Boys basketball: L-P dominates Streator in John Senica’s debut as coach

OTTAWA - The John Senica era started at La Salle-Peru with a 72-45 rout of Streator on the second day of the Dean Riley Shootin’ The Rock Thanksgiving Tournament on Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, Ottawa lost to Pontiac 52-40 to fall to 1-1.

La Salle-Peru 72, Streator 45

Streator kept the score close early as the Cavaliers were getting their feet wet in their new system under Senica.

With the score tied at 4 early, Mikey Hartman drained a 3-pointer to give the Cavs a 7-4 edge.

The Bulldogs had an answer in Logan Aukland, who had a steal and layup followed by a shot behind the arc to give Streator an 11-9 lead.

Josh Senica then started to flex his muscles, driving the lane and getting fouled. Moments later, he got a steal and converted a layup to give the Cavs a 16-11 advantage, but Christian Benning cut the deficit to 16-13 with a drive into the paint for a layup to end the first quarter.

L-P came out strong in the second quarter with Nicholas Olivero nailing a 3-pointer from deep in the corner before Seth Adams converted a fast break layup as the Cavs’ lead expanded to 23-16.

“I think early on we were a little hesitant,” John Senica said. “I think we were tired of practicing against each other, and it took us a bit to get going, but once we did I was pretty happy with what we did overall.”

After a timeout, L-P kept the pace up with a shot from downtown from Senica, who followed that with a monster dunk to cap a 12-3 run that gave the Cavs a 28-16 lead.

Streator cut into the lead with a steal and layup from Benning, who then got a putback to fall and cut the deficit to 28-22.

L-P ended the half strong with a 12-2 run with baskets from Senica, Adams, Jack Jereb and Nolan Van Duzer for a 40-24 halftime advantage.

“Even thought the first quarter was close, I didn’t think we played that well,” Streator coach Beau Doty said. “We played well last night and got a 20-point win, but we need to be more consistent against good teams like L-P if we want to get some wins.”

L-P didn’t let up in the third quarter as Senica drove the baseline and got the shot to fall. Benning continued his solid play for the Bulldogs with a 3-pointer, but Streator trailed 42-27.

Next time down the floor, Jereb hit a 3-pointer for the Cavs and then got a steal and missed the layup, but Van Duzer was there for the putback that pushed the lead to 47-27.

L-P kept its foot on the gas and got a pair of 3-pointers from Jereb and Senica to go along with a three-point play from Senica for a 62-38 lead heading into the fourth.

Senica led all scorers with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Adams added 14 points, and Van Duzer had 11. Benning led Streator with 18 points.

Pontiac 52, Ottawa 40

Ottawa hung strong against a talented Pontiac team, but in the end, the Indians’ size, athleticism and shooting were the biggest difference.

The Indians feature four starters from an Elite Eight team a season ago, and the Pirates were neck and neck throughout the contest.

Junior Aric Threadgill drained a 3-pointer early on that gave the Pirates a 5-3 advantage. Henry Brummel hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter and gave the lead back to the Indians at 6-5.

Moments later, Riley Weber drove into the lane and got a flip shot to fall to put Pontiac ahead 10-7 and then followed that with a layup to extend the lead to 12-8.

But the Pirates responded with a 3-pointer from Huston Hart and then a drive and up-and-under move from Keevon Peterson that gave Ottawa a 13-12 lead before Kerr Bauman hit a 3-pointer that gave the Indians a 15-13 lead after one quarter.

The defense on both ends of the court and intensity picked up in the second quarter for the first couple of minutes as the offenses struggled.

Weber picked up his 10th rebound of the half and then drained a 3-pointer for a 20-16 edge over the Pirates.

Peterson cut the deficit to 22-20 with a corner shot behind the arc, but the Indians finished the half strong with a long-range shot by Riley Johnson and a pull-up jumper from Weber for a 27-22 halftime lead.

The Pirates started out the second half with a long-range shot from Hart that pulled Ottawa within 29-25, but the Indians quickly responded with a fast break layup from Bauman.

Hart had a beautiful baseline move but could not convert the layup, and Pontiac stormed up the floor and took advantage with a 3-pointer from Brummel.

Not long after, Weber hit a pair of free throws to cap a 7-1 run that gave Pontiac a 36-26 advantage.

After a timeout, Hart drained a much needed shot behind the arc for the Pirates, who trailed 38-30 heading into the final eight minutes.

Camden Fenton scored an open layup on a pass from Weber and then a strong drive to the hoop by Bauman gave Pontiac a 42-30 edge.

Ottawa stayed within striking distance with 3-pointers from Threadgill and Cooper Knoll, but Weber helped seal the deal with a stick back and a floater in the lane.

“I tell you what, I was very pleased with the effort tonight,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “I mean, that’s a team that went to the Elite Eight and has four starters back, and we went toe to toe with them for most of the night. We’re pretty inexperienced and finding our way, so to play like we did against a very good team like that is something to build on.”

Ottawa was led by Hart with 14 points, while Pontiac was led by Weber with 23 points and 17 rebounds to go along with 13 points from Brummel.