Cardinal Newman rebounds with rout of Ben Lippen
Cardinal Newman boys basketball coach Branden Conrad was looking for his team to respond after losses to Hammond and Heathwood Hall.
Consider the challenge answered. The Cardinals responded in a big way with Christiaan Jones scoring 20 points to pace four players in double figures in a dominating 77-57 victory over Ben Lippen on Tuesday.
“We played a very tough pre-region schedule, which we did on purpose to set us up for this,” Conrad said. “We lost two tough games to great opponents, so we concentrated all week on starting over. This begins the second half of region and we still control our own destiny, and that’s all you can ask for.”
The impressive showing by Cardinal Newman (13-11, 3-2) started offensively and carried over to the defensive end. The Cardinals trailed 13-11 after the first quarter, but couldn’t miss for nearly two full quarters.
A 15-4 run gave them the lead for good, and by the time the lead reached 13 points on a Jones dunk in the middle of the third quarter, the Cardinals had made 17-of-22 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.
“I thought, more than anything, we executed our plays,” Conrad said. “We’ve struggled with that and made it a point of emphasis this week. We had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, so I thought the guys shared the ball great. We wanted to pound the ball inside from the get go.”
Jones, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, scored nine points in the first half and 11 in the second, but he wasn’t the only one doing damage. Brandon Martin added 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Chico Carter, Jr. came off the bench to score 15 points, nine during the first half.
Jamal Williams added 10 points and four assists, while Daniel Dunlap contributed four assists.
Conrad was sort of expecting this outing from Martin. The son of USC basketball coach Frank Martin had a great practice on Monday, and it carried over to the game.
“Brandon had a phenomenal practice (Monday) and that showed tonight,” Conrad said. “We attacked the offensive glass and went to work in the paint and Brandon was a big part of that.”
Martin knew the team had to refocus after the consecutive region losses.
“We knew we had to get more reps after we had the big loss against Heathwood,” Martin said. “Coach got us back in the mentality of playing harder, playing stronger and coming out with more effort so we did that in practice and came out and gave it our all.”
Ben Lippen (13-4, 3-3) stayed close in the first half thanks to the effort of Caleb Burnett. The senior scored 12 of his 16 points in the opening two quarters, but couldn’t find a way to get free in the second half for the same looks.
Cardinal Newman scored six quick points out of halftime, and once the lead reached double digits it was never less than nine points the rest of the way.
Martin believes this is the start of a closing run that includes three regular season games remaining.
“We passed the ball really well and played as a team,” he said. “We had a few seniors on our team and we had to play our hearts out for them. We’re looking to make a run now going toward the playoffs.”
BL: Caleb Burnett 16, Ryan McCray 15, Hester 8, Thompson 7, Moore 6, Oelhafen 5. CN: Christiaan Jones 20, Chico Carter, Jr. 15, Brandon Martin 13, Jamal Williams 10, Andrews 5, Dunlap 4, R. Williams 4, Gatling 3, O'Connor 2, S. Williams 1.
Girls
Ben Lippen 44, Cardinal Newman 35
Ashley Williamson scored 13 points and Lora Carter added 10 to help the Falcons keep pace in the Region 1-3A standings.
Ben Lippen (9-6, 5-1) remains a game behind Hammond but still has to play the Skyhawks a second time in one of the two remaining regular season games.
Mary Emma Dayhuff scored 11 points to pace Cardinal Newman (5-16, 2-3).
BL: Ashley Williamson 13, Lora Cater 10, Trawick 9, Montgomery 8, Reasons 2, Sniffin 2. CN: Mary Emma Dayhuff 11, Meyers 8, Hill 4, McGovern 3, Maddock 3, Coates 2, Aufuldish 2, Bacon 2.
This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 11:05 PM.