HAMMOND | It's difficult to beat a team that makes 13 shots from beyond the arc.
That's exactly what Times No. 3 Bishop Noll did, riding the long-range success in its 86-52 Greater South Shore Conference win against Wheeler on Wednesday night.
"We've got some great shooters on this team," senior Ronnye Beamon said. "We stay after practice for extra shooting and that pays off after a while."
Beamon hit four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points.
"I really started getting in rhythm in the third quarter and my teammates were helping me out by getting me good looks," he said, "but yeah, I was starting to catch a little rhythm and I wanted it."
The Bearcats (4-5, 2-2) jumped to a 7-0 lead early behind the sharp-shooting Christian Sikoski. The Warriors (8-0, 4-0) have struggled in the early portion of games this season.
"I'm disappointed in our start," Bishop Noll coach Drew Trost said. "We started slow again and we've got to figure out what our deal is with that."
B.N.I. quickly responded with precision shooting of its own in the form of a pair of 3-pointers from each Dean Danos and Beamon.
By the break it was 35-24 Warriors.
The third quarter is when the Warriors really opened things up. Beamon got hot and the team combined to hit five 3-pointers in the final four minutes of that quarter, by the end of which the lead was extended to 61-33.
"The big difference between this year's team and last year's team is that we can really shoot it this year," Trost said. "We're really talking about five out of five guys who can hit the 3."
Things continued in the fourth quarter, and Noll cruised to a win that puts it in control of the GSSC.
"We know we have a target on our back," Beamon said. "We're going to get everybody's best punch, so we've got to keep playing hard."
Dean Danos had 14 points, Tyreon Gates added 13 and John Dodson scored 11 for the Warriors. Ryan Hensen led Wheeler with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
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