After a deliberately-paced first half, Curie turned up the tempo against Lyons on Feb. 28.
The Lions couldn’t keep up, and the Condors were on their way to another regional title.
Justin Oliver scored 28 points as Curie pulled away for a 73-51 win at Jones in Class 4A action.
“Just like coach (Mike Oliver) said, we turned defense into offense,” Justin Oliver said. “Getting easy transition points, trying to not let them set up in a zone, and just getting out and running.”
Big man Keith Collins said the Condors ratcheted up their defensive intensity after halftime.
“We kept our spirits high,” he said.
Mike Oliver’s explanation for the second-half surge was simple.
“We made some shots,” he said. “(Michael Oliver Jr.) made some shots, that opened up the lane for Justin and our drivers. And our bigs played well. They caught and finished around the basket.”
Michael Oliver Jr. added 10 points for the Condors (28-1), while Kendall Holliday had nine. Collins and Dream Horton added eight apiece.
Curie, which has won three straight regionals and 10 since 2015, advanced to play St. Laurence at the Mount Carmel Sectional on March 3.
It was 25-20 Condors over Lyons early in the third quarter when they started pushing the pace. It was 49-33 entering the fourth and 66-38 with 5:04 remaining.
The Condors hit nine 3-pointers — four by Justin Oliver, three by Michael Oliver Jr. and a pair by Horton off the bench in the second half.
“That’s his thing,” Mike Oliver said of Horton. “He’s a shooter. When he’s on like he was tonight, it helps us out a lot. But with eight seniors (including) three guards, it’s hard to find playing time for him. But he knows his job when he comes in, his job is to make shots.”
Lyons (23-7), which eliminated Oak Lawn 55-51 in the regional semifinals on Feb. 24, had a 12-game winning streak snapped. Grant Smith hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 for the Lions and Owen Carroll added 19. But Curie held the rest of the Lions to 13 points combined.
Curie’s inside trio of the 6-8 Collins, 6-4 Holliday and 6-4 Josh Hurley have been steadily improving.
“This is their third game in a row from the city championship to the first round (of the regional against Oak Lawn) — they had a great game in that game, too,” Justin Oliver said. “So it’s carrying over. But you see this stuff in practice — to this coming in the game, it’s coming at the right time.”
“I can say we feel good about the way we’re playing,” Collins said. “But it’s not really the final product. We’re still growing, we’re still working out, still in the gym.”