Morris grinds out I-8 win over Ottawa

OTTAWA — In what was a typical low-scoring, back-and-forth, slobberknocker of a game between Morris and host Ottawa at Kingman Gymnasium on Tuesday, the visitors were able to put together an 11-0 run spanning the final three minutes of the third quarter and opening three minutes of the fourth.

The spurt turned a four-point deficit into a five-point advantage.

The Pirates were able to cut the lead margin to three, but a 3-pointer from senior Brett Bounds with two minutes to play, and his three free throws in the final minute helped Morris (9-15, 2-5) hold on for a 42-38 Interstate 8 Conference victory.

Morris also won the first meeting this season in mid-December 39-37 in overtime.

“Ottawa always plays super hard, and I think as players we all know it’s going to be a tough defensive game anytime we play them,” said Bounds, who scored 17 points, sharing game-high honors with teammate Jack Wheeler. “The key is matching the intensity we know they’re going to bring, and I thought we did that tonight.”

Trailing by five, the Pirates used a pair of charity tosses from Connor Diederich and a driving layup by Owen Sanders to cut the lead to 35-32 before Bounds sank a triple from the top of the key after an extended possession.

“On that possession coach Blumberg wanted us to work the ball, take some time off the clock, make good decisions, and take an opening if it was there,” Bounds said. “Eventually we switched into a set play, I got a good screen and was able to knock down the shot. Then I was able to make a few free throws to help us keep the lead.

Diederich answered the Bounds trey with one of his own seconds later, but after Wheeler made one of two from the line with just under a minute to play, an Ottawa turnover led to a foul and Bounds made good on both shots to make it 41-35 with just 30 seconds to play.

Ottawa (9-12, 1-6) led 11-5 after the opening quarter and 21-20 at halftime.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well (8 of 26, 31%) in the first half,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said. “Credit to our guys, because there have been times this season where our below-average shooting has then carried over to below-average defense. That didn’t happen tonight. To be down only one at half with how we shot the ball, I felt OK with our position.

“This is a game where you know both teams are going to battle, the game is going to be physical and it’s probably going to come down to a couple of possessions late in the game. There is a lot of respect both ways.”

Ottawa junior Lucas Farabaugh finished with a team-best 12 points on four 3-pointers, three coming in the first half to help the hosts maintain the lead. Diederich posted 10 points, eight in the final quarter, while Sanders added eight points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

“I thought we really competed and played hard tonight,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “We just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch to get it done. We have some guys right now that are getting more extensive varsity minutes than before and they are doing a great job. We gave ourselves an opportunity to get a win tonight, but Morris was just a little bit better in key moments.

“The difference in the game was we turned the ball over at key times and Morris capitalized on those.”

Morris returns to action on Saturday hosting Rochelle. Ottawa will travel west on Route 6 for a matchup with rival La Salle-Peru on Friday.