Bowman hangs on against a tough E.C. boys basketball team at home

GARY | There is not a "line" in Las Vegas. Well, not yet anyway.

The question of who will be favored in the potential Class 2A Wheeler championship game between state-ranked No. 2 Bishop Noll and No. 5 Bowman Academy is surely a water-cooler kind of discussion.

No one has a better idea of who the favorite might be than E.C. Central coach Abe Brown.

On Friday night, the Cardinals beat Noll 60-58 in East Chicago.

On Tuesday night in Gary, E.C. gave Times No. 2 Bowman everything the Eagles could handle. But Bowman prevailed 85-80.

"Oh man, come on," Brown laughed. "I don't want to get everybody else in the sectional or the coaches mad at me. If they make it to Saturday, it will be a great game. Bowman is big, athletic, they can get up and down the floor.

"Noll is a great-shooting team, very fundamental, and they play great team defense. But I'm not going to pick a winner."

His son, junior Anfernee Brown, played a great game for the Cards, finishing with a team-high 24 points. Would his line be different than dad's?

"They're both great teams," Anfernee Brown said. "Two different styles. Bowman has great size and is aggressive. Noll is very fundamental. It will be a great game. But I don't want to pick a winner. I'm more concerned about us getting to Saturday night."

So much for any wagering at the local Waffle House.

Bowman's Carlos McCormick hit four 3-pointers in the first half and had 16 points in the first 16 minutes. Inside of three minutes left in the game, with the score tied at 76 all, Bowman coach Marvin Rea answered a question from McCormick.

"Should I shoot it if I get it?" McCormick asked.

Rea knew where to lay his money.

"I told him he better shoot it," Rea laughed.

McCormick nailed a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the game to give the Eagles (12-8) enough breathing space to get the win.

"I couldn't miss it," McCormick said. "Our fans were real loud, maybe a little nervous, and I had to calm them down a little bit. It felt good. This was not an ordinary game. This was E.C.

"It's a huge rivalry."

McCormick led the Eagles with 26 points. DeJuan Marrero scored 20 with 13 rebounds. Elijah Ray scored 17.

Purdue coach Matt Painter was in the packed Bowman gym on the Eagles' Senior Night. Painter was there to watch East Chicago freshman Hyrone Edwards, who only had two points at halftime but finished with 13.

E.C.'s Tre'Quan Burnett added 15 points for the Cards (10-9). Teammate Joshua Ochoa scored 12, and Everette Coleman added 10.

It was just a couple of possessions and a couple of shots ging for the scoreboard to be tilted the other way.

"I think we're starting to peak at the right time," Abe Brown said. "We've just got to learn to finish a little better. But I like where our guys are right now."

So, too, does Rea.

"E.C.-Bowman is a great rivalry," he said. "We have a lot of mutual respect for each other. Brown played a hell of a game for them. They've got some players. They could make some noise at their sectional, too."