The season is moving right along and there’s just a couple weeks left before the Christmas break and New Year’s tournaments. There were some really good games on the schedule for this week around the state; unfortunately the weather put Saturday’s games on ice. Early on in the week the battle of Lawrence with LN vs. LC was fun and up into the region there were games that were played. Around southern Indiana most everyone got their game in on Friday night. The big news was the cancelation of the Forum Tip Off Classic @ Southport. Six good games were called off because of snow and icy roads in the Indy/ southern Indiana area. Hopefully everyone gets their games rescheduled and ready for a good weather (fingers crossed) week going into the Christmas holidays. Despite a game-shortened week, here’s what’s happening around the state.
Crown Point @ East Chicago Central- The Bulldogs came into this one heavily favored and ranked #2 in my latest Power Rankings. EC lost a really good group of seniors last year (Dominique Murphy and Yamauree Wallace) and is reloading with a strong freshman class. In the first quarter the Cards kept it close and both teams raced out to a super fast pace. EC had no answer for 6’6 Bulldog senior Dikembe Shaw. Shaw routinely got his shot wherever he wanted on the floor; which was usually right underneath the basket. 6’1 Cardinal senior Jamarie Pollard kept the game within striking distance and looked like a potential college prospect with his handles and length driving to the basket. Towards the end of the 2nd quarter and beginning of the 3rd Crown Point showed why they’re #2 in all of Indiana. Shaw and fellow seniors Marson Darrell, the Rhodes brothers, and Bryce Peters all contributed to a runaway game in the 2nd half. I was very impressed with sophomore MJ Wilson for the Dogs. He’s 6’4 and is long and athletic and put in 15 pts in this one. CP eventually went on to win the game, 91-51 with a running clock but EC did stay with the Dogs for a half. Cardinal freshman, Mekhi Gillis put in 9 pts and will special in the red and blue for the next 4 years. Shaw finished with 24 pts while Darrell put in 16 pts. Pollard led the Cards with 13.
New Albany @ Floyd Central- With alot of schools called off because of snow there was a question whether or not this Floyd Country rivalry would be played on Friday night. It did and there was a full house in the Knobs. I have to give credit to FC for turning the game into a slower style pace of play. Combine that with tough hard nosed defense and rebounding and FC almost pulled off the upset. The Highlanders took a lead into the halftime break thanks to about 8 guys all playing meaningful minutes. The Dogs also play a good number of kids; two of which are very special and considered as top prospects in their class. Soph. Noah Washington got to his spots and got up most of the shots he wanted. And in the 4th quarter freshman Karson Stoudemire hit a big And 1 play to put the Dogs up. FC was very physical with the young Dogs and there were yelling and complaints from both sides about the refs. The 3rd Dog to have a big game was junior Reece McKee scoring 14 pts. FC had a small lead late into the 4th but after the tech on Coach McBride, New Albany took the lead and never looked back eventually winning 55-45. Highlander Jr. Landon Reed and Sr. Jude Vetter led the team with 9 pts each while Noah Washington put up a game high 17 pts for NA. Stoudemire had a good 4th quarter totaling 10 pts on the night.
Other news and notes from around the state
- LN won the battle of Lawrence with a 80-78 W over LC. Wildcat senior Brennan Miller put in 23 pts and 10 rebounds while LC’s newest edition, Jr. Caleb Wells scored 18 pts, as did Bear senior Doron Harris. LC was also without Jeremiah Bellamy and Gavin Petty.
- BNL beat 1A #1 Bloomfield, 63-53. Dax Short led the Stars with 13 pts.
- New Haven with the comeback W v. FW Wayne, 74-70 thanks to 24 pts from Deuce Baskerville.
- Gary Lighthouse moved to 3-1 with a W v. Bowman Academy. Soph. Solomon Williams with 24 pts, 8 steals, and 6 assists.
- Penn got a good W over FW Blackhawk. Soph. Caleb Coolman with another big game scoring 21 pts and grabbing 8 rebounds.
- CAI got a 56-48 W over Clarksville with Jr. Noah Vance putting in 31 pts. for the 2nd straight game.
- Chesterton made their first appearance in my Top 20 Power Rankings this past week and backed it up with a 62-38 W over FW Snider.
- Northridge also backed up their Top 20 ranking with a 43-31 W over Brownsburg.
- Silver Creek flexed a 76-24 W v. N. Harrison solidifying their #1 ranking in 3A.
- Merrillville soph. Charles Hardiman continues his big yr. so far with a 30 pt. game in a 66-62 W v. rival Andrean.
- Hammond Noll Sr. Gabe Mobley put in 30 pts including the game winning bucket v. Griffith, 69-68.
- Heritage Hills got a good road W v. Floyd Central, 52-44. The Pats got a good game from Sr. Jake Prior who put up 20 pts., 6rbs, 5 assists and 3 blocks.
5 Stars of Week 3
- Joshua Henderson- University. 25 pts and 6 rbs. in a W v. Ritter.
- Luke Ertel- Mt. Vernon. 26 pts, 15 rbs, 8 assists, and 5 steals in a W v. Pendleton Heights
- Will Davison- New Pal. 37 pts in a W v. Greenfield Central
- Devin Bolden- Cardinal Ritter. 41 pts and 20 rbs in a W v. Indy Lutheran
- Braxton Bowman- Crawford County. 35 pts in a 75-68 W v. Eastern (Pekin) to bring his average to 33.5 ppg on the season
Team of the Week- Chesterton Trojans. 75-30 W @ Washington Township on Friday. 62-38 W v. FW Snider @ Grace on Saturday. Chesterton moves to 3-0
Upsets of the Week- North Central (Indy) 75-73 W over Terre Haute North. Zionsville 48-44 W over Lawrence Central. Brebeuf 59-56 W over Hamilton Southeastern
Top 5 Freshmen Performances around the state in Week 3
JP Siltz- Henryville. 13 pts and 6 rbs in 64-52 W v. Austin
Will Tonagel- Oak Hill. 19 pts and 5 rbs in a 60-37 W v. Mississinewa
Mekhi Gillis- East Chicago Central. 10 pts, 6 rbs, and 6 stls in a W v. Bowman (and game winning free throws).
Ryan Gold- Cathedral. 12 pts and 3 assists in a W v. Warren Central
Quinton Lewis- Southwestern (Hanover). 12 pts and 3 assists in a W v. New Washington
Games on the schedule for Week 4
Monday- Merrillville @ Hammond Noll
Tuesday- Greenwood @ Shelbyville
Wednesday- South Ripley @ Shawe
Thursday- Silver Creek @ Jeffersonville
Friday- Columbus North @ Columbus East
Saturday- Madison @ Austin
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