After a busy Week 4, things have slowed down some this week because of Christmas. Tuesday was busy because of the Hall of Fame Classic and a few good games around the state. There was a good tournament up in Homestead on the 26th and 27th that I got to stream and on Saturday things got back to normal with a good slate of games. The common thread with the HOF Classic and Homestead tournament is Mt. Vernon’s Luke Ertel is the runaway favorite to win Mr. Basketball and is good as advertised. There are lots of games getting ready to start up today (this comes out on Monday morning of the 29th) and throughout Week 6. Let’s take a look at how Week 5 ended up.
Silver Creek v. Crown Point @ HOF Classic- Both teams came into this game undefeated and as the 2 favorites to win the tourney at New Castle. The Bulldogs physical defense really bothered SC from early on and it didn’t help that the Dragons had an uncharacteristic amount of TOs. If it wasn’t for Dragon Sr. guard Dane Sprigler scoring 17 pts in the first half this game would’ve been over early on. The defense Kingston Rhodes and Bryce Peters played for CP big time. SC is used to speeding teams up and playing ‘their game’ but the Dogs were ready for all that. They cut passing lanes and capitalized on SC’s season- high 26 TOs . A pair of D1 seniors, Dikembe Shaw and Mason Darrell led the their team in game high scoring 22 pts (Shaw) and 18 pts (Darrell). Seniors Dane Caldwell and Sprigler led Silver Creek with 21 pts (and 8 rbs.) and 20 pts. The Dragons had to fight and claw their way back into the game and with 5 or 6 minutes left, tied it up. A senior- led experienced team like CP wasn’t going to fold easily. At that point the Dogs got their lead back up to 8 or 9 quick and put this game away by a final score of 76-55. I’m not sure if it’s a good sign that even with all the TOs and missed opportunities SC was still tied with 5 or 6 to go or if it was ‘just a bad game’ taking care of the ball and shooting. When we look back at this game we may say these 2 teams are the 4A and 3A state champs.
Batesville @ South Ripley- If you liked offense this was the game for you. Both teams ran up and down the floor all game with some random flashes of defense here and there. The Bulldogs went from shooting all 3s in warmups to shooting 3s all first half. By the time the 1st quarter was finished Batesville had scored 34 points and by halftime had made 11 three’s. The Raiders actually outscored in the final 3 quarters but that first would come back to haunt them. Bulldog seniors Brayden Maple and Trenton Luers were shooting 3s from all over the floor. SR was doing all they could to keep up and keeping the game within 15 early. Sophomore Eli Gilpin for SR shot the ball well all game and put in 19 pts. A bright spot for the Raiders was also senior Bryson Sipples who played more aggressive than I’d seen him play putting up a season high 15 pts. After connecting on 11 three’s in the first the Bulldogs just managed to hit 1 more in the 2nd half but got alot going to the basket. Jr. James Hughes was big for Batesville also putting up a Bulldog-high 19 pts. Maple and Luers were not far behind with 18 pts and 17 pts. The final score was 89-81 in favor of Batesville but this was a very fun/ evenly matched game. Expect these 2 teams to see each other again in just a couple weeks at the Ripley County Tourney.
Others News and Notes from Around the State
- Crown Point won the HOF Classic on Tuesday night v. Mt. Vernon.
- Noblesville won their Holiday Tourney defeating Evansville Reitz in the morning and Gary 21st in the champ. game.
- Roncalli remained undefeated beating Jeffersonville, 58-53 on Tuesday.
- Decatur Central got a good W v. Indy Ritter on Tuesday night, 69-64 thanks to Jr. Nash Sigmund putting in 25 pts.
- Bloomington North completed the Region sweep beating East Chicago and Chesterton.
- Cathedral earned a good W v. North Central and Sr. Julien Smith scored 25 pts and 7 rbs.
- Fishers defeated Parke Heritage on Tuesday, 60-38 with Tiger Sr. Kai McGrew scoring 19 pts.
- Penn soph. Caleb Coolman put up 25 pts, 8 rbs, and 4 assists v. HSE while Royal Sr. Landon Osswald had 19 pts and 7 rbs in the W.
- Carter Crum continued his offensive tear for Parke Heritage in a W v. Greencastle scoring 32 pts and 10 rbs.
- Northview soph. Quinn Lewis scored 27 pts and rbs in a W v. TH South.
- Evansville Reitz’s Preston Tolliver put up 28 pts and 9 rbs v. Decatur Central.
- Evansville North remains undefeated with a 57-48 W over Evansville Mater Dei.
- Pendleton Heights Sr. Cooper Sims scored 26 pts in their W v. Bishop Chatard.
- Despite the loss to Terre Haute North, Bloomfield’s Blake Neill scored 28 pts.
- South Dearborn Jr. Scout Gray scored 23 pts, 6 assists, and 5 rbs in a W v. Bullitt Central (KY.).
- Bosse Sr. Dorion Bowen played his first game of the season for the Bulldogs scoring 15 pts and 8 assists in a W v. McCutcheon.
- Portage brothers Karter and Bryce Kobe both score 25 pts in a W v. Bowman Academy.
- Sr. Doron Harris scored 20 pts in Lawrence Central’s 82-58 W v. Jeffersonville.
- Heritage Hills hands Boonville their first loss of the season, 59-48.
- Bloomington South got a good W v. Avon, 64-55. Panther Sr. Jack Clark scored 26 pts.
- Crawford County soph. Braxton Bowman continued to put up big #’s with 28 pts v. Perry Central and 29 pts v. Tell City.
- Corydon defeated Perry Central, 85-55. Jr. Grant Lindemann led the Panthers with 21 pts.
5 Stars of Week 5
Baron Walker- Noblesville. 31 pts, 7 assists, 7 rbs, and 4 steals in a W v. Evansville Reitz. 15 pts, 6 rbs, and 5 assists in a W v. Gary 21st
Luke Ertel- Mt. Vernon. 36 pts and 11 rbs in a W v. SB St. Joe’s. 19 pts in a W v. Zionsville. 25 pts, 7 rbs, and 7 assists in a W v. Homestead. 33 pts, 11 rbs., and 5 assists in a W v. Northview. 16 pts, 13 rbs, and 10 assists in a L v. Crown Point
Kolton Schmitt- Gibson Southern. 14 pts and 6 rbs in a W v. Wood Memorial. 15 pts, 6 rbs, and 3 assists in a W v. Evansville Central. 23 pts, 3 rbs, and 3 steals in a W v. Princeton. 12 pts in a W v. Forest Park.
Levi Sawatsky- Goshen. 39 pts in a W v. Hammond Morton.
Landon Richmond- Columbia City. 35 pts in a W v. FW Blackhawk
Team of the Week
Gibson Southern Titans. Got a 65-53 W over Evansville Central on Monday. Got a 74-51 W v. Wood Memorial on Tuesday. Got a 61-48 W v. Princeton on Tuesday. Got an 82-59 W v. Forest Park on Saturday
Upset(s) of the Week. Gibson Southern over Princeton, 61-48. Greenwood Christian over Indy Lutheran 58-57.
Top Freshman Performances Around the State in Week 5
Will Tonagel- Oak Hill. 20 pts, 3 rbs, and 3 assists in a W v. Mississinewa. 17 pts, 6 steals, and 4 assists in a W v. Eastbrook. Named MVP of Grant 4 Tournament.
Mason Weaver- Homestead. 10 pts in a W v. FW Luers
Grayson Dease- Evansville Reitz. 18 pts on Saturday v. Decatur Central. 8 pts and 4 rbs v. Noblesville
Ethan Hampton- Evansville Bosse. 11 pts and 8 rbs in a W v. McCutcheon.
Romyiez Calvin- Evansville Harrison. 12 pts in a W v. Washington.
Aiden Terry- Evansville Harrison. 12 pts in a W v. Washington.
Ryan Gold- Cathedral. 12 pts in a W v. Great Crossing (KY.). 7 pts on Saturday v. Princeton (OH.)
Games on the Schedule for Week 6
Monday. Kokomo Tournament Day 1 and Paoli v. Southwestern (Hanover) @ the JCIT in Madison
Tuesday. Kokomo Tournament Day 2. Switzerland County Tournament Day 2
Friday. Fishers Tournament. Lawrenceburg Tournament 1. Southridge Tournament.
Saturday. Lawrenceburg Tournament Day 2. Gibson Southern @ Charlestown
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