“You go into your Christmas tournament with a win and a winning record … it’s good,” Fenwick coach Pat Kreke said. “For a nonleague game, that was a big game for us.”
The triumph came with some flair. Tied 35-35 after three quarters, the Falcons ran off 15 consecutive points to win going away.
Paul Blodgett scored all 12 of his points in the second half and C.J. Hurley scored all six of his points in the fourth period for Fenwick, which absorbed a 58-53 Greater Catholic League Coed Division loss at McNicholas on Friday night.
“It’s all about bouncing back,” said Blodgett, a senior guard. “Once we realize it needs to be done on the defensive end, that transitions to our offense and we have a better flow of the game. It’s just a matter of knocking down shots and having pride on defense, and this team has a lot of heart.”
Kreke admitted he wasn’t sure how his team would respond after Friday’s setback.
“How do you come back after a tough league loss? Do you come back over here and put your tail between your legs?” he said. “I was glad the kids didn’t do that. That’s character. We’ve got good senior leadership, and that makes a difference.
“I thought we would play very well down the stretch with a lot of confidence, but 15-2 in the fourth quarter, that’s a fantastic run. Every coach in the world wants to finish a game like that.”
C.J. Napier, who paced the Falcons with 13 points, started the fourth-quarter binge with two free throws in the opening 27 seconds. Blodgett and Hurley followed with layups off steals, and Hurley’s three-point play made it 44-35.
The Warriors (1-3) responded poorly. They avoided getting blanked over the final eight minutes when Luke Arnold scored with 1:19 left. That finalized the scoreboard at 50-37.
“Simply put, they just wanted it more,” Lebanon coach Kevin Higgins said. “There’s really no secret to it. They’re good, they’re well coached, and they outplayed us in every facet. Obviously we’re struggling right now, and that’s all on us as a coaching staff. We’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys to do the right things.”
Lebanon rallied from an early 11-point deficit and took the lead twice (33-32 and 35-34) in the third period. Higgins knew his team still had a shot going into the last quarter.
“We kept telling them, ‘Let’s try to grind one out,’ ” he said. “We didn’t think we were playing particularly well, but we were in it and had an opportunity, and we folded. We just folded. I think we came out and committed four straight turnovers at the beginning of the fourth quarter. We didn’t respond at all.”
Parker Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds for Lebanon, while Dakota Allen contributed eight points and six boards. The Warriors shot 30.2 percent from the field and committed 15 turnovers.
John Engelmeier marked all 11 of his points in the first seven minutes for the Falcons. Napier grabbed seven rebounds and Engelmeier hauled in six.
Fenwick won the overall rebounding battle 29-24, but watched Lebanon snag six offensive boards in the first half.
“It felt like they had a dozen,” Kreke said. “It seemed like every shot they missed, they got an offensive rebound. As small as we are, we cannot afford to give that up. We have to do a better job of boxing out and getting people on our back. We did that at McNick last night. It didn’t help us because we didn’t play very good defense, but at least we boxed out and rebounded, and McNick’s got some decent size.
“Consistency has been a problem for us all year long, and not just the offense. It’s the inconsistency of the little things in the game. We have to keep getting better.”
Blodgett was frustrated by his scoreless effort in the first half against the Warriors, but didn’t let it weigh on him after intermission. He sank two foul shots and a 3-pointer in a span of 25 seconds early in the third period.
“I told him, ‘You’re a shooter. So if you’re out there and you pass shots up, I’ll put you on the bench because there’s no reason for it,’ ” Kreke said.
“It’s nice to have his confidence,” Blodgett said. “I just need to find a rhythm. Once I hit those two free throws, I found it. It was just a matter of knocking down shots after that.”
Lebanon will resume Greater Western Ohio Conference National West Division play at home against Springboro on Tuesday.
Fenwick’s three-day Florida tournament begins Dec. 28 with a 4:30 p.m. contest against Apopka (Fla.).
Fenwick 19-6-10-15—50
Lebanon 12-9-14-2—37
FENWICK (3-2): Paul Blodgett 4 2 12, C.J. Hurley 2 2 6, C.J. Napier 3 7 13, David Luers 1 2 4, John Engelmeier 4 1 11, Luke Bradshaw 2 0 4. Totals: 16-14-50
LEBANON (1-3): Dakota Allen 3 1 8, Sammy Stotts 1 0 3, Drew Sekerak 2 0 4, Zach Huffman 0 1 1, Sam Abbott 1 0 3, Parker Smith 4 4 12, Luke Arnold 1 0 2, James Wilson 1 2 4. Totals: 13-8-37
3-pointers: F 4 (Blodgett 2, Engelmeier 2), L 3 (Allen, Stotts, Abbott)
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