Kurth's shot lifts Penn

BOYS

JAKE BROWN
Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA — If ever there was a moment for which a senior point guard was made, it unfolded at the end of the Penn boys basketball team's 50-48 win over Andrean on Saturday.

"There were a lot of big plays made by both teams," Penn coach Al Rhodes said. "We were chasing them most of the fourth quarter and every time we'd catch them they would hit some big shot and take a two or three-point lead. We kept battling and I'm just very pleased that we were
able to win the game."

As it turned out, no play would be bigger than the one by Penn senior guard Tommy Kurth in the game's waning seconds.

With just 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Andrean guard John Morgan hit a 3-pointer to put the 59ers ahead 48-45.

A couple possessions and a couple free throws by Penn's Alex Hendershot later, the Kingsmen found themselves with the ball down by one.

They had possession with less than 10 seconds to go before losing the ball momentarily. In the scramble, an Andrean player had to save the
ball from going out of bounds, at which point it went right into the waiting hands of Kurth.

With five seconds left, Kurth stepped into a 3-pointer and drained it for the win.

Andrean (7-8) pushed the ball up the court but couldn't get the potential game-tying shot off before the buzzer.

"That whole possession," Kurth said, "everybody was making plays. I just ended up with the last shot and it ended up going in. We got the win."

In getting to that point, Penn (7-8) built a lead as big as 11 over the first two quarters.

Late in the second quarter, a 12-2 run put the Kingsmen up 27-16 before Andrean came marching

The 59ers scored eight straight points to end the first half and cut the deficit to 27-24, then got back-to-back buckets from Morgan to open the third quarter and take a one-point lead.

A back-and-forth third quarter ended tied 35-35.

Andrean led by three points three times in the fourth quarter, including inside the final minute on Morgan's 3-pointer, before Kurth's game-winning shot.

"I give credit to Penn for continuing to battle," Andrean coach Carson Cunningham said. "But I'm proud of (my) team. They just played awesome."

ANDREAN (48): Grant Cooper 1 0-0 2, Sean Crary 0 0-0 0, Brad Kalina 6 0-0 15, John Klyczek 0 0-0 0, Joe Magura 0 0-0 0, Connor McKernin 0 0-0 0, John Morgan 6 1-1 15, Pete Nicksic 5 3-4 13, Matt Page 0 0-0 0, Terrance Swayne 0 0-0 0, Mike Talian 0 0-0 0, Luke Torok 1 0-0 3, Ryan Wojcik 0 0-0 0, . TOTALS: 19 4-5 48.

PENN (50): Allan Barnes 0 0-0 0, Jordan Brady 1 0-0 2, Sam Burden 0 0-0 0, Chris Chaffee 2 4-5 9, Alex Hendershot 1 2-2 4, Tommy Kurth 8 1-4 20, Jeff Laidig 0 0-0 0, Matt Price 3 5-7 14, Alex Marsh 0 0-0 0, DeSean Prentice 0 0-0 0, Brad Slott 0 0-0 0, Nate Wood 0 1-2 1, Eric Perry 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 13-20 50.

Andrean 14 24 35 48
Penn 15 27 35 50

3-point goals: Penn 7 (Kurth 3, Price 3, Chaffee 1), Andrean 6 (Kalina 3, Morgan 2, Torok). Total fouls (fouled out): Penn 8, Andrean 17. JV score: Penn 51, Andrean 22. Varsity records: Penn 7-8, Andrean 7-8