Lancers knock off Bells in OT thriller, 57-51 (Basketball Boys Home Page)
By: BHARATH RAVISHANKAR PrepSportsDOK.com
Posted January 19
In a very noisy and passionate setting befitting of such a classic rivalry, host Saint Francis knocked off Bellarmine, 57-51, in overtime Wednesday night in WCAL play. With the win, Saint Francis improves to 10-6 overall, 3-3 in the WCAL while the Bells fall to 9-7, 2-4.
Regulation ended at 48-48 after the Lancers held the ball for the final 30 seconds before forcing a poor shot.
In overtime, the Lancers held the Bells to just three points and kept Bellarmine leading scorer Grant Vermeer off the boards in the extra session. Vermeer finished with a team-high 16 points.
One of the keys to the Lancers' success was their work on the boards. Saint Francis had 23 offensive rebounds alone, to the Bells' 21 total rebounds, and finished with 44 total rebounds. However, Saint Francis was unable to consistently convert its opportunities, hitting just 22-of-65 from the floor. But the Bells weren't much better, making just 18-of-57 field-goal attempts on the night.
The shooting woes carried over to the free-throw line, where the Lancers were just 12-for-31 compared with 13-for-18 for the Bells.
The Lancers jumped out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead on the strength of nine points from senior center Drew Dickey, who helped quiet the loud and raucous visiting Bell cheering section. But the Bells had plenty to cheer about late in the first half when Vermeer found his stride to help Bellarmine on a 7-0 run to cut the Lancer lead to 24-19 at the break.
That momentum carried into the start of the second half as the Bells started with four straight points, however the Lancers were able to cool them off. The Bells looked much cleaner and precise in the third quarter though, and despite Saint Francis sophomore forward Alex Frazier's eight third-quarter points, the Bells took a 38-34 lead.
A team effort tied the game in the 4th quarter, as the Lancers made up the deficit with crucial three-pointers from junior guard Khalil Johnson and senior forward Jimmy Frazier, and big free throws from Dickey.
Dickey finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Alex Frazier had 11 points, eight boards, four steals and two blocks.
For the Bells, Kenneth Olugbode had eight points, and Nick McCue added six.
Bellarmine looks to rebound from its third loss in a row when it hosts St. Ignatius Friday night (7:30 pm), while St. Francis travels to Riordan at the same time.
