Noll turns up heat on ‘D'

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:46PM

With just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Lake Station's Hasonie Walters split a pair of free throws, cutting Bishop Noll's lead down to 7-4.

The next Lake Station points didn't come until the 3:50 mark of the third quarter.

Nearly two full periods of scoreless basketball grounded the Lake Station Eagles (16-6), as Bishop Noll (23-0) continued its undefeated season with a 50-28 win, securing its first sectional title since 2008.

The Warriors' aggression caused problems for a Lake Station offense that was attempting to slow down the game on each possession.

"We expected them to slow it down," said Bishop Noll coach Drew Trost. "We have a huge advantage, I think, with some of the best guards in the state. We can put pressure on teams that makes it hard for them, even when they stall, and that can lead to mistakes."

"Our coaches kept preaching to us that we had to stay tough," said Bishop Noll junior Ronnye Beamon, who had 10 points in the victory. "We couldn't let them to put us to sleep."

Said Lake Station coach Bryon Clouse: "We wanted to take 35 or 40 seconds off with each possession and make them work a bit … maybe catch them being lazy.

"But when they got their size out there, our smaller guards had trouble seeing over their traps. I can't fault our team's effort, but Bishop Noll is 23-0 for a reason."

Trost said his team's defensive effort was a welcome change from Friday night's semifinal contest against Hanover.

"We really got on them Friday night and in our shootaround about not executing our gameplan against Hanover - but we really executed tonight. I've been saying since December that rebounding and defense will make you advance in the tournament and we've been getting better at that."

Lake Station was held scoreless in the second quarter and did not reach double digits until the fourth quarter.

Freshman Larry Crisler led all scorers with 13 points off the bench for the Warriors.

"That guy is a special player," Trost said of Crisler. "He's just a special talent. He's always in the right spot when we're on offense and he's also a great defender."

Lake Station's Dean Flores finished with a team-high nine points.

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