-of-20 free throws in the second half and 16-of-26 overall.
“Lucas Parker hitting that three at the buzzer at the end of the third was just huge momentum,” Allen said. “We kind of rode that thing out.”
Beech Grove shot 29% and were limited to eight free-throw attempts. The Hornets had five points in the second quarter and nine in the third.
“We didn’t attack. I thought if we attacked, we’d be able to get into the bonus like they were, but we were settling,” Beech Grove coach Joe Rihm said. “We weren’t able to get up and get into it (defensively). It’s a tough way to end a season. It’s a tough way for these eight seniors to walk out.”
With the game in hand, the Golden Eagles dribbled out the final 35 seconds with the Scottsburg Warriors (22-5) in mind. The Warriors, who have never won a semistate title, defeated North Daviess, 47-45, in the morning semifinal with a strong home-crowd presence on hand.
Scottsburg’s regional title in Washington last weekend was the program’s first in 23 years and sixth all time.
“It’s a big challenge, but I think we’re up to the challenge,” Cardinal said. “I think we’ve proven that we can play with anybody.”
Beech Grove was led in scoring by senior Cameron Brown with 11 points and five rebounds. Senior Jeremiah Alexander had 10 points and four rebounds. Senior Jaleel Edwards finished with nine points and four rebounds. Senior Jeremiah Tate added six points and Rylan Horen had five.
“These eight seniors fought their (tails) off their whole career. I’m proud of this group,” Rihm said. “These guys are 13-2 just in the state tournament in their career. They got a sweet 16 their sophomore years and a state championship last year and got to the elite eight this year. They have almost 60 wins in their career at Beech Grove. They’ve taken this program to a new level. They set the standard and now the expectation is where it’s at.
“You know, coach (Matt) English had the vision. Gosh, it was 14 or 15 years ago, and we have taken his vision. He saw this group coming, and this group has taken to that level.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball Class 3A semistate: Guerin Catholic beats Beech Grove
