Cathedral Upsets Top-Ranked Silver Creek 73-68, Advances to 3A State Final

Cathedral's Jason Delaney admitted before Saturday night's Class 3A semistate nightcap at Seymour that his plan to stop Silver Creek's Dane Caldwell was to pray. That prayer went unanswered. Caldwell delivered 31 points in what sources described as one of the tournament's most notable individual showings. Cathedral won anyway.

The third-ranked Irish erased an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit, tied the game 52-52 with under five minutes remaining, and held off a late Silver Creek rally to beat the top-ranked Dragons 73-68, punching their ticket to the Class 3A state final where they will face New Haven next weekend.

Senior guard Keaton Aldridge was the engine of the comeback, finishing with 29 points, mostly in the paint on tough takes to the bucket. The performance came at considerable physical cost. Aldridge took a blow to the face that drew blood, and later suffered severe cramps that left him barely able to stagger to the free throw line. He kept going.

"That's the type of player I am," Aldridge said. "I know how to get to the rim very well, put it on the right angle of the glass."

Ryan Gold provided the shots that sealed it. Delaney singled out a specific sequence after the game: "Ryan Gold hits a huge three, then gets the layup," the coach said. "He's been fighting injury, didn't even practice all week. He's been in and out the last like three, four weeks." That Gold delivered those plays without a full week of preparation underscored a broader theme for Cathedral on Saturday night: production from unexpected places at the right moment.

The nightcap was the culmination of a full day of semistate basketball at Seymour High School. Silver Creek had opened the morning session at 10 a.m. with a convincing 67-44 win over Roncalli. Cathedral answered at noon, dismantling No. 2 Princeton 85-64 to earn the right to play in the evening title game. The two results set up a matchup between the tournament's top two teams, and the game lived up to the billing.

Cathedral's comeback path in the fourth quarter was steep. Eight points down with one quarter to play against the state's top-ranked team, the Irish attacked the paint, chipped away, and found the tie at 52-52 before pushing ahead for good. Silver Creek's late rally kept the margin tight, but Cathedral warded it off and closed the game at 73-68.

New Haven, winners of the other Class 3A semistate at Logansport, awaits in the state final next weekend. It will be New Haven's first appearance in the championship game, giving Cathedral a chance to win a title against a program that has never been to this stage before.