Cathedral Pulls Away to Defeat Princeton 75-50 in Holiday Hardwood Classic
CINCINNATI, OH – The Indianapolis Cathedral Leprechauns used a strong second half to pull away from the Princeton Vikings, securing a 75-50 win in their matchup at the Cintas Center as part of the Holiday Hardwood Classic.
Princeton came out firing, with A’mire Gill scoring five straight points to give the Vikings an early lead, forcing Cathedral to call a timeout. The Leprechauns responded quickly, with Aidan Hughes earning an and-one to give Cathedral their first lead at 9-7. A layup from Lebron Gough soon followed, and by the end of the first quarter, Cathedral led 16-15 in a tightly contested start.
Princeton faced a tough blow late in the first half when leading scorer Rognny Santiago-Lugo was forced to leave the game due to a facial injury. Santiago-Lugo, who had been a key offensive contributor, did not return for the remainder of the game. This left Princeton without their main scoring option as they headed into the break.
Cathedral capitalized on this shift in momentum, with Deric Cannady and Julien Smith hitting key three-pointers in the second quarter to extend their lead to 33-24. They took a 36-27 lead into halftime, with Princeton struggling to find their rhythm in the absence of Santiago-Lugo.
The third quarter was all Cathedral as they used a 21-10 run to push their advantage to 57-37 by the end of the frame. Princeton couldn’t get anything going offensively, while Cathedral’s balanced attack overwhelmed them on both ends of the floor.
In the fourth, Cathedral continued to control the game, cruising to a 75-50 victory. Julien Smith was named the Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Player of the Game for his impressive performance, scoring 17 points and contributing to the offensive surge in the second half.
Cathedral improves to 7-2 on the season with the victory, while Princeton falls to 4-3. Despite the loss, Princeton will look to regroup after the injury to Santiago-Lugo and continue to battle in their upcoming games.
Cathedral’s next challenge will be to maintain their momentum as they head into the heart of their schedule, while Princeton hopes to bounce back and stay competitive in their next matchup.
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