February 3, 2022
Chat with Coach Biehl #5
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
"The Crusaders’ last two victories on the hardwood have been barnburners that went down to the final seconds. Fortunately, the Crusaders emerged triumphant in both, 41-39 over Jesuit at Brother Martin and 57-56 at Shaw. That gives Martin four straight wins to run their district record to 5-3.
Both victories avenged excruciating last seconds defeats to the Blue Jays and Eagles. In the first-round games, “we did not make plays at the end,” says Coach Chris Biehl. “But these last two, we did make plays. At this point, we’ve had more experience with one-possession games than in a lifetime. These last two games were really two separate games because, in the Jesuit game, we had control of the game but did some things that I would like to think we could have done better at the end. We did a really good job of holding on for the win. We knocked down a couple of shots, and I loved the way we played defense on the last possession.
“This week, Shaw was in control the whole game. Clayton Lonardo, Ray Lotten, Jayden George were out for the whole game, Jace Patin got hurt during the game, and Marvin Jones played despite being under the weather. So we had to count on other boys to step up. DJ Fowler played excellently, and Parker Dinsdale played the best game of his career. Parker had to guard a guy two inches taller and about 100 pounds heavier than him. But he held his own and battled. Corey Skillman played one of his best games. Our two seniors (Jace and Marvin) really stepped up and showed good leadership. It was nice to be on the other end and come back from a deficit in the last minute to take each game.
“You want to grow from those experiences (losing in the last minute), learn from them, and not repeat the same mistakes. It wasn’t perfect, but I saw it especially last night. We did a great job of executing on offense and defense in the last couple of minutes.
“Against Jesuit, I didn’t like the way we handled the ball on some of our possessions, but defensively I liked the way our boys stepped up on Jesuit’s last possession and made sure they didn’t get a good look off of what I thought was a really good out of bounds play. We changed our defense to something we haven’t run a lot. Jesuit drew up a perfect play, but our kids executed it perfectly. Everyone was covered up. We earned that win.
“I thought Clayton Lonardo made a difference in the Jesuit game, and I hated to see him go down with a high ankle sprain. Our doctors tell me it will be a matter of weeks before he’s better. We want to be close to 100% when we get to the playoffs. Clayton brings a level of physicality we lack, and it’s contagious.”
The five players on the court for the last offensive and defensive possessions against Shaw were sophomores Parker Dinsdale and Jordan West, junior DJ Fowler, and seniors Marvin Jones and Jace Patin.
“DJ sank two free throws to put us ahead by one with 16 seconds left. Then Shaw came down, and Jones fouled their player with four seconds left. But he missed the first of a one-and-one, and there was a scramble for the rebound. Parker Dinsdale dove across the floor and got on top of the ball, and they called a jump ball. Shaw had the possession arrow with 0.1 second left–not enough time to get a shot off.
“Last night, kids who haven’t had a lot of minutes had to play significant minutes. You’re never sure when they haven’t played in a while how they’re going to respond. Nick Edler was solid as a rock and didn’t try to do too much. He is one of the unsung heroes of last night’s win. He’s been battling injuries since day one of the season. He’s never been 100%. He played really well last night though it doesn’t show up in the box score.”
The Crusaders now prepare for St. Augustine in our gym Friday night. The Purple Knights, 8-20 overall, have won three district games over Brother Martin, Holy Cross, and Rummel.
“They’ve got our number. We’ve beaten Shaw 23 of the last 26 games and are 32 of 36 against Rummel. Certain schools just do well against another school. I can’t put my finger on why, but we’ve struggled with them.
“Our first-round game against St. Aug. was one of our worst games, which is a credit to what they did. They did some things, and we didn’t respond well. Our shot selection was abysmally bad. I like to think we’re much better today, and we’re playing good team ball. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror and come out and play the type of basketball we’re capable of playing.”
The Purple Knights are “tall and long. They match our athleticism. They like playing slow. We tend to play a little bit faster. They walk it up the floor. They certainly controlled the tempo of the first game, and we didn’t get into any flow. That’s on me. We’ve got to do a better job Friday night.”
The good news is that 6’6” junior forward Ray Lotten should be back for the game after sitting out the last nine days. “He’s still a little ginger on his foot, but it’s nice to have him out there. He’s a factor. The game he played at Rummel was phenomenal. He scored only two points, but what he did defensively made me so proud of him. He’s athletic. He can leap. He’s the best shot-blocker I’ve coached in high school in many years. He’s just getting better and better. From where he was six months ago to now is night and day. Next year, he can be one of the best players in this area.”
Let’s pack the Conlin Gym Friday night, Crusaders, to see the Crimson and Gold continue their second-round payback tour."
