Lutheran coach Devin Smith said the biggest barrier for his team lately is shooting.
“We just haven’t been shooting the ball very well lately,” Smith said. “I’m not sure how we keep winning.”
The answer is good defense. That’s what worked for the Crusaders in overtime Thursday at Rockford Christian.
Lutheran beat the Royals 56-50 by forcing three Rockford Christian turnovers and holding its 6-foot-8 center scoreless in the extra period. The nonconference game will have postseason seeding implications, as the teams will likely compete in the same Class 2A regional next month.
After Royals center Drew Anderson pumped in 17 points in regulation, Lutheran’s defense held the sophomore scoreless in overtime. It was Anderson’s first game returning from a monthlong ankle injury.
“Defense is obviously what’s been keeping us in games and keeping us close,” said Smith, whose team forced 19 Rockford Christian turnovers in regulation.
“We just kept switching guys up on him, between (Andrew) Wieting, (Jacob) Koehler and (Jordan) Countryman. We just kept playing (Anderson) physical. We knew he just got back from sitting out for three weeks, so I think with three different guys leaning on him it wore him out.”
Lutheran (11-4) jumped out to an 11-7 lead after the first quarter and led by as much as eight points, 16-8, on Eric Widstrom’s 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the first half.
But the Royals (8-2) finished the second quarter with a 13-4 run and led 21-20 at halftime.
The lead bounced back and forth in the second half with neither team making more than a 6-0 run. The score was tied 45-45 after four quarters. Lutheran shut down Rockford Christian in the post and got seven overtime points from Taylor Dixon. The Royals had three starters foul out and sent Lutheran to the line for 43 tries compared with their 21.
“Experience plays a big part at any level,” said Rockford Christian coach Cedric Jones, who has five sophomores and four freshmen. “If you’re a young team playing a senior-oriented team in a close game, nine times out of 10 that senior-oriented team will find a way to pull things out.”
Widstrom (16), Nathan Green (14) and Dixon (10) led Lutheran in scoring. Brayden Teuscher finished with 19 points for the Royals, and Drew Anderson added 11 rebounds to his 17 points.
-Emily Tropp, rrstar.com
