Morton comes up short against Central Catholic
JUSTIN PHELPS
MORTON – The Morton boys basketball team saw the top of the mountain it was climbing Tuesday in its nonconference game against Bloomington Central Catholic.
But the Potters couldn’t reach the top after cutting a 14-point lead to two early in the fourth quarter in a 56-50 loss to the Saints at the Potterdome.
Trailing 44-31 to start the fourth, Morton (9-7) had three straight three-point plays, including a scoop layup by junior Lance Dietz, who added the free throw and finished with 12 points.
“It was too late,” Morton coach Steve Schupp said. “It was a great effort, but we let ourselves down with a couple late free throws which is uncharacteristic of us.”
After Morton senior Tyler Headean made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 44-42 with five minutes left, the Potters went 1- for-3 from the line while down by four points.
Potters post players combined for 30 points, including 12 apiece by Headean and Ben Smidt. Smidt also had nine rebounds.
On the other end of the floor, the Saints made 8 of 10 free throws in the final quarter to preserve the win.
“We lost our concentration and our focus for about a three-minute stretch there,” first-year BCC coach Jeff Wulbrun said. “And it was because of Morton’s defense.”
Morton forced 15 turnovers, including four in the first four minutes of the fourth.
BCC (10-5) built its lead in the first half with Jeremy Daniels’ 3- point shooting.
The senior scored BCC’s first nine points on 3s – six in a 30- second span after he made a steal for one of Morton’s 18 turnovers.
“Their early scoring was a big factor,” Schupp said. “It let them get some breathing room early and left us chasing.”
Daniels finished with 12 points and Raymond Lello had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Saints.
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