5 takeaways: Bloomington Central Catholic vs. Illinois Valley Central
Bloomington Central Catholic handled Illinois Valley Central’s best shot and pulled away in the second half to remain unbeaten in Illini Prairie Conference play. The Saints (12-4, 2-0) earned a 72-58 win over the Grey Ghosts (9-10, 0-1). BCC looks…
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Continue ReadingBloomington Central Catholic handled Illinois Valley Central’s best shot and pulled away in the second half to remain unbeaten in Illini Prairie Conference play.
The Saints (12-4, 2-0) earned a 72-58 win over the Grey Ghosts (9-10, 0-1). BCC looks to follow a third-place finish in Class 2A last season with another state run this year. It looks poised to make another deep postseason run as the Saints are ranked fourth by the Associated Press.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s game.
Game Thread
Here at the Spook House where @GreyGhosts1 opens @IlliniPrairie play against @cchsbballsaints, which is 1-0 in IP play. pic.twitter.com/YihJTp9rea
— Aaron Ferguson (@Sports_Aaron) January 16, 2019
1. How is Luke Yoder uncommitted?
Luke Yoder, Bloomington Central Catholic 2019Whoever lands Saints guard Luke Yoder (2019) is getting a two-way point guard that will make their program better. He had the best individual performance of the season that I’ve seen. He was efficient, scoring 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting with eight assists and six rebounds.
He found the angles to carve up the 3-2 zone and set up his teammates for easy buckets. Other times he thread the needle to big man Tommy Nelson (2019) and then found him with an outlet pass in transition. Defensively, he sticks in front of his man and defends without fouling.
2. Superb Ghosts sophomores have bright future.
Kamden Wollard and Holt Geltmaker are going to be four-year starters for IVC when it’s all said and done. They will lead the Ghosts as their two playmakers.
Wollard has good genes as the son Illinois baseball player Jason Wollard. His mom swam at Illinois, too. The 6-foot-4 guard was an efficient 6-for-10, scoring 15 points. He hit 2-of-4 3-point shots but he needs to work on a quicker shot release. He’s athletic at the top of a soft 1-2-2 fullcourt press that falls back into a 3-2 zone. His length creates problems and cuts off angles into the elbows.
Geltmaker struggled shooting, going 5-for-14, but improved upon a 2-for-8 first-half performance. He finished with 18 points and did a good job of getting by his defender and drawing fouls (8-for-9 at the charity stripe). He made good passes to set teammates up for good scoring opportunities. He makes good reads defensively to get steals and stay in front of his man.
3. Central Catholic’s shooting opens everything else.
The Saints were 4-for-12 from the perimeter in the first half and were even at 32 with IVC. Trusting their shot was key for other scoring opportunities, finishing 7-for-13 from 3-point range.
JT Welch (2021) continues to be impressive as a spot-up shooter. Cole Davis (2020) looked to just shoot early on but stretched his game to drive towards the paint or throw cross-court passes to open his teammates up for an assist.
Stretching the defense, even in a zone, opens up passing and driving lanes where forwards Tommy Nelson (2019) and Zach Tomerlin (2019) can get easy baskets or draw a foul with the defense out of position. This was Nelson’s night as he scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
4. IVC needs consistency throughout its rotation.
It’s easier said than done, but the Ghosts have the talent to knock off regional-caliber teams, as they proved with a 61-53 win over Peoria Richwoods. IVC struggled defensively early on but managed to stay in the game. But that went out the shoot in the second half and with it went easy opportunities on offense.
The good news is the sophomore rotation players – Micah Schultz, Logan Mercer and Peyton Feldman – showed they’re capable of playing good minutes against quality competition.
Schultz, a 5-foot-10 point guard, has good speed and cuts through the defense and plays through contact. He also crashed the offensive glass. Mercer opened the fourth quarter with a jumper and 3-pointer to cut the BCC lead to 53-48 with 6:48 left. Feldman hit both of his shots but missed both free-throw attempts. He was active defensively, denying the post and forcing a steal.
5. Weathering storms a sign of confidence.
Senior-led Central Catholic showed its experience and confidence in its ability. The first storm came when coach Jason Welch picked up a technical with 5:18 left in the first half, which was the beginning of a 7-point Ghosts run to take their first lead of the game, 28-25. It was short-lived as the Saints tied the reclaimed the lead before surrendering it at halftime.
The Saints built a 53-39 lead before IVC answered with a nine-point run over 2:09 to cut the lead to 53-48 with 6:48 left in the game. But the Saints scored the next 16 points over the next two minutes, 37 seconds.
The aforementioned technical was the first Welch picked up, he estimates, in three or four years. He picked up after demonstratively disagreeing with the official over a block/charge call that went against Yoder on a drive to the basket.
Lines of the night
Bloomington Central Catholic
Luke Yoder (2019, G, 6-0) – 34 points (13-17/5-6/3-5), 8 assists, 6 rebounds
Tommy Nelson (2019, F, 6-5) – 14 points (4-13/0-1/6-8), 12 rebounds, 3 assists
Cole Davis (2020, G, 5-11) – 10 points (4-10/2-7/0-0), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Illinois Valley Central
Kamden Wollard (2021, G, 6-4) – 15 points (6-10/2-4/1-2), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Holt Geltmaker (2021, G, 6-0) – 18 points (5-14/0-4/8-9), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Micah Schultz (2021, G, 5-10) – 6 points (2-4/0-1/2-2), 2 rebounds, 1 assist