Borgia makes it rain on Soldan

Justin Tatum waited 39 seconds before calling his first timeout.

He waited two more minutes before calling another.

The Soldan coach could have burned all five.  Nothing short of a lid on the basket was going to stop Borgia.

The Knights buried the Tigers under an avalanche of buckets, peaking with a 15-2 lead that forced Tatum to use his second timeout.

Nobody told Soldan to bring an umbrella, but it might have helped as Borgia made it rain all night in its 82-71 Class 4 semifinal win at Mizzou Arena Friday night.

When it was all said and done the Knights (30-0) had connected on nine of their 11 3-pointers and 28 of their 32 free throws. They went 22 of 32 from the field and among their 10 misses were a pair of dunks, a reverse layup and two 3-pointers, one from halfcourt and another that was halfway down before popping out.

“I’ve never seen a team shoot like that,” Tatum said in the bowels of the arena. “Maybe one person, but not a whole team.”

Despite spotting the Knights a 13 point lead the Tigers (22-6) continued grinding. They chipped away through the second quarter and kept it within single digits most of the night and even cut the lead to two, 48-46, with two minutes to play in the third.

Borgia sophomore Bryce Dolan buried a triple on the next possession to push the Tigers back.

Dolan tortured Soldan.  His 12 points came as he hit all four of his 3-pointers, three of which came in the third quarter and all of them kept the Tigers from getting over the hump.

Senior Nathan Scheer was phenomenal before fouling out with over four minutes to play. He displayed his range early in the game, hitting both of his triples while going into the post and attacking the rim in the second half as he scored a game-high 28 points.

Even with one of the best players in the state sitting on its bench Borgia continued rolling along. It converted all 14 of its free throws and didn’t turn the ball over in the face of Soldan’s intense pressure.

The Tigers were led by senior Brier West’s 25 points. Sophomore Paul McRoberts put in 17 and sophomore Patrice Sanders scored 15.

Borgia junior Ben Ruether went for 20.

Tatum was encouraged with the effort the Tigers gave after getting buried early. A young team, Soldan could have folded up and been crushed by the runaway freight train that is the defending Class 4 champions.

“If you don’t keep punching they’re going keep shooting,” Tatum said.

Soldan took haymaker after haymaker and kept peeling itself off the canvas, asking for more.

The Tigers get one more night together before they take the court in the early afternoon in the third place game. Soldan will play a Republic team that was obliterated in its semifinal game against Kearny.

You can expect the Tigers to bring that same edge that nearly carried them back against Borgia.

You can expect that Tatum won’t need those two timeouts.

dkvidahl@yourjournal