North Judson 2A Regional: Bishop Noll 58, Marquette Catholic 55

There were no secrets when Bishop Noll and Marquette Catholic played in the North Judson Regional on Saturday morning. The two schools are conference rivals. Noll won the regular season meeting 60-50. Marquette was looking to make it to the semi-state for the third year in a row.

Early in the game, Marquette moved the ball well against Noll's zone. The Blazers had four assists in the opening quarter. The ball movement led to easy looks inside for Caleb Carnes. Carnes had four points in the opening minutes. Later in the quarter, Carnes turned into a passer in the middle of the zone. He picked up a couple of assists in that role.

After not getting any clean looks in the first quarter, Bishop Noll was able to get to the basket and score through contact in the second. Noll was led by leading scorer Roman Penn. He was 1-4 from the field in the first quarter. Penn bounced back for a strong second period with seven points on 3-3 shooting. His aggressiveness helped Noll pick up the pace.

Marquette regained control of the game in the third quarter behind Carnes in the post. He scored seven points to swing the momentum back into the Blazers favor. At one point in the period, Marquette held a seven point advantage. Noll fought back to be down just one point heading to the final quarter.

Noll jumped out to a three-point lead in the fourth quarter. Marquette went back to the well that was Caleb Carnes. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. That started the exchange of the lead that continued throughout the fourth quarter.

There was big play after play down the stretch. Carnes would score inside then Noll would answer back with Kodi Greenwell or Roman Penn. Greenwell scored seven of his 18 points in the final quarter. The lead was changing hands on each possession from the four-minute mark on.

With the game tied and one minute to go, Noll held for the final shot of the game. It was Kodi Greenwell with the ball in his hands when Bishop Noll needed a play. Marquette covered Roman Penn well on the possession. It led to Greenwell going one on one. He was able to get to the paint before getting fouled on his attempt. He made one of two free throws to push Noll ahead, 56-55.

“They (Marquette) did a great job defending it,” said Noll head coach Josh Belluomini. “That was our third option off of that play. They did a great job of switching on the screens and blowing the play up. Luckily, we had a senior who had the ball in his hands.”

Greenwell missed the second free throw, but Marquette was unable to grab the ball and it caromed out of bounds with just 3.5 seconds remaining. Penn was fouled after Noll inbounded the ball. He made both free throws.

Marquette was able to get a 50-foot shot off before the buzzer, but it didn't make it to the basket.

Bishop Noll advanced to the North Judson 2A Regional final by the score of 58-55. Roman Penn finished with a team-high 22 points. Kodi Greenwell added 18 points in the winning effort. Caleb Carnes had a game-high 25 points for Marquette. Michael Langston contributed 11 points for the Blazers.

Noll will play Fort Wayne Canterbury in the final.

Marquette – Colin Kenney 8 points (3-9 FG, 1-8 3FG), 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers; Cameron Hall 5 points (2-4FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-2 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 assists; Michael Langston 11 points (4-7FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 turnover; Jonathan Andershock 6 points (3-4 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 1 assist; Caleb Carnes 25 points (11-13FG, 3-6 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers.

Hammond Bishop Noll – Kodi Greenwell 18 points (3-9 FG, 12-16 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 turnover; Corey Landers 3 points (1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block; Roman Penn 22 points (6-15FG, 1-6 3FG, 9-11 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 block; Danny Wieklenski 2 points; Akil McClain 9 points (3-12FG, 2-8 3FG, 1-2 FT), 2 rebounds; Brent McKnight 4 points, 3 rebounds