Cathedral does not fold, knocks off top-ranked Silver Creek in Class 3A showdown

SEYMOUR – Before Saturday night’s Class 3A semistate game between No. 1 Silver Creek and No. 3 Cathedral, Irish head coach Jason Delaney quipped that his game plan for containing the Dragons’ Dane Caldwell is to pray.

Well, that prayer went unanswered — Caldwell scored 31 points for Silver Creek — but a different prayer was Cathedral’s thrilling comeback win, 73-68, to advance to the state finals.

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“(Another) prayer is that we unite and not fold,” Delaney said. “We had a lot of chances to fail. At halftime, there was some nerves. Everyone stuck together.”

Cathedral trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter but erased the deficit within minutes, tying the game at 52-52 with five minutes remaining. From that point on, the Irish kept attacking and held off a late Dragons rally to keep the score close.

Senior guard Keaton Aldridge’s toughness and his ability to match Caldwell’s scoring give Cathedral a huge boost. At one point, Aldridge was punched in the face and bled. Later, severe cramps left him so weak that he could barely waddle to the free throw line.

But Aldridge persevered through his courage and leadership. He finished with 29 points, most of which came on tough shots in the paint.

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“That’s the type of player I am,” Aldridge said. “I know exactly how to get to the edge and put it on the right angle of the glass.”

After Aldridge scored Cathedral’s first eight points, Dragons head coach Brandon Hoffman immediately replaced small forward Donovan Whitehead, whose 6-6 record might have troubled Aldridge.

That approach worked for a while as Aldridge cooled off in the second quarter. But Silver Creek ultimately pulled out of that game, allowing Detroit Mercy to start the game again in the second half.

“I’m a little surprised because (Whitehead) is doing so well,” Aldridge admitted. “Silver Creek has some great players, great defenders. But it doesn’t matter, we want to win. Whatever I have to do to win the game, I’m going to do it.”

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Cathedral also got quality playing time from freshman Ryan Gold Jr. off the bench. The 6-1 guard scored all eight of his points in the final seconds of the game.

“Ryan Gold hit a huge 3-pointer and then a layup,” Delaney said. “He’s been battling injuries and hasn’t even practiced all week. He’s been in and out the last three or four weeks.”

Cathedral will face Logansport’s other Class 3A semistate champion New Haven in next weekend’s state finals. This will be New Haven’s first appearance in the championship game.

This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: IHSAA Basketball: Cathedral beats No. 1 Silver Creek in 3A semistate