02-12-16
BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN - The Christopher Bearcats turned in an outstanding performance on Friday night and their hosts picked the wrong night to struggle on both ends of the floor.

Coach Eric Stallman's Bearcats came into Woodlawn and spoiled the Cardinals' Senior Night celebration.

Christopher sophomore Bradley Young netted 22-points and he and his teammates came up with a big effort as the Bearcats upended the state-ranked and ABV second-ranked Cardinals, 57-52, in a rematch of the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament title game back in December.

With the victory the Bearcats improved to 20-3 on the season while Woodlawn saw its 19-game winning streak come to an end as they are now 22-2.

Coach Shane Witzel's Cardinals didn't shoot the ball as well as they normally do and the defensive execution wasn't much better.

The Cardinals were led by junior guard Blake Wollerman with 19-points while Ross Owens and Brett Harris added 12 and 11-points.

However in this very close ballgame, it was the guests who got the job done overall to pick up the victory in front of a very large crowd at Sides Gymnasium.

“I think in the second half we guarded as well as we have all year,” said Coach Stallman. “I told the kids before the game if you are going to beat a team that is state-ranked you can't just rely on scoring. You have to guard and rebound. I thought we did a better job in the second half.”

The Bearcats got 14-points from junior guard Kaeleb Pedigo and 13-points from senior forward Josh Calloni.

Christopher out-shot the Cardinals overall and got to the foul line more often.

The Bearcats hit 21-of-45 from the floor, 3-of-9 from beyond the arc and they converted 12-of-17 from the foul line as they got Woodlawn in foul trouble.

Most notably Owens, who picked up his third foul in the second quarter and missed a lot of key minutes.

Woodlawn finished just 21-of-54 from the field (38.8 percent) and they managed only 4-of-5 from the free throw line.

Despite their overall struggles, the Cardinals had chances to win the game in the final minutes but they couldn't put together enough runs and stops.

“We didn't shoot it particularly well and I felt like we were attacking the rim. I felt like we should have gotten to the free throw line more. Five free throws in that game? I'm not sure how that actually happened. I just thought we should have shot more than that. But that is part of it,” said Coach Witzel. “We shot 40 percent from the field and normally we shoot better than that. But they (Christopher) did a good job of guarding us.”

The Bearcats used a combination of zone and man-to-man defenses to stymy the normally hot shooting hosts in the win.

Woodlawn opened the game strong as they usually do.

Two 3-pointers, one each from Owens and Wollerman, staked the Cards to a 12-7 advantage.

However Young and Pedigo also had a good beginnings, each scoring five-points in the first quarter.

Young netted a pair of shots in succession, a back door cut for a lay in on an assist from Calloni and then a long 3-pointer from the right wing to even things at 14-14 with 1:11 left in the opening quarter.

Senior Austin Ballard added eight points for the Cardinals, with a pair of baskets in the first quarter, including a score in the paint on an assist from Owens.

Calloni added a drive to the basket for a lay in as Woodlawn was in front 19-16 at the horn.

The Cardinals can look back on missed shots and opportunities in the second quarter as they allowed Christopher to hang around.

Woodlawn went cold on offense, hitting just 5-of-14 from the field, while their defense lapsed a few times which resulted in Christopher rallying for a halftime lead.

Owens and Wollerman hit consecutive shots to open the second quarter to lead 24-16.

But Young got to the foul line twice, and Pedigo nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing while being fouled by Owens.

Although he missed the free throw, Christopher had begun an 11-2 run to take back the lead.

Young nailed all four of his free throws and then scored on a fast break.

Pedigo finished the scoring run on a drive in the lane for a 27-26 Christopher lead.

But perhaps more importantly Owens picked up his third foul and went to the bench with 3:23 left in the second quarter.

Wollerman and senior Garrett Minks added points before the break but Calloni closed the quarter with a pair of scores in the lane.

His drive in the lane with :07 left gave the 'Cats a 31-30 advantage at intermission.

Woodlawn started the second half with points and again were on the verge of a game-changing run.

Harris converted a three-point play and Wollerman drove to the basket for a score to give the Cardinals a 35-31 lead.

However Young and the Bearcats responded every time in this victory.

Young, Calloni and junior Isaac McPhail all produced in the third quarter.

Young took a pass from Calloni for a lay in to tie the game at 41-all and Pedigo closed the frame with a transition score to break the tie as Christopher led by two heading to the fourth.

A Wollerman score opened the fourth for Woodlawn.

Then Christopher took control of the situation and the game.

The Bearcats scored seven-consecutive points with Young delivering five of them on a rebound basket and later a three-point play while being fouled by Harris.

McPhail then scored on a cut to the basket with an assist from reserve Gabe Schimpf which forced a Woodlawn timeout at 50-43 with 3:59 left.

“I thought we did what we wanted to do tonight. I told the kids in the locker room after the game that we played with a lot of poise and a lot of intelligence,” said Coach Stallman. “We made a run there that gave us a little bit of confidence. Confidence is a big thing with high school kids. We started feeling good about ourselves.”

The Cardinals inched back into contention, with Owens and Harris going 3-of-4 from the foul line and a 3-pointer from Owens with 2:20 left to close the gap to just 50-49.

Turning up the pressure on defense, the Cards best opportunity to take back the lead happened on the next Bearcats' possession.

Woodlawn forced a turnover with Harris making a steal and finding Ballard for an open 3-point look from the left corner.

However he missed the mark and McPhail gathered the rebound.

Working the clock, Christopher got a cut to the basket by Calloni who scored while being fouled by Minks.

His made free throw pushed the lead to 53-49 with only :43.3 left.

Woodlawn committed three of its turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Young picked up a key steal from Ballard and was fouled immediately.

The sophomore lefty missed his 1-and-1 chance but Pedigo outhustled the Cardinals for an offensive rebound.

Pedigo got the ball to senior point guard Hunter Wheeler, who hit 1-of-2 from the line for his only points of the night.

After a Wollerman 3-pointer cut the lead to just 55-52, Pedigo closed out the win with a pair of free throws in the final seconds as Owens picked up his fifth foul with :10.0 left.

A missed 3-pointer from Wollerman and a rebound by McPhail gave the Bearcats the win.

“When ever you play in a tight game like this, execution is always critical at the end. In the last two minutes there were four possessions where we turned it over and we didn't cut off the baseline and they get a three-point play out of it,” said Coach Witzel. “And we don't box out on a missed 1-and-1. Those are just as important in the first quarter but when you are trying to get over the hump at the end of the game when you are fighting to get back in it. But we didn't execute and we normally do.”

In a cleanly played game, Woodlawn committed just eight turnovers while Christopher had just seven.

The two teams were even on the boards, at 29-rebounds apiece.

Woodlawn won't have time to sulk, as they head back on the road for a non-conference game at 2A Flora on Saturday night.

Christopher will close out its Black Diamond Conference schedule next week with games at Sesser-Valier on Tuesday and at home against Zeigler-Royalton on Friday.

“These guys (Woodlawn) have a history of winning and they are just an unbelievable program led by a Hall-of-Fame coach so this is a big win,” said Coach Stallman. “It was and big win and a lot of fun tonight.”

Christopher (57) – McPhail 3 0 1-2 7, Pedigo 3 2 2-4 14, Wheeler 0 0 1-2 1, Schimpf 0 0 0-0 0, Young 7 1 5-6 22, Calloni 5 0 3-3 13.
2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-12-17, PF-9.
Woodlawn (52) – Owens 1 3 1-2 12, Wollerman 5 3 0-0 19, Minks 1 0 0-0 2, Harris 4 0 3-3 11, Ballard 4 0 0-0 8, Hoppa 0 0 0-0 0, Isaac 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-15, 3FG-6, FT-4-5, PF-17.
Fouled Out – Owens - Woodlawn.
Technical Fouls – None.