Prior to his Crispus Attucks’ team taking the court on Saturday night, Chris Hawkins thought the public address system at Tech might have been stuck on repeat.

“I think I heard ‘Cannady for three’ about ten or fifteen times,” Hawkins said.

Not quite that many. But point taken. In the first City tournament semifinal game, Cathedral junior Deric Cannady made seven 3-pointers, including four during a 19-point third quarter, as the top-seeded Irish rolled to a 75-35 victory over fourth-seeded Heritage Christian.

Cannady scored 25 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead Class 4A sixth-ranked Cathedral (12-1), which turned a 10-point halftime lead into a blowout by outscoring the Eagles 30-4 in the third quarter.

“Usually I’m looking for my teammates, looking to get them open,” Cannady said. “(Saturday night) they found me I just knocked down shots.”

Second-seeded Attucks (12-3), ranked eighth in 4A, rolled to an 89-56 win over No. 11 seed Washington in the second semifinal to set up what should be a classic City championship on Monday night at Tech. The Tigers stunned Cathedral to win the City championship last season before the Irish returned the favor in the sectional championship.

“They’re a good team,” Attucks guard Chris Hurt said of Cathedral. “We’re a good team. It’s going to be a great matchup. All of the matchups are there.”

Hurt, a junior, and senior guard Mason Lewis each scored 16 points to lead Attucks against Washington, which was playing in a City semifinal for the first time since winning the title in 1995 (the school closed after that season before coming back in 2004-05). Washington stayed with the Tigers for a quarter, tied 16-16, before Attucks pulled away with a 23-9 second quarter. Lewis scored nine of his 16 points in the second.

“Second quarter we were able to push out and play kind of how we wanted to play,” Hawkins said. “We got some turnovers, played faster and (Dezmon Briscoe) kind of got activated. We just had to calm down and handle pressure and get them to turn it over.”

Washington 6-11 senior Clem Butler scored five early points but was forced with sit with two fouls midway through the first quarter. After Attucks started the second quarter with a 9-0 run, Butler reentered the game with 4:52 left in the half. But he played just 52 seconds before picking up his third foul and heading back to the bench.

Attucks, leading 39-25 at halftime, put the game away with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter. Washington (8-7), after upsetting No. 6 seed Purdue Poly 41-39 and No. 3 Tech 55-52 in overtime in the first two rounds of the tourney, was led senior Jordan Stratton with 17 points and sophomore Roosevelt Franklin with 14.

“It will be a different type of matchup,” Hawkins said of Cathedral. “Traditionally they’ve had size. Now they are playing small ball with guards out there and (6-8 Brady Koehler). I think we’ll be ready for it. It’s what we expected so we’re looking forward to another great battle in the history of Attucks and Cathedral in the City tournament.”

Attucks will certainly have an eye on Cannady, who came into Saturday’s game shooting 34% from the 3-point line. That number had been ticking upward, though, after a slow start.

“You root for guys like Deric,” Cathedral coach Jason Delaney said. “Every game day, he is in there hours early. I’m there way early and I’ll be the text, ‘Coach, are you at school?’ He’s always in there, bringing younger guys with him.”

Cannady was just 7-for-26 from the 3-point line to start the season. But before the game at Providence two weeks ago, Delaney told him to relax and just play. That night, he scored 22 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3 in a 74-40 road win.

“We talked about how he put the work in so he had to have the confidence because he did put the work in,” Delaney said. “You root for those guys who put that work in who are great kids and great leaders. You like to see it pay off for him. He earned what happened (Saturday).”

Cathedral led by as many as 19 points in the first half before Heritage Christian chipped into the lead, getting as close as 27-20 after a pair of 3-pointers by Cole Louden and five points from Josh McGee during an 11-0 run late in the second quarter.

The Irish took a 32-22 lead into halftime before Cannady got hot in the third. Heritage Christian (10-4) was led by 11 points from DJ Greene. Koehler added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cathedral and Anthony Fields had 10 points and seven rebounds. Cathedral was without injured sophomore and second-leading scorer Keaton Aldridge.

It sets up a fantastic matchup on Monday night between a pair of top-10 teams.

“Just about every time we play it’s a classic,” Delaney said. “You know you are going to get everything from them. It’s going to be an electric atmosphere. They were the favorites to win the City and rightfully so with everything they brought back. Our hope is to see where we are right now.”

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

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: As expected, Cathedral vs. Attucks for City title