Noll rolls, North Judson falls in 2A regional

Updated: April 4, 2011 11:48AM

Bishop Noll earned a nice win in the first game of the Class 2A North Judson Regional on Saturday morning. The host Bluejays lost the chance to join the Warriors in the regional final after falling behind early.

Bishop Noll, 24-0 and ranked second in the state, beat Prairie Heights 70-54. North Judson fell to Westview in the second game 70-57.

Westview, like Prairie Heights located in LaGrange County in Northeast Indiana, jumped ahead early against the home team. Westview used steady free throw shooting and ball handling, as well as an early onslaught from the outside, to earn the victory.

"Their offense in the first half really got them going," said North Judson coach Ryan Bales. "I thought we fought back. You're just facing a good combination of shooters and ball handlers."

Dominique Neely scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half for Westview, which is 22-2 and ranked seventh in Class 2A. Seth Wagler had 17, Justin Hantzl 16 and Kurt Lambright 13 for Westview.

Neely was 6-of-7 from the field and hit three three-pointers. Westview went 24-of-29 from the foul line.

"We just try to score as a group," Westview coach Rob Yoder said. "Today, Dom was open, and his teammates did a good job of finding him."

Kendall Hochstedler had 14 points for sixth-ranked North Judson, which finished the season at 22-2. John Eckert had 11 points and 10 rebounds, but the tallest player on the floor at 6-foot-7 was held scoreless in the critical first two quarters, with Westview double-teaming him in the post.

The future is promising for the Bluejays, who lose only Andrew Frasure (nine points) among their main contributors.

"This is going to sting a little bit, but hopefully will motivate our players in the offseason," Bales said. "They have a lot to be proud of."

Bishop Noll was led by John Dodson's 16 points. Adonis Filer had 15 points. Milos Kostic used his 6-foot-8 height to good advantage with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Larry Crisler scored 12.

The Warriors dominated the smaller Prairie Heights at times, but the Panthers managed to rally behind Brennen North (19 points, nine rebounds), their 6-foot center, and guards Zach Saylor (11 points, three three-pointers) and Mike Reynolds (14 points).

"They've got some kids who can shoot," Bishop Noll coach Drew Trost said. "There were a couple of times when we did some dumb things on defense, but for the most part I thought we did a good job."

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