Andrean, Knox advance to Friday semis

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:44PM

Defending sectional champ Andrean wasted no time coming out in the opening round of the postseason, grabbing the lead early and never looking back against conference rival Griffith with a 63-45 win to advance to face Rensselaer on Friday night.

In the first game, it was Calumet looking like they would move on until Knox exploded in the fourth quarter to secure the 62-47 win and advance to face Kankakee Valley.

Andrean was impressive from the start as they moved the ball well and found scoring opportunities. Sophomore Nick Davidson was impressive in leading all scorers with 23 points in only three quarters of action. He and his fellow starters were spectators in the fourth.

"Our guys executed very well tonight and shared the apple, especially in the second half as they were able to pass the ball and get others involved in the offense, long with a spectacular game from Nick Davidson," said Andrean coach Carson Cunningham.

Andrean (13-8) came out and grabbed an early 12-4 lead after the first quarter. Davidson led the charge shooting 8 for 12 from the field and 4 for 5 from the free throw line. Davidson and Andrean really took over in the third quarter as they outscored Griffith 27-10 to take a 49-25 lead into the final period. With substitutes in for both teams, Andrean held off a late Griffith charge to secure the win.

"We played a solid game and its good to see others get a chance to step up and play well," Davidson said.

Griffith (3-18) was led in scoring by Tyrell Tinnin with 11 points, while Calvin Bonewits added nine points.

In the first game of the evening, Calumet looked like it had momentum in the second quarter after capturing the lead for the first time and holding it until the fourth quarter.

Costly turnovers provided Knox an opportunity to go on a 9-0 run to start that final period and retake the lead. Joshua Risner (27 points) and Elliot Coad (17 points) led their team past Calumet, outscoring them 27-6 to roll to the victory.

"We played well for three quarters and were exactly where we wanted to be going into the forth but some costly mistakes along with struggling with our shooting obviously hurt us and led to the loss," said Calumet coach Justin Nelson.

Calumet (7-14) was led by the spectacular play of Leventes Strong with 18 points.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.