The Battle of the Bishops is always a fierce rivalry in any sport, and
Friday night the two catholic schools in
Fort Wayne met on the city's south side to settle things on the hardwood.
The first quarter was all Luers, as freshman
Sydney Curry had his way on the interior, punishing Dwenger defenders with his strength and aggressiveness. If it wasn't Curry in the halfcourt, it was the pressure of Luers defenders creating turnovers or missed shots that would lead to runouts and easy buckets for the Knights. Dwenger would not help their cause either, missing five of six free throws in the quarter.
The domination would continue in the second quarter, sparked by Curry and point guard
JJ Foster. The duo were able to affect the game on both ends, and pushed the Luers lead to 20 points. Dwenger was able to start knocking down shots, led by senior guard Sam Royal. However, the Saints could not string together stop and Luers led at the half by 17.
Campbell Donovan and
JJ Foster would trade buckets during the third, as the two junior guards were able to get clean looks from the perimeter. Dwenger was finally able to solve the Luers press, but on the other end Jordan Banks would answer each time the Saints would score.
At the start of the fourth, Dwenger would make their run. They started the quarter on a 9-0 spurt capped by a Amaun Clark pull up three and then a steal and breakaway layup by Clark to cut the Knights lead to six. Foster was able to thread a needle to Banks for a layup to stem the tide for Luers. Each time Dwenger scored to cut the deficit, Luers would answer. After
JJ Foster missed a pair at the stripe, Dwenger would push and get a Zach McKenna three with just under 40 seconds left to make it a five point game. That was as close as the Saints would get, and their comeback would fall short as Luers held on for a eight point victory.
Bishop Dwenger 3 19 13 26 - 61
Bishop Luers 17 22 11 19 - 69
Bishop Dwenger: Sam Royal 16 pts (7/16 FGs); Campbell Donovan 15 pts (5/7 FGs, 3/4 3Ps), 4 asts; Amaun Clark 15 pts (4/8 FGs, 6/10 FTs), David O'Daniel 7 pts; Conlan Martin 4 pts; Zach McKenna 3 pts; Austin Burns 1 pt
Bishop Luers:
JJ Foster 23 pts (5/10 FGs, 4/6 3Ps, 9/12 FTs), 7 asts;
Sydney Curry 18 pts (6/7 FGs, 5/5 FTs), 6 rbs; Jordan Banks 13 pts (6/9 FGs);
Ray Walker 6 pts, 6 rbs; Blaine Cook 6 pts; Jason Davis 3 pts