Published: March 07, 2009 11:49 pm      

HOOPS: Strong start powers Devils to title

No. 1 Tipton beats Guerin Catholic for sectional crown

TIPTON — The Class 2A Sectional 40 championship game pitted offensive-minded Guerin Catholic against defensive-oriented Tipton. The Golden Eagles’ average of 74.3 points per game through Friday ranked sixth in the state regardless of class while the Blue Devils’ defensive average of 38.6 ppg ranked third.

Tipton offered a reminder that defense wins championships.

The Blue Devils pitched an 11-0 shutout in the first quarter and went on to claim a 61-44 win Saturday night on their home court.

“Our guys played so hard and played really smart,” Tipton coach Travis Daugherty said. “There are so many things that Guerin does well that you have to take away in order to have a chance to play well. Our guys did a great job of executing the gameplan and just didn’t give Guerin anything easy all night.”

The Eagles’ 44 points marked their season low. They missed their first 16 shots from the field and never warmed up. They finished 8 of 38 from the field — a frigid 21 percent.

“I thought we played tentative and [the Devils] can do that to you — they play very physical and they’re very strong,” Guerin coach Pete Smith said. “[Greg] Dickey makes their defense go with his ball pressure. Bradley [Yust] doesn’t see very much ball pressure like that. That was one of the toughest nights he’s had all season, and that’s a credit to Dickey.”

Tipton held sectional opponents Oak Hill, Eastern and Guerin to 22 percent shooting to claim its third sectional title of the class era and 20th overall.

“Coach always talks about defense first — if we can stop them on defense, then we’ll score and we’ll grind them down,” senior forward Kyle Coleman said.

No. 1-ranked Tipton (23-2) advances to face No. 2 Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (19-4) in a regional semifinal game next Saturday at Tipton. Last season, Luers beat Tipton 74-62 in the regional on its way to the 2A state championship.

“I don’t want to overlook how important winning a sectional is because it’s [tough to accomplish] and there are so many teams that would love to be doing it. But at the same time, I know our guys have been excited about an opportunity to play Luers again,” Daugherty said. “I know we’ll have a great week of practice and I’m sure we’ll be as ready as we can be next Saturday.”

Against Guerin (16-8), Dickey hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the game and Tipton went inside to Derek Elston and Coleman over the remainder of the opening quarter to build an 11-0 lead. The Devils hit 5 of 11 shots in the quarter while the Eagles misfired on all 11 of their attempts.

“We missed [some] pretty good shots. I think we started hanging our heads a little bit and they started sniffing blood like a bloodhound because they got away with giving up a few layups that we didn’t hit,” Smith said.

Elston and Seth Jacobs scored post baskets early in the second quarter to extend the Devils’ lead to 15-0. The Eagles took advantage of repeated trips to the free throw line to fuel a 12-2 run and they later closed to within four, 23-19, with 1:10 left in the half. Elston closed the half with a wing jumper to push the Devils’ lead to six.

The Devils delivered the knockout blow over the first two minutes of the third quarter. They scored on their first four possessions, the Eagles committed turnovers on their first three possessions and just like that, the Devils led 36-19.

“That was a really good couple of minutes. That’s the kind of execution that you need against a team this good,” Daugherty said.

Guerin came no closer than 10 the rest of the way. Tipton led 47-34 after three quarters and used a 9-2 run over the first half of the final stanza to build a 56-36 advantage.

Elston finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots to lead the winners. Coleman backed him with 16 points and five boards.

“We knew we had a big advantage inside since their tallest guy was 6-4,” Coleman said. “Derek and I have been playing together since third grade, so we know how to pass to each other and everything. It’s good.”

Also for the Devils, Jake Hoffman had eight points off the bench and Dickey had seven points.

Ryan Nowicki led the Eagles with 21 points. He made 17 of 18 free throws to make up for a cold night from the field.