Nothing in baseball can match an ace pitcher, not even the weight of history.
FORT WAYNE – Back-to-back SAC titles didn’t come easily for the Bishop Luers boys basketball team.
First the Knights had to rally, then they had to hold on for an 87-81 win over Snider on Friday.
It gave Class 2A No. 8 Luers (12-5) a 6-1 record in the conference and clinched a second straight regular-season league championship.
“It is a great accomplishment when you think that we are a 2A school, and we are playing against bigger schools, and we put ourselves in a position to win the SAC twice,” Luers coach James Blackmon Sr. said. “It is sweeter the second time around.”
The Knights trailed by double figures in the first half, then got up by double digits in the second half before Snider went on a late-game rally that caused the Knights to first take their starters out and then reinsert them twice in the final minute.
“We wanted to let everyone play, but Snider went on a heck of a run,” Blackmon Sr. said. “I definitely didn’t want the game to slip away in the last minute. I wanted the starters to get in there and inbound the ball and hit the free throws.”
Luers had a chance to wrap the conference title up last week but fell flat in an 83-64 loss to North Side. The Knights would have clinched the title anyway Friday by beating the Panthers (4-10, 2-5), but Luers also benefited when Northrop (5-2 SAC) lost against Concordia on Friday.
“Last week, we couldn’t get it done, so this was a big game for us,” Luers sophomore James Blackmon Jr. said. “We came out slowly, but we picked it up like we should’ve. Our energy level against North Side was down low, and everybody was ready (against Snider) like we usually do.
“(The SAC title) says we have a good, talented team and even if we are small, we can do big things.”
Blackmon Jr. led the Knights with 32 points, five rebounds and four assists. Jaylon Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds, Michael Rogers 12 points and Kendrick Mullen 11.
After trailing 27-15 in the second quarter, the Knights eventually scored 11 straight points to take a 49-42 advantage in the third quarter and pushed the margin to 59-46.
The margin was 82-72 with a minute left. Snider’s Jared Harvey hit three three-pointers to trim the lead to 85-78 with 25 seconds left.
The Panthers got 16 points from Stephen Halstead, 14 from Martez Parhm and 11 each from Aaron Washington, Germain Robinson and Jared Harvey.
