lawrence north 81, arlington 55
Oden, Conley quiet Golden Knights
Conley has 10 steals, Oden 9 blocks as No. 1 Wildcats win 23rd straight
game
The last time Lawrence North played Arlington, Greg Oden had one of the most impressive defensive performances in Indiana high school basketball postseason history with 18 blocked shots.
In the rematch Wednesday night, his defensive numbers weren't quite as high, but he had some help.
Senior point guard Mike Conley had a career-high 10 steals and Oden blocked nine shots as the top-ranked Wildcats beat Arlington 81-55 at Lawrence North's gymnasium.
After missing one game with stitches in his mouth and a swollen jaw, the 7-foot Oden scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in 27 minutes to finish one block from a triple-double.
Conley had 11 points and seven assists to come close to a triple-double as well as the two-time defending Class 4A state champs improved to 7-0 and won their 23rd straight game.
"They add to everything they do," said coach Jack Keefer, who got his 500th victory at Lawrence North. "If Greg was just a defensive player . . . he's becoming a complete player.
"Mike's always been a complete player, but I couldn't get him to shoot enough to score, but I think we've got that solved. He's finding his spots and his times to score and still be a point guard, and that's important."
Lawrence North and Arlington (2-3) played a pair of hotly contested games last year. Arlington won 70-60 in December. But in a sectional semifinal, Oden's 18 blocked shots paved the way for a 60-45 Lawrence North win.
"They're a great team," said Oden, whose squad opened the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated. "The blocked shots? They're a driving team. They like to go inside, and when they go in, I get a lot of blocked shots."
Oden suffered a swollen jaw and six stitches after taking a blow to the face in last Thursday's 69-54 victory over Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The stitches on the outside of his mouth have been removed, but he still has some on the inside of his left jaw.
He sat out Saturday's 89-45 victory over then-4A No. 6 Fort Wayne Snider as a precaution.
"I just tried to get my breathing down because I haven't really played in a week," Oden said. "I really just tried to play at my team's level because against Fort Wayne Snider, they were at a different level."
Oden started the game with a black mouth guard, but it was knocked out on a layup early and he played the rest of the game without it.
Lawrence North opened the game in a full-court press with Oden at the point. Conley had eight of his steals in the first half and all 10 before committing his first foul with 6:08 to play in the fourth quarter and Lawrence North up 67-46.
"They were running a lot of the plays we run, and we scouted that, so I knew where the ball was going a lot of the time," Conley said. "I was fortunate to be in the right spot sometimes."
Six-foot-6 junior Cory Torrence scored 18 points to lead Arlington while all five Lawrence North starters reached double figures.
Wednesday's game attracted local television (WHMB-40), the local ESPN radio affiliate and the Chicago Tribune. Oden and company will be on a big stage again Saturday as the headline game in a 12-team shootout at Southport High School that includes a number of nationally ranked teams and players.
Lawrence North faces Proviso East from Maywood, Ill., with 6-11 center Brian Carlwell, who has signed with Illinois.
Arlington14141611--55Lawrence North24182514--81
ARLINGTON -- Smith 3-8 2-4 8, Weeden 0-4 2-2 2, Hoke 2-2 0-2 4, Torrence 6-15 6-7 18, Freeman 2-6 1-2 6, Berryhill 1-1 0-1 2, Keeylen 0-4 2-2 2, Crawford 1-2 0-0 0, Beasley 1-5 0-0 2, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Squires 4-7 0-0 9, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Brewer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-56 13-20 55.
LAWRENCE NORTH -- Owen 5-8 2-3 12, McDonald 5-9 0-0 11, Conley 5-11 1-1 11, Windham 6-10 0-0 12, Oden 11-13 1-1 23, Bibbs 0-1 3-4 3, Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Weigel 0-0 0-0 0, W. Smith 0-0 0-0, Thomas 1-2 1-2 3, Read 2-2 0-0 4, VanTreese 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 36-57 8-11 81.
3-point shooting -- Arlington 2-9 (Smith 0-2, Weeden 0-2, Keeylen 0-1, Squires 1-3, Freeman 1-1), Lawrence North 1-9 (Bibbs 0-1, Owen 0-2, McDonald 1-4, Conley 0-4). Rebounds -- Arlington 26 (Squires 4), Lawrence North 37 (Oden 12). Assists -- Arlington 14 (Smith 6), Lawrence North 23 (Conley 7). Turnovers -- Arlington 18, Lawrence North 16. Officials -- Rob Couch, Greg Bowman, Dale Gurgle.
Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.
|