It's no surprise Bryson Cardinal provides hustle for Guerin Catholic. It's in his blood.

Bryson Cardinal was not part of the equation at all — at least on the varsity team — through the first seven games of Guerin Catholic’s season.

Cardinal, a 6-7 sophomore, was having a good season on junior varsity. Good enough that Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen inserted him into a game Dec. 29 against Warren Central in the first round of the Phil Cox Memorial tournament at Kokomo.

“I was far end of the bench most of the games,” Cardinal said. “But I think playing JV helped me evolve and it helped me to practice against our team. They pushed me when I was on JV and it made me better.”

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It was that game, a 41-40 loss to Warren Central, that provided the spark for Cardinal. He played six minutes and did not produce much of a stat line, but was on the floor when the team made a run. The next morning, before a consolation round game against Columbia City, Cardinal saw his name on the whiteboard as one of the team’s five starters. That night in a 54-36 win over South Bend Riley, he had 13 points and six rebounds in the fifth-place game.

“From there, I just kind of started every game,” he said.

It is probably no surprise Bryson found his way on the floor by doing things like taking charges and diving for loose balls. He was coached by his dad, Brian Cardinal, who earned the nickname “The Custodian” for his willingness to clean the floor for loose balls. The elder Cardinal was a team captain at Purdue, scoring 1,584 points and racking up 259 steals, before going on to play in the NBA from 2000-12, winning an NBA championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks.

“That hustle,” Bryson said. “He’s kind of ingrained that into my brain. You may not always be the best, the fastest, the strongest. But that hustle is something you can bring that you don’t need any of that for.”

Bryson’s emergence, including a big semistate performance that saw him go for 15 points and eight rebounds in a 58-46 win over Beech Grove and eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in a 56-40 win over Scottsburg, is one of the reasons Guerin Catholic (20-8) has turned the corner and will play for a Class 3A state championship Saturday night against top-ranked NorthWood (27-2).

Junior guard Robert Sorensen (14.6 ppg, 4.6 rebounds) and senior guard Kamea Chandler (11.0 ppg, 3.3 assists) are the top scorers for the Golden Eagles, but Cardinal (6.5 ppg, 4.4 rebounds) has filled a needed role in the frontcourt.

“He hasn’t looked back since (the Kokomo tournament),” Allen said. “His basketball IQ is off the charts and he makes the game-winning plays that simply gets everyone else on the court involved and fired up and doing what they need to do. He’s making everybody around him better. There was a piece missing from our group we had playing in the varsity games and he’s surpassed everything that we wanted or expected from him as a sophomore.”

Guerin will need all of the contributions it can get against NorthWood team that is veteran and tested. The Panthers are led by seniors Cade Brenner (18.0 ppg, 4.6 rebounds) and Ian Raasch (15.1 ppg, 5.6 rebounds). NorthWood’s only two losses came to defending 3A champion Beech Grove early in the season and to unbeaten and 4A No. 1 Ben Davis in the championship of the Hall of Fame Classic.

Guerin has players like Cardinal, junior guard Jack Cherry (4.3 ppg, 3.9 assists), 6-4 senior Lucas Parker (5.8 ppg, 40% 3-pointers), 6-7 junior Dylan Murans (8.1 ppg, 2.5 rebounds) and 6-2 senior Ty Sanders (3.1 ppg, 3.9 rebounds), whose numbers might not shine individually, but give the Golden Eagles several options on a given night.

“You look at Jack Cherry and he’s just cool,” said Allen, who played on a 3A state championship team at Cathedral in 1998. “He goes out there and takes care of business. He’s not our leading scorer, but the impact he has on the game is kind of what turns us on. He dictates the tempo from the tip and Robert Sorensen with his ability to score at any time and Kamea Chandler with his ability to get to the rim and make athletic plays … I’m blessed to have three guards who can do different things like that.”

He is also blessed to have a player like Cardinal, who understands what it means to play hard. There are times people hear his name and ask if he is related to Brian Cardinal.

“People will ask if Brian Cardinal is my dad,” Bryson said. “There’s big expectations I have to live up but with his help, I have some great opportunities. The coaches have told me I’m in this position for a reason and I’ve worked hard the reason I’m playing is I’m ready. The way I’ve played has helped me to be confident in myself.”

Class 3A state finals details: Tipoff at 6 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Indiana Extra and live streamed on IHSAAtv.org; Tickets are $15 per person for one session and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Participating schools also have tickets available at the respective schools.

How NorthWood can win: Play physical, attack the basket. The Panthers have an advantage in size and strength with the 6-3 Brenner, 6-6 Ian Raasch and 6-8 Tyler Raasch. Brock Bontrager, a 6-2 senior, is also a physical player. This team leads the state in scoring defense at 35.6 points per game. In six tournament games, only one opponent has scored more than 40 points (Fort Wayne Dwenger in a 53-43 NorthWood win in the semistate semifinal).

How Guerin Catholic can win: Play fast, shoot the 3. I think Guerin will want to make this a more uptempo game and utilize its quickness and athleticism at the guard spots. Guerin shoots it well from the 3-point line (38%), especially Sorensen and Parker, who are both at 40%. The Golden Eagles are going to have to keep NorthWood off the offensive glass, too. Rebounding numbers will be especially key in this one.

Prediction: NorthWood 56, Guerin Catholic 51. I think the experience, height and strength of NorthWood wins out, but Guerin’s schedule has them prepared for this game.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Bryson Cardinal a key piece for Guerin Catholic