Fort Worth - Jayden Williams scored a game-high 20 points as he led the Nolan Catholic Vikings to an overtime win 60-53, Tuesday night versus the Bishop Dunne Falcons (9-16, 2-7). The Vikings (20-8, 5-5) dominated the fourth quarter and overtime as they outscored the Falcons 27-11. The defense of Nolan Catholic allowed only two field goals in the final 12 minutes.
Nolan Catholic's head coach Steven Prudhomme thought that his young squad picked up the defensive intensity.
"We wanted to make sure that Grayson (Carter) was uncomfortable tonight and moved him away from the basket," said Prudhomme, as his team held the high major prospect to five points. "Our help side defense was great and Jacob Hughes is big and long and he gave us a big pick me up when we needed it the most."
In the two teams first meeting back on January 2, the three-point Vikings victory (54-51) was also decided in overtime. Freshman point guard Williams scored 14 points in the first contest and added 20 Tuesday night.
"When you start three freshmen it's a hard life, but a good one when you have a team with a bright future," added Prudhomme. "Jayden has come along and plays with so much poise and awareness. He's just a little guy but he doesn't mind handling the ball and getting pushed around."
"My teammates kept giving me the ball and I was able to get fouled. I went to the free-throw line and had the confidence to make my shots," said Williams of his 14-15 night from the line.
One player that Prudhomme said made a difference in the game was guard Michael Ehrhart. The 6-foot-2 senior hit two timely threes in the second half that lifted the Vikings.
"I thought that Michael came up big at the right times against [Dunne's] defense," Prudhomme said.
"I saw that my defender was playing off of me and gave me the open looks. I'm glad I hit both of those threes," added Ehrhart.
Nolan plays Thursday at Prestonwood.