Couriers earn 20th win the hard way

SOUTH BEND (Thurs., Feb. 28, 2008) - When a team commits 26 turnovers and 20 fouls, that team often loses. That was not the case in the Couriers' 61-50 win over Granger Christian in the opening round of the ICSTS Northern Regional.

While Granger Christian's only leads were 2-0 and 4-2 early in the contest, the Couriers led the Knights by no more than seven points until late in the game. Senior Brad Kendall scored 27 points for the Knights who were also plagued by fouls (22) and turnovers (20).

Junior forward Evan Stutzman went to the free-throw line with the Couriers up 53-49 and 1:45 left in the game. He connected on both attempts and proceeded to score the game's next five points on six more freebie tries over the next 38 seconds. By then, the Couriers had stretched their lead to 60-49 and the Knights were unable to mount a late comeback.

In improving to 20-3 this Couriers' squad joined the 1997-98 (20-5 record), 1998-99 (20-4) and 2005-06 (24-0) teams as 20-game winners in Courier basketball history. Todd Martin finished with 19 points, Stutzman 17 and Carl Martin 14 as the Couriers now lead the series with the Knights 24-21.