By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
ROSENDALE - The only person on the North Andrew boys' basketball team who had played in a district title game on the Cardinals' home floor prior to Thursday was head coach Wade Bryson.
You can say it had been a little while.
"I was telling the boys all week," Bryson says, "that I was the only one on this whole team who's played in a district championship here at North Andrew. It's been awhile since we hosted one here, and you saw the magic tonight, man."
North Andrew (20-8) took advantage of the rare opportunity, outlasting No. 1 seed Bishop LeBlond, 47-45, on Thursday night at North Andrew High School in front of a capacity crowd.
Student sections. Cheerleaders. Trash talk. The whole shebang. It had been awhile since players and fans experienced that. It felt a little more like normal. Like homecourt advantage.
"When this place gets packed, it's a special place to be," Bryson said, "and our crowd was huge for us and helped give us a little push to get the win."
The Cardinals raced out to a 7-0 lead to start the game before LeBlond stormed back and got to within 9-7. A big three-pointer by junior Owen Graham just moments before the buzzer put North Andrew ahead 14-9.
It was the only three the Cardinals would make all night, as Graham scored seven of his 10 points in the first quarter. It also happened to be his birthday Thursday.
"It feels great," Graham said. "The best birthday present you can ask for. So, feels good."
Bishop LeBlond (16-11), who finishes with its first winning season in six years, took its first lead midway through the second when sophomore Jake Korell buried a three, putting the Eagles ahead 17-16.
The lead changed hands four times in the second quarter, as the Cardinals took a 28-24 lead into the locker room, having scored 20 of their first half points in the paint.
The third quarter saw North Andrew's lead grow to as many as eight points, as seniors Brewer Wheeler and Tanner McDaniel each made bigtime layups in that period.
LeBlond wasn't done, however, answering with an 11-5 run in the fourth quarter to pull within 46-45 with just over a minute left.
A flurry of North Andrew turnovers and missed jump shots helped the Eagles stay in it, but on the sideline, Bryson was doing all he could to get his guys to stay in the right mindset.
"We knew (LeBlond) would make a run at some point," Bryson said. "When they did, it was our job to hit the reset button, calm down, go out and make a play one play at a time."
The score remained 46-45 for a little while, as LeBlond held the ball and took a couple of fouls from North Andrew, but not enough to get in the bonus.
With 13.5 remaining, the Eagles had the ball in the half court with a chance to win it, but just a few seconds after the timeout, the ball was loose on the floor, and North Andrew won a jump ball.
"I saw Brewer (Wheeler) and Tanner (McDaniel) go up for the ball, and I saw a tipped ball, so I started going for it, too," Graham said. "Then, I saw Brewer fall on the ball, and I knew then that we had a lot better chance to win."
LeBlond's Andrew Gardner fouled North Andrew sophomore Hayden Ecker as quickly as possible, sending him to the line for a one-and-one with just over five seconds left.
Ecker made the first, but missed the second. The Eagles rebounded and had enough time to push the ball down the floor and have a look at a tying shot.
Junior Chris Guldan, who led LeBlond with 13 points, had the best look just a few feet away, but the shot fell short and North Andrew held on, avenging a 63-55 overtime loss to the Eagles in the LeBlond Holiday Tournament back in December.
LeBlond also snuck by North Andrew in the 2019 LeBlond tournament, 55-53, as well.
"I was just thinking, 'third time's a charm,'" Bryson said. "Last year, they beat us at the buzzer. This year, they tied it at the buzzer and beat us in overtime. All I was thinking there was, 'Hey. Third time's a charm. This is the time where we get it done and we find a way to secure the loose ball, and I couldn't be prouder of the guys right now."
North Andrew, who won its first district title since 2018, advances to the sectional playoffs, which start Mar. 2. The Cardinals will face Mid-Buchanan (21-5) at 6 p.m. at a site to be determined.
North Andrew 47 - 14, 10, 13, 6
Bishop LeBlond 45 - 9, 15, 9, 12
North Andrew scorers - Tanner McDaniel - 14, Brewer Wheeler - 12, Owen Graham - 10, Clayton Linville - 6, Keaton Hannah - 4, Hayden Ecker - 1
Bishop LeBlond scorers - Chris Guldan - 13, Jake Korell - 10, Jeffrey Johnston - 9, Isaac Ferguson - 5, Noah Eidmann - 3, Landon Gardner - 3, Hayden Cross - 2
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