Noll edges Hanover, will face Eagles

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:46PM

After running through the regular season undefeated with 21 victories, 22 didn't come easy for Class 2A No. 2 Bishop Noll.

The Warriors built a big early lead, watched it dwindle away, and then held on for a 65-59 victory over Hanover Central on Friday in the semifinals of the 2A Wheeler Sectional.

Noll (22-0) plays Lake Station in tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship. The Eagles rolled to a 62-37 win over River Forest in Friday's first semifinal. For Lake Station, the win was its 16th, the most according to records the school has kept dating back to 1975.

Hanover (13-10) hit 12 3-pointers to keep itself in the game. Zach Rush, playing with a three-quarter tear of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, drained one of his four 3-pointers on the night to pull the Wildcats to within 63-59 with a minute to play. But his off-balance 3-pointer moments later fell short, and the Warriors were able to keep their state title hopes alive.

"They've got shooters, and we knew if we didn't get out on their shooters, it would be a close game," Noll coach Drew Trost said. "We didn't execute our game plan whatsoever."

The Wildcats fell behind 25-12 early in the second quarter but got hot from long range, and shot 12-of-18 from behind the arc for the evening, including 5-of-5 in the second-quarter rally. In addition to Rush's effort, Nick Bollenbacher and Max Johnson each drained three 3-pointers.

"We responded and came back and fought hard and started knocking down some shots," said Hanover coach Rod Bollenbacher, who was able to laugh and smile afterward despite suffering chest discomfort during the game. He underwent double-bypass heart surgery on Oct. 22.

Milos Kostic and Adonis Filer each scored 15 to lead Noll. Rush scored 16 to lead all scorers, while Nick Bollenbacher added 14, Johnson 11, and Cameron Brady 10.

Behind full-court pressure defense, Lake Station (16-5) forced River Forest (3-18) into 11 first-quarter turnovers and 19 for the first half in building a 36-20 cushion by the halftime break.

"The last time we played them we went straight man-to-man," Lake Station coach Bryon Clouse said. "Scouting them we saw that pressure might be a problem for them."

Ricky Garcia had 19 points to lead the Eagles, while Nathan Flores added 14 and Dean Flores 12. Justin Pennington led River Forest with 14.

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