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PERU - Defense and rebounding were the name of the game for St. Bede on Friday as the Bruins came away with a 56-41 victory in Tri-County Conference action at Abbott Vincent Gymnasium.
Both offenses were sluggish to start the game, but the Bruins took an early 5-0 lead behind a 3-pointer and putback from Kaden Newman.
Roanoke-Benson responded with a drive and foul by Landon Martin and then a drive and scoop from Leyton Harms, who also picked up a pair of offensive boards and a stick back at the buzzer to give the Rockets a 9-7 lead after the first eight minutes.
St.Bede immediately tied the game in the second on an out of bounds play as Carson Riva hit a short bank shot.
Roanoke-Benson’s Jackson Beer muscled his way to the hoop as the Rockets went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 14-9 advantage.
The Bruins responded with a 5-0 run of their own as Newman side stepped a defender and hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 14.
“I thought in the second quarter we started playing better defense and allowing just one shot and causing turnovers,” Bruins coach Brian Hanson said. “Kaden Newman got a fresh haircut before the game and came out and hit some 3-pointers so I have to give some credit to the barber for helping us out with that.”
Jack Leman briefly gave the Rockets the lead with a fast break layup off a Bruins turnover, but St. Bede regained the lead with a Gino Ferrari long-range shot.
Roanoke-Benson took an 18-17 lead with a bunny shot from Leman, but that’s the last time the Rockets held the lead.
Newman drained the shot behind the arc and then Phillip Gray hit the turnaround shot to give the Bruins a 22-18 lead at the break.
“Early on when we were getting the ball into Leyton Harms we were playing well,” Roanoke-Benson coach Phil Oloffson said. “But then we stopped. I mean our guards were staring at him and just not throwing it into him and when we don’t get the ball to our best player, that’s not good. Give St. Bede credit. They were killing us on the boards and causing turnovers, but we didn’t play well either.”
Newman started the second half off with an up and under move and then Ferrari got a steal and layup to push the Bruins' lead to 28-19.
The St. Bede defense continued to shut down the Rockets offense and control the boards (37-23) and then Halden Hueneburg converted a fast break layup to cap off a 13-2 St. Bede run for a 30-20 lead.
Harms got another tough up and under to fall, but St. Bede responded with a pump fake and jumper from Riva for a 34-24 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The Rockets came out strong to start the fourth though as Leman drove and converted a layup before a St. Bede turnover led to a Jackson Beer fast break layup that cut the lead to 34-30.
After a Bruin timeout, St.Bede regained its composure and immediately got a putback from Jake Migliorini, who finished with seven boards on the night.
Moments later, Mason Ross used a spin move in the lane for a basket and then Ferrari followed with a strong move in the lane for a bucket as the lead grew to 40-31.
“I wish I could take credit for how the kids responded after the timeout,” Hanson said. “In the past we may have crumbled when Roanoke-Benson responded like they did, but we came back out and moved the ball well and got some good looks and built that lead back up near double figures. Shows how far the kids have come. I’m really proud of them.”
With St. Bede leading 42-34, Kaden Nauman hit a layup on a drive and then picked up a steal and bucket to push the lead to 46-34.
For the Bruins, Ferrari led all scorers with 15 points, while Newman added 11 and Nauman eight. Harms led Roanoke-Benson with 12 points before fouling out.