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Bishop too much for Lone Pine |
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Monday, 31 December 2007 |
 David Jones pulls up for a jumper in Lone Pine’s opening game of the Christmas Classic Tournament against Bishop on Thursday. Photo by Keith Rainville By Keith Rainville
Sports Editor 12-29-2007
Bishop got its Christmas Classic Tournament off to a good start with a win against Lone Pine. Like the first time the two teams tangled, an overtime thriller, Thursday night’s game featured competitive, uptempo basketball. The Broncos were able to dominate the glass in the second half and pull away to a 66-58 win.
The game got off to a fast start with both teams moving the ball around the court efficiently and knocking down shots. The Broncos looked to their post players to get the team rolling, and nice feeds from Trent Tillemans and Beau Romero found Stephen Puls and Nick Salas for buckets in the paint. The Eagles countered with slashing drives to the basket. Armando Duran made a pair of good drives for scores.
Midway through the first quarter, a half-hook shot by Puls gave Bishop a lead, but a pair of steals by Eddie Herrmann led to easy buckets for the Lone Pine guard and a 10-7 lead. Salas gave Bishop the lead back with a bomb from behind the right arc, and three more points by Puls gave Bishop a 20-17 lead at the end of the quarter. Fans enjoyed the offensive outburst from both squads.
In the second quarter, both teams hunkered down on defense and full-court pressure led to turnovers. A free throw by Puls and then a rebound and putback of Puls’ second free-throw attempt led to an unconventional three-point play and a 23-17 Bishop lead. Duran answered for Lone Pine with a deep tré and a steal for a layup. A free throw by Jones tied the game at 23. Puls continued to work hard in the paint, converting another offensive rebound into a score, but Duran countered with a floater in the lane.
Late in the first half, with the teams tied at 25, Bishop picked up a technical foul, and Jones sank the free throws and was fouled on the ensuing play, leading to a four-point swing and a 29-25 lead for the Eagles.
The Broncos recovered with a pull-up jumper by Romero and a shot by Chris Brown. At the end of the half, Salas took over, driving for a layup to tie the game at 32 and scoring a putback to give Bishop back the lead at the end of the half, 36-32.
In the second half, Lone Pine came out hot, but Bishop’s post players were able to control the game, forcing the Eagles into foul trouble. Jones came out firing, making a short jumper, and drilling a pair of three-pointers for a 40-38 lead. But a steal by Romero led to a bucket and Salas sank a pair of free throws for Bishop. Lone Pine’s Jake Schill missed most of the second half with foul trouble.
Romero had a nice catch-and-shoot midway through the third quarter and also hit two free throws to give Bishop a 47-44 lead. The big play of the quarter came with 2:25 left on the clock when Puls settled himself under the basket and took a charge from a hard-driving Duran. Unfortunately for Lone Pine, the foul was Duran’s fourth and he was forced to sit. Teammate Joe Ruiz kept the Eagles close, making a pair of buckets. The score was 49-46 heading into the final eight minutes.
Jake Michener kick-started Bishop’s fourth quarter on a nice leaping catch-and-score, a pull jumper and a big block. A putback by Jones cut the Bishop lead to 53-50, but Puls scored a bucket in the paint. The Broncos big senior was a monster on the defensive glass in the fourth quarter and was fouled by Duran while grabbing a board with 5 minutes left in the game. The Broncos enjoyed an 8-0 advantage in fouls late in the second half.
Bishop took advantage of Lone Pine’s lack of height in the interior, pounding the ball down low. Salas racked up 4 straight points to give Bishop a 60-52 lead. Schill and Ruiz responded with short jumpers, but a pair of free throws by Salas kept Bishop up by a comfortable 64-54 margin. The Eagles kept battling and cut the lead to 64-58 on a pair of baskets by Jones, but Dominic Santana went 2-2 from the line to ice the 66-58 Broncos win.
Jones led all scorers with 29 points. Salas led Bishop with his 24. Romero and Duran added 14 points for their teams. Puls finished with 12 points. Michener and Herrmann each scored 8 points.
Both teams are competing in Pool A of the Classic and Friday saw them both battle Rio Hondo and Pahrump. In Pool B, returning champion Hesperia competes against a tough schedule of Dayton, Elko and Mineral County. The top four finishers from each bracket will play each other today. The seventh-place game starts at 10:30 a.m with the fifth- and third-place games to follow. The title game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 08 March 2008 )
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