Catholic routs Skyline to advance to Blue Division quarterfinals

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By Nolan Epstein

Springfield, MO – From start to finish, the Springfield Catholic Fightin’ Irish (6-2) played like a team on a mission on Monday – taking nothing for granted against a Skyline (4-4) squad that had hopes of a first-round upset in the Blue & Gold Tournament.

Those hopes were dashed in the opening minutes as the sixth-seeded Irish raced out to a 16-1 start and ultimately claimed stake to a loud 72-35 victory in the tournament’s Blue Division.

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Six days prior, head coach Tony Armstrong’s club suffered a 14-point loss to Marshfield, but the tribulations his team faced on that Tuesday could have very well been a blessing in disguise when it came to getting ready for a potential tournament run.

“I could see it coming,” Armstrong said following the win. “We got after [the players] hard the last two days in practice, and I mean hard. They handled it really well, so win or lose tonight, I knew we were at least much more prepared.”

Defense was at the forefront for senior-less Catholic all night long as the Irish forced four Skyline turnovers on the Tigers’ first four offensive possessions.

All told, Skyline tallied a total of ten turnovers in the opening period and couldn’t convert a shot from the field until the final minute of the quarter – helping the Irish run away with the contest early.

“Sometimes this season we’ve not played as great of defense as we should have,” Catholic sophomore Charlie O’Reilly said. “I think in these games where we really try to get at it, they give us a lot of encouragement for the future.”

The Irish had their way offensively as well, thanks in large part to ten 3-balls. Four of those 3-pointers came courtesy of O’Reilly, who collected 14 points on the night.

Catholic’s accuracy from long range was warmly welcomed by Armstrong, who had seen his group take a bit too many unwarranted shots from the beyond the arc in recent weeks.

“We’ve been shooting too many threes, but I thought tonight we didn’t take any crazy ones,” Armstrong added. “We went inside-outside a lot. When the ball goes inside and comes back out, our 3-point percentage is a lot better.”

Sophomore Jake Branham led the Irish with 15 points in the win and contributed with a trio of 3-pointers as well.

“We put a lot of work in during practice, so we just go into the game and try to let it fly,” O’Reilly said. “That’s kind of how we play.”

In the loss, Skyline junior Brant Gideon put up a game-high 17 points.

Up next for Catholic is a date with the Ava/Hartville winner tomorrow at 2 p.m. Skyline takes on the

loser of Ava/Hartville tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the consolation bracket.

Box Score

Skyline – 6 5 15 9 – 35

Catholic – 16 21 25 10 – 72

Skyline – Brant Gideon 17, Dax Beem 6, Shawn Bryan 6, Gage Gunter 2, Ethan Edwards 2, Marshall Cox 2

Catholic – Jake Branham 15, Charlie O’Reilly 14, Michael Manzardo 11, Ian Cochran 10, Brett Maes 8, Wallace Squibb 8, Will Morrison 6

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