A season ago, only the steady presence of Hannibal kept red-hot Bishop Grimes from claiming the Section III Class B championship.
Now the Cobras were riding a win streak again — and again, Hannibal cooled them off, doing so on its home court last Wednesday night in a 73-53 decision.
While much is made about the way the Warriors defend, it can also pose big problems on the offensive side because of its size — something Grimes could not counter on this night.
Hannibal already led 23-12 after one period, and kept building that margin over the next two periods. Brenden Nollet dominated in the paint, working his way to 27 points, and the Cobras could not concentrate on him since Jeff LaMont was outside putting up 21 points, with help from Tyler Baker’s 12 points.
Grimes could not keep up, despite Mike Stone leading the way with 18 points. Antron Irby finished with 10 points, while Steve Dillmore had seven points.
Two days before going to Hannibal, the Cobras warmed up with a solid effort in last Monday’s game at Homer, beating the Trojans 63-46.
Grimes pushed its way to an early 16-8 edge, then was fairly quiet until a fast-paced third quarter where it outscored Homer 24-15 and extended the margin to 47-32.
Mike Sugamosto stepped up for a career-best 14 points to aid Stone, who had 17 points. Tyler Dattmore and Kujcok Ater each had six points. Kane Hartnett (16 points) and Joe Rivers (13 points) accounted for most of Homer’s offense.