La Salle-Peru boys, Morris girls collect wins in Interstate 8 doubleheader

LA SALLE – The La Salle-Peru ladies kept the score close through the first two-plus quarters, but Morris used its size and pressure to dominate most of the second half as it came away with the 54-31 Interstate 8 Conference victory Friday night in La Salle.

At the start of the varsity contest LP kept things close as Brie Ruppert tied the game at two early with a nice cut to the basket, but Morris responded right away with a 3-pointer from Layken Callahan and moments later Tessa Shannon lobbed the ball over the shorter Cavs defenders to Landrie Callahan for the 9-4 advantage.

Morris held a slim 11-8 edge to start the second quarter which increased to 14-9 when LP’s Phoebe Shetterly drove in for the layup and then Alexus Hines got the steal and bucket that cut the deficit to 14-13.

Both teams struggled from the foul line throughout the first half as each missed seven, but Morris would turn to the Callahan sisters as Landrie hit the layup on the out of bounds play for a 18-13 lead.

Ruppert went to the bench with three fouls as the fouls mounted for both teams and then Shetterly, who missed her first five from the line, proceeded to hit her next four and cut the Morris lead to 23-18 heading into break.

Kelsey Frederick started the third out with a strong drive to the basket and made it 23-20, but Ruppert immediately picked up her fourth foul and had to sit.

Morris went right to work taking advantage of their height with Ruppert on the bench as Layken Callahan hit the acrobatic shot in the lane and then Alyssa Jepson hit the fast break layup.

After an offensive rebound Landrie Callahan hit a pair of free throws and capped off an 8-0 run that pushed the Morris lead to 29-20.

Hines would be fouled on a 3-point attempt for the Cavs and hit two of them to end the drought and quickly followed that up with a floater in the lane.

But it did little to slow down Morris as Layken Callahan drove the lane and connected to push the lead to 35-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I thought we played great in the first half,” LP coach Adam Spencer said. “Even into the third, but they have a ton of size and when Brie Ruppert picked up her fourth right away Morris took advantage and used their size advantage to perfection.”

Layken missed her shot to start the final eight minutes, but Landrie picked up one of her 20 rebounds and connected for the old fashioned three point play.

Hines got the put back for the Cavs, but Landrie Callahan got the fast break layup and Cami Pfeifer hit a pair of 3-pointers as the lead grew to 49-29 before taking the contest 54-31.

“Give LP credit, they played well especially in the first half,” Morris coach Mike Lutz said. “We used our size and pressure to our advantage with Landrie and Layken (Callahan), but we haven’t been shooting the ball well at all so hopefully we can get back on track.”

For the game the Cavs were led by Hines with 14 while Morris was led by Landrie Callahan with 15 points and 20 rebounds while Layken added 14 points.

BOYS

On the boys side of the doubleheader it was LP playing solid throughout the night, taking a tight first quarter and then staying just ahead of Morris the rest of the way to come away with the 60-48 I-8 Conference victory.

Landon Norris started the game off rattling a 3-pointer home for Morris, but Nick Olivero immediately answered with one of his own to tie the game.

With LP holding the early lead Brett Bounds hit the easy bucket and then connected on both attempts from the charity stripe before driving and hitting the bank shot to give Morris a 9-7 lead.

Marion Persich was able to drive throughout the night and on back to back plays dished to Olivero, who finished with 10 points in the quarter and then finished the layup as the score was tied at 11 after the first quarter.

The Cavs started to take control in the second as Olivero and Cordell Whitley, who came off the bench, drained back to back 3’s before Mikey Hartman drove to the basket for the foul and the bonus to push the LP lead to 20-14.

“We had some guys step up and hit some big shots tonight,” LP coach John Senica said. “Cordell hit a couple big shots and we had a number of guys step up and when we do that teams can’t focus on one guy.”

RJ Kennedy answered back for Morris with a tough drive through traffic, but Hartman came back on the next possession and drained a 3-pointer for the Cavs to push the lead to 23-16.

As a pair of LP defenders collided Colin Pfeifer collected the offensive rebound for the layup, but another strong drive from Hartman gave the Cavs a 27-22 lead at the break.

Hartman extended the lead to 30-22 at the start of the third with a bunny shot in the lane, but Morris continued to stay within striking distance.

Jack Wheeler hit the 13 foot jumper and followed with a put back to cut the Cavs lead to 30-28, but again LP had an answer as Persich got the steal and layup to fall.

Then as Persich picked up his fourth foul Wheatley re-entered the game and immediately hits the 3-pointer to make it 35-28.

“No excuses, but with the football playoff run we haven’t had much practice time together,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said. “I think we still have some tired football legs out there and we have guys who need to know what their rolls are. Everyone knows Brett Bounds and Wheeler average 20, but we need a third to step up and help.”

After the Morris timeout Wheeler hit a 3-pointer, but as they had all night LP had an answer with Hartman hitting another shot behind the arc to give the Cavs a 38-33 lead heading into the fourth.

Hartman then started the fourth out with a stick back and then Wyatt Kilday came off the bench and made a great pass to Erick Sotelo to go ahead 42-35.

Morris would go on a quick 8-2 run with Bounds picking up a pair of free throws and a bunny shot to close the gap to 44-43.

The LP bench came up huge again as Kilday nailed the 3-pointer and seconds later hit the jumper to give LP a 49-43 cushion that Morris was unable to match this time.

Sotelo found Persich for the layup and LP would cruise from there with a 60-48 victory after hitting their free throws to seal the game.

For the contest LP was led by Hartman with 19 while Olivero added 13 and Persitch with 12. Morris was led by Wheeler with 19 and Bounds with 15.