Chad, Kyle and Gordon are back from hiatus to discuss the SIAC boys and girls basketball tournament as well as the annual Night of Memories with Don Mattingly and company. Sports / Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE -- Memorial knew that something had to change.
At times, it looked like Reitz was conducting a shooting clinic Tuesday night. Wide open three-pointers. Many of them splashing the nets. It was pretty impressive to watch for those in attendance.
So Memorial coach Rick Wilgus brought his team together after the third quarter. He told them the next four minutes would be the difference between winning and losing. The Tigers did their coach one better.
Memorial, ranked 15th in the latest Class 3A Associated Press poll, held Reitz scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the second half. That stretch was enough to push the Tigers to a 58-51 victory over the Panthers in the Banterra Bank Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
After torching their opponent in the first half, Reitz went 4-of-21 from deep over the final two quarters. That percentage drops even lower in the fourth when the Panthers went 1-for-12.
"They were knocking down shots and we weren't playing well defensively," said Memorial junior Branson Combs. "But in the fourth quarter, we locked in and got ready to go. That brought momentum and better offense."
After Mar'Quon Givens buried a three with 1:31 left in the third quarter, Reitz went ice cold. The home team was held off the scoreboard until 2:12 remained in the game when freshman Khristian Lander connected from the corner.
By then, Memorial had went on a 14-0 run to take back the lead. Drew Hart did most of the damage with seven points in that spurt. The 6-foot-7 forward took post at the bottom of the 1-2-2 Reitz zone and went to work.
Memorial defeated Reitz in the opening round of the SIAC Tournament. Michael Lindauer, Dylan Penn and Sam DeVault all reached double-figure scoring for the Tigers. Kyle Sokeland / Courier & Press
As a team, the Tigers went 7-for-9 from the field in the fourth quarter. Memorial shot 51 percent from the field and had over a dozen assists.
"We were just finding the gaps and doing high-low," said Hart. "They gave me good passes and I was able to finish them."
It was a sharp turn from the first three quarters. Reitz made five from deep in the opening frame and added three more in the second. The Panthers, who finished with 12 three-pointers, led by as many as 10 early in the second.
After Memorial battled back, Isaiah Dunham gave the Panthers a 31-30 lead at halftime on a drive to the basket just before the buzzer.
The Tigers couldn't shake them in the third and trailed 44-39 heading into the fourth. But Memorial finally got things settled in that final quarter. It may not have been exactly what it wanted, but a win is still a win.
"We were just talking more and got locked into the game (during the fourth)," said Hart. "Everybody was moving around and everybody was quicker. We bought into it more in the end and finished it out strong."
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Michael Lindauer led Memorial (8-2) with 14 points, while Dylan Penn added 12 points and seven assists. Lander hit six three-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points for Reitz (6-4).
BY THE NUMBERS
10: The Panthers didn't miss much until the fourth quarter. But when they did, the Tigers corralled most of them. Memorial out-rebounded Reitz 34-24 and got a couple of big offensive rebounds in the final frame.
7: Memorial didn't turn the ball over much against the trapping defense of Reitz. With the Panthers not forcing turnovers, it allowed the Tigers room to find open shots and layups.
5: The Tigers spread the ball around with five players scoring at least seven points. In addition to Lindauer and Penn, Memorial got good production from Sam DeVault (10 points and seven rebounds), Combs (9 points and 10 rebounds) and Hart.
UP NEXT
The Panthers face Central (1-9) in the consolation bracket Friday at North. Meanwhile, the Tigers get another shot at Class 3A No. 3 Bosse (10-2), who beat them by 24 last month. The rematch will be Friday at Castle.
"We'd love to play them again," said Combs. "The first game obviously didn't go the way that we wanted. We are looking forward to the matchup."
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TIGERS 58, PANTHERS 51
Memorial (8-2): Sam DeVault 4-6 2-3 10, Branson Combs 2-5 5-9 9, Isaac Evans 1-5 0-0 3, Michael Lindauer 6-11 0-0 14, Dylan Penn 4-8 3-6 12, Cole Niehaus 0-1 0-0 0, Drew Hart 3-4 1-2 7, Andrew Cross 1-1 1-2 3, Cade Graham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 12-22 58.
Reitz (6-4): Gehrig Tenhumberg 3-6 0-0 9, Parker Sharp 3-5 0-0 7, Isaiah Dunham 3-12 1-3 7, Jonathan Springer 0-6 0-0 0, Khristian Lander 7-11 0-0 20, Drew Carlton 0-2 0-0 0, Mar'Quon Givens 3-11 0-0 8. Totals 19-53 1-3 51.
Memorial 14 16 9 19 -- 58
Reitz 18 13 13 7 -- 51
3-Pointers: Memorial 4-12 (Evans 1-4, Lindauer 2-4, Penn 1-3, Niehaus 0-1), Reitz 12-38 (Tenhumberg 3-6, Sharp 1-3, Dunham 0-3, Springer 0-6, Lander 6-10, Carlton 0-1, Givens 2-8). Rebounds: Memorial 34 (Combs 10), Reitz 24 (Sharp 6). Turnovers: Memorial 7, Reitz 8. Team Fouls: Memorial 7, Reitz 16.