Hanover Central beats former rival

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:44PM

The Bearcats' Class 2A title defense came to an abrupt end in the 2011 postseason.

Visiting Hanover scored 16 straight points to close the first quarter and never looked back, coasting to a 58-42 victory-its first win over Wheeler since the 1998-99 season.

"Having not been able to beat them for so long … to knock them off in their own gym is pretty special," said Hanover (13-9 4-3 PCC) head coach Rod Bollenbacher.

Nick Bollenbacher, who had a game-high 21 points for the Wildcats, said that a quick start had been a focal point for the team all week long.

"The first half is what we've been preaching at practice," he said. "With them being the defending state champs, we knew we had to come out strong in the first two quarters. We hadn't beaten them since 1999; it was time to change things."

Miscommunication on their own end of the court cost the Bearcats (14-8, 5-2 GSSC), according to head coach Mike Jones.

"We had some breakdowns defensively with our communication and they were able to get some easy baskets early because of those breakdowns," he said. "We missed some easy shots early … but giving up those early baskets got us behind the 8-ball early on and we never really recovered."

Hanover took full advantage of those early Wheeler miscues, as both Bollenbacher and fellow guard Zack Rush repeatedly found open teammates near the basket for easy layups.

Said Coach Bollenbacher: "We were trying to get the ball down in the corner and we got there several times. We've been working on moving while being away from the ball and making cuts toward the basket. We executed that very well tonight."

Thanks to their ability to move the ball through the Wheeler defense, four Wildcats ended the game in double figures: Bollenbacher, Maxwell Johnson (12 points), Cameron Brady (10 points) and Derek De St. Jean (10 points).

"Throughout the season we've had games where we will pass and games where we don't pass," said Nick Bollenbacher.

"Starting with that River Forest game our team came together; we didn't care who scored as long as we ended up winning."

Najee Bailey ended with 15 points to lead Wheeler in his final game. Nigel Mims chipped in 11 points.

Hanover advances to Friday night's semifinal matchup where it will face Bishop Noll.

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