Boys basketball: La Salle-Peru cruises past rival St. Bede in front of packed house in Peru

In what could only be described as an electric atmosphere, the La Salle-Peru boys basketball team took on host St Bede Bruins in front of a standing room only crowd, and after an even start, the Cavaliers slowly pulled away before catching their stride late in the second quarter to cruise to a 76-32 victory.

“They came out tough and had a lot of energy and we knew we would have to play well to get the win tonight and really about everyone did.” L-P coach John Senica said. “This kind of a game and playing in front of a crowd like this really helps to prepare for what it is like in the postseason. It was also nice to see some kids take advantage of the playing time. It is a fun rivalry. These kids all know each other and have played with or against each other for a long time.”

The game began with L-P getting a 3-pointer from Mikey Hartman and a deuce from Seth Adams before the Bruins answered with a 3 ball from Halden Hueneburg.

After a pair of Cavalier free throws, the Bruins’ Nathan Husser went on a personal four-point run to level the score at 7.

The Cavs rung up the next eight points, highlighted by a Nick Olivero 3 ball and the lead grew to 15-7.

Alex Ankiewicz and Hartman traded hoops to end the first and L-P carried a 17-9 lead into the second period.

The second period saw L-P’s Seth Adams and SBA’s Kaden Newman trade four points each before Josh Senica got into the act and canned a pair of 3s to build the Cavalier advantage to 33-12.

“It was great to see some of the guys who may not get a lot of chances get in there and do well, Bobby (Baldin) and Andrew (Bollis) each got some good minutes,” said Josh Senica, who scored a game-high 14 points. “It was fun to play here against kids that I will probably get something to eat with later tonight. We hang around a lot and yeah we talk a little trash.”

L-P extended its lead to 41-16 at the half with Senica and Brendan Boudreau leading the way as the Bruins could answer with only a basket each from Jake Migliorini and Logan Potthoff.

L-P picked up where it left off in the third quarter, getting points from Senica, Olivero and Jack Jereb to build a 49-21 lead before Newman found the distance from long range.

Then the Cavalier bench started to get hot with back-to-back 3s from Cordell Wheatley and Brady Romagnoli and a layup from Bob Baldin.

But the Bruins didn’t quit as Mason Ross scored three points and Phillip Gray added two, but Baldin hit again from 12 feet and L-P led 62-29 after three quarters.

The final period started with a Gray layup and a layup from Nolan Van Duzer for L-P before Baldin drilled a 3 and added another jumper to put L-P up 69-31.

“Tonight was a lot of fun,” said Baldin, who finished with nine points. “We got to get out there and relax and play. It is a great way for some of us seniors to have cool memories about the last time we played each other and we will always have the dub. I was lucky tonight my teammates were getting me the ball and I was able to hit some shots. To see the guys who play the majority of the time over their cheering felt really good.”

Sam Bima dropped in a free toss for the Bruins and Bollis cashed in with five quick points to make the final score 73-32 in favor of the visitors from across town.

“We came out of the gates pretty well, but give them credit, they are a real good team,” St. Bede coach Brian Hanson said. “But playing a team like them does help us down the line as we get into postseason. I thought the fans and the teams had fun out there and that is good for both schools. Now we need to put that one away and move onto the next one.”

For L-P, Senica had 14 points, Jereb had 10 and Baldin chipped in nine, while the Bruins countered with seven from Husser and six from Newman. L-P also won the JV game by a final of 54-38.

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L-P's Nicholas Olivero eyes the hoop as St. Bede's Jake Miglorini and Alex Ankiewicz defend on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)