NEW CASTLE – Cary Cogdell said a mouthful at the end of the third quarter. It was really one sentence that stood out but it spoke on many levels for Leo.
“It’s about defense.”
On the court, the Leo coach couldn’t have been more right. After Xavier Middleton missed the front end of a one and one with 6.2 seconds left, Leo had to play defense to cling to a 47-46 lead. They first got the foul they wanted with 1.3 seconds left to stop a NorthWood go ahead basket before Middleton and Zack Troyer defended the Panthers’ last second shot near the rim that went off the side of the backboard. Those two defensive moments helped Leo to the first Regional title in program history just hours after a morning session win gave them their first Regional game win since 1993.
But defense, in Leo’s case, wasn’t just about on court exploits. They had a reputation to defend, they had the area to defend and they had that hope of a historic moment to defend.
“The low of not getting a chance to play [last year] was very disappointing obviously. Then to get back here was tough. Our Sectional was tough, we had to grind to get out of it. Obviously tonight, we had to grind again and find a way to win,” Cogdell said after the Regional title win.
Cogdell put in a lot of work to get a postseason title; 16 years worth of work before Leo hit that poignant moment in 2020 with a Sectional title. We know the end of that story. Retribution was something that didn’t come easy on Saturday night as Leo finally got to engulf themselves in the Regional round that COVID took from them a year ago. It was clear this group, most of which is back from a year ago, was ready to do anything they could to defend that spot.
Senior Blake Davison too had to defend his place. Expectation and pressure are nothing new for the third Davison brother to put on a Leo jersey during the past decade. He, like brothers Adam and Jeremy before him, has been a cornerstone for the program. With that comes a lot of assumption about how he would perform. Saturday night wasn’t his best game on the offensive end, but Davison found a way to alter things in other ways. While registering nine of Leo’s 19 missed shots himself, Davison posted a team best six assists and second best six rebounds. And, of course, his defense forced a lot of alterations in NorthWood’s strategy.
“Focus on all we do. We know what we can do. Just playing our game and play to our strengths,” Davison said of the focus for the day. “Not being able to come here last year, then being able to come here and win it, it’s just great.”
While Davison was struggling to find his game in the first half, it was the inside duo of DJ Allen and Troyer that set the pace early. They combined for 21 points and eight rebounds in the first half; Leo led 28-22 at the halftime break.
There was a lot of treading water in that first half leading up to Davison finding Allen for a reverse layup with 5:27 left in the second quarter that pushed Leo ahead by a then game high eight points. Cade Brenner, NorthWood’s talented sophomore, hit a three late in the second quarter, but Leo stole momentum back to end the period. The Panthers took possession, down four, with just over 30 seconds to go but Leo’s tough defense gave NorthWood no space and no chance at a good shot in the final seconds. That stop sent Leo to the locker room in control on the scoreboard and mentally.
Defense, as Cogdell says, is what it was about.
The lead ballooned up to 11 in the third, then shrunk just as quickly before Cogdell’s end of third quarter talk. It was a good moment of clarity to defend their psyche, something that Leo has had to do for weeks full of disappointing regular season losses, close Sectional wins and a Regional morning blowout.
“When we ended the regular season, we talked about loosening up and enjoying the game, enjoying the journey. I feel like when they play loose, then they are ok. I thought we got a little bit tight at the end of the regular season,” Cogdell said. “They’ve been in the big moment before so I don’t feel like that’s been an issue for us.”
Leo again led by 11, 43-32, with 6:10 to play on a Troyer basket. But NorthWood would outscore them 14-4 the rest of the way. Leo scored what would be the winning basket with 43.4 seconds left. A long Lion offensive possession and ball rotation lulled the Panthers to sleep for Troyer to find Middleton on a back cut to push Leo ahead 47-43.
NorthWood’s three pointer late would set up Middleton for his free throw that didn’t fall. But even in that moment, with one stop on defense needed to get the win, Cogdell felt good about the timeout huddle with just over six seconds to play.
“We wanted to set the defense on the timeout. There was a play that I was pretty sure they were going to run at the end of the game and I just wanted to make sure they were prepared for it,” Cogdell said. “We defended, it was tough. It’s basketball, ya know, the ball bounces your way sometimes.”
Leo was led statistically by Allen’s 15 points and seven rebounds, as well as 12 points from Troyer and seven out of Middleton.
For now, Leo has defended their place in history. A Regional title is something the program and Cogdell have longed for. In less than a week, they will have to defend the next level in Elkhart against South Bend St. Joe. But for now, the work is done and the legacy of Leo basketball continue to grow.
“Excitement,” Cogdell said of the feeling when the final buzzer sounded at New Castle on Saturday night. “It wasn’t relief at all. We’ve never done this before in school history so it didn’t feel like that pressure of ‘you’ve got to do this.’ I think it was just excitement.”
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