Brother Martin stifles Rummel to continue dominance in series

NEW ORLEANS – The thought process in football is that defense wins championships.

In baseball, that thought is that good pitching will always stop good hitting. On the hardwood, the comparison is defense and rebounding.

Friday night, Brother Martin mastered both, putting the thought process to is fullest application as the Crusaders totally shut down Archbishop Rummel 54-36 at Conlin Gymnasium in a District 9-5A contest.

Brother Martin continued its dominance in the series, beating the Raiders for the 13th straight time and for the 33rd time in 34 games dating back to 2007.

Crusaders coach Chris Biehl was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We told the boys we’re going to be serious about competing for a district championship,” Biehl said. “We have to take care of business at home and we did that tonight. As a cohesive team as football has ended, we’ve only had six practices. We’re only going to get better.”

The Crusaders did it with stifling defense, forcing 32 Rummel turnovers. The Raiders defended well, also, forcing 27 Brother Martin turnovers but could get nothing going offensively.

Brother Martin (17-6, 2-1) also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Raiders 41-25.

It was way too much for Rummel to overcome.

Brother Martin was very strong defensively in the opening quarter, forcing 10 Rummel turnovers and the Crusaders took a 7-0 lead before the Raiders closed to within 11-7 by the end of the quarter.

It was 20-16 in the second quarter when Brother Martin pressured Rummel, forced several turnovers and converted, closing the half on an 11-0 run to take a commanding 31-16 lead at hafltime. The Raiders committed 18 turnovers in the half.

The run continued into the third quarter as Brother Martin made it a 19-0 run to take a 39-16 lead, putting the game away early. The Raiders went 9:18 without scoring before a made free throw by TJ Duhe stopped the skid. Brother Martin led 44-23 by the end of the third quarter.

Both teams went to reserves in the fourth quarter.

“We held Karr to 40 last week and tonight, we held Rummel to 36,” Biehl said. “That’s winning basketball. Sooner or later, we have to clean up turnovers. We rebounded well.”

Eli Pichon led Brother Martin with 16 points, six steals and five rebounds while Parke Dinsdale had nine points and 11 rebounds and Kevin Marinello had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.

“We had a lot of points off transition,” Pichon said. “We pride ourselves on defense. Coach Biehl always tells us defense wins championships and that’s what we practice. Getting off to good starts in both halves was important. It gave us momentum.”

Chase Marino led Rummel (14-6, 1-1) with nine points.

Both teams return to district play Saturday with Brother Martin hosting John Curtis Christian at 7 p.m. while Rummel hosts Jesuit at 6 p.m.

“You want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Biehl said. “They are coming off a state championship game appearance last year. From what I’ve seen, they are one of the best teams in the district. We’re going to lay it out there and see what we’re made of.”

FINAL
RUM 7 9 7 13 — 36
BM 11 20 23 10 — 54

Scoring:
BM—Eli Pichon 16, Parker Dinsdale 9, Kevin Marinello 9, Jake Klein 6, Nolan Huguet 6, Tony Santa Marina 4, DJ Fowler 4

RUM—Chase Marino 9, Darrius Davis 5, Ja’Mard Jones 4, Jackson Cosentino 4, Chance Joseph 3, Owen Boudoin 3, Kendrick Joseph 2, Sam Smith 2, Peyton McDonald 2, Jaidyn Martin 1, TJ Duhe 1

Area Prep Basketball Results from Friday, Jan. 13

Boys
Amite 79, Albany 45
Brother Martin 54, Archbishop Rummel 36
Catholic (BR) 62, Donaldsonville 46
Central Lafourche 54, East St. John 45
Central Private 50, Christ Episcopal 36
Destrehan 60, Terrebonne 51
French Settlement 73, Springfield 33
Hahnville 56, De La Salle 42
Hammond 54, Sarah T. Reed 41
Helen Cox 54, West Jefferson 46
Houma Christian 59, Haynes Academy 51
Jesuit 59, Holy Cross 45
John F. Kennedy 62, M.L. King Charter 44
Landry 62, John Ehret 57
Lutcher 60, Belle Chasse 59
Phoenix 63, South Plaquemines 51
Pine 64, Bogalusa 36
Riverdale 88, Grace King 54
Scotlandville 52, Carver 44
St. Augustine 65, Karr 59
St. Charles Catholic 66, Ascension Christian 29
St. Paul’s 42, Mandeville 41
West St. John 53, Rosenwald Collegiate 36
Zachary 72, McMain 50

Girls
Amite 49, Albany 48
Archbishop Hannan 62, Pearl River 49
Bogalusa 53, Pine 50
Bonnabel 61, John Ehret 18
Christ Episcopal 33, Willow School 27
De La Salle 52, Hahnville 37
Fontainebleau 46, Archbishop Chapelle 40
French Settlement 57, Springfield 42
Glen Oaks 53, St. Helena 38
Hammond 54, East Ascension 52
McGehee 43, Academy of Our Lady 19
Northshore 61, Slidell 52
Ponchatoula 52, Lafayette 42
Salmen 65, Loranger 43
St. James 44, E.D. White Catholic 33
St. Scholastica 47, Franklinton 15