Instead, Boyle used the play of senior guard David White to control the tempo and protect the basketball. Boyle had a season-low two turnovers and consistently got the ball into the hands of open shooters.
White went 6-for-10 from the field and had 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals while playing all 32 minutes. Junior center Brian Staed had 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds and also played the entire game.
The two combined for 19 of Boyle's 23 first-half points when the Rebels refused to let Danville get off to a big lead. The Admirals used a 6-0 run to take an 11-10 lead early in period two and turned another 5-0 run into a 22-18 lead with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in the half. However, White and Staed both scored to give Boyle a 23-22 halftime lead.
Rebels dominate third quarter
The Rebels dominated the third quarter behind six points by Daniel Potts. Boyle methodically built a 37-30 lead and was on its way to its third straight 45th District win.
"This is a huge win for us because of the district and they are our crosstown rival. It's our biggest game of the season," White said. "We could not get in a running game with them. They are too athletic for that. We had to slow the pace, work the ball and let them get lazy on defense so we could get good shots. The first half they let me get some good looks in the middle. They wouldn't keep playing defense because they wanted to get out and score."
When Danville did get the ball, the Rebels got back quickly on defense to prevent transition goals. The Admirals often settled for quick 3-point shots and had no luck going inside because of Staed.
"We figured even if they got inside, there was no way they could shoot over our 6-9 guy (Staed). I know I couldn't and they couldn't, either," White said.
"We felt our best chance was to slow them down and hope they didn't hit their 3's," Bottoms said.
Danville shot only 33.3 percent (18-for-54) and went 3-for-18 from 3-point range. Guard Eric Caldwell was 3-for-16 overall from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. Darius Baughman led Danville with nine points and six rebounds, but he was only 4-for-11 from the field.
Pippen "disappointed with our overall effort"
"I am just disappointed with our overall effort," Pippen said. "I know we are a lot better than this. But you can't afford to play hard in one district game and then not play hard in the next one. We've got to learn from this because we got beat mainly due to our lack of intensity. It's takes intensity to win.
"When you don't work hard on defense, it impacts your offense. Our impatience on offense was a direct result of how we played defensively. We've got to quit jacking up 3-point shots so quick. We can't do that and be a quality team."
Danville could never get any closer than five points in the fourth quarter and that came when Baughman scored with 7:38 to play. The Rebels had just two field goals in the final period, but went 10-for-13 from the foul line to keep Danville at bay.
Boyle was 15-for-23 from the foul line compared to 2-for-6 for the Admirals. Staed was 4-for-6 at the line and White 3-for-4.
"We've really worked on his free throw shooting," Bottoms said. "He wants to get better, and it showed. I thought he had a tremendous overall game. He missed a couple of shots late, but they were great looks. His decision making was really good and he stayed under control."
DANVILLE (10-3) - Ronnie Hawkins 3, Daylen Morris 3, Eric Caldwell 6, Chase Overstreet 8, Tyler Short 3, Steven Gray 3, Darius Baughman 9, Ryan Harper 2, Demetric Ford 4.
BOYLE (8-8) - Daniel Potts 11, David White 15, Brian Staed 14, Clay Carter 7, Seth Tamme 4.
