Boys basketball: Bowman earns huge statement win

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:32AM

GARY — It’s hard to know just how good this Bowman team is. Even Marvin Rea, the Eagles coach, is wondering where this team stacks up compared with that state championship 2010 team.

“We’re just trying to figure it out,” Rea said before the Eagles played Fort Wayne Luers.

The 101-74 thumping that Bowman put on the Knights on Saturday is a sign that the Eagles are headed in the right direction.

Luers is ranked third in the state and it boasts James Blackmon Jr., a sophomore that has already committed to play at Indiana.

Bowman, meanwhile, has played a brutal schedule, traveling all over the Midwest, trying to toughen itself up for a tournament run.

The Eagles very well could meet Luers again in regionals. If that’s the case, they gave the Knights plenty to think about.

The game was never close.

It took Luers coach James Blackmon less than a minute to call his first timeout after Bowman forced two turnovers and took a 4-0 lead on a put back by DeJuan Marrero with 7:01 left.

The stoppage did little to stop the Eagles, who went on an 8-2 run. A free throw by Stephan Hawkins with 4:39 left made the score 12-2. The Knights started to cut into the lead, making it 12-7 after a 3-pointer by Dominque Williams with 2:47 left in the quarter.

Bowman played its game.

The Eagles opened up a 17-point lead in the second quarter after Darron Riddle hit a jumper to make it 35-18.

There were a few mini spurts by Luers but not enough to ever make a serious dent in the Bowman lead, which was as much as 30 in the second half.

It was typical Bowman basketball. The Eagles were physical, quick to hit the ball and the boards and they applied full court pressure.

Blackmon said he didn’t do anything in way of extra preparation for the Bowman because it wasn’t a conference game.

“I don’t want to tip our hand,” he said. “We could see them again.”

The game itself was a relief for Bowman, a team that had weathered a difficult week after being put on probation by the IHSAA for an incident that occurred against Detroit Consortium where both benches were emptied.

“I just wanted them to play and have a good time,” Rea said.

That they did.

Stephan Hawkins led them with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Marerro (12), Carlos McCormick (16) and Elijah Ray (16) all finished in double figures.