Week 6 News and Notes

The week started off with a bang on Monday with a massive amount of games all over the state. Day 1 and 2 @ the Kokomo Tournament was big time was with some really good teams and individual performances. I got to catch some of the JCIT @ Madison in person as well on Monday and Tuesday evening. After a few days with no games on New Year’s Eve/ Day the games returned to a full slate on Friday. I went to the Lawrenceburg Tournament over the weekend as well as streamed the Fishers Tournament. With that being said there was alot of ball being played. There was also some really good individual performances and picking 5 players for 5 Stars of the Week was tough, so I picked 6 instead. Let’s go ahead and check out the Week 6 recap.

Northridge v. Kokomo- This was semi final Game 1 of the Kokomo Tournament on Tuesday. On paper this looked to be a pretty even matchup between 2 teams that have some good potential to advance in 4A this March. Coming off a 40 pt. game yesterday, Northridge Sr. Brady Scholl made another statement in today’s game. The first quarter the game was kept really close thanks to some good shooting and drives from Kats senior, Korbyn Hammel. Hammel plays with a fearlessness driving to the basket and does a good job of finishing. Throw in a couple 3s from Jr. Erivon Burks and the game was looking to be close all the way through. That’s when the shots started falling for the Raiders from everyone. Juniors. Hayden Gorball and Karsyn Rumfelt had strong games for Northridge today putting in 8 pts and 9 pts. But the 2 seniors for the Raiders led the way; Brady Scholl and Hayden Johnson. Johnson got hot from the outside hitting five 3s in the game while Scholl did his work inside, including 3 big time slams. Northridge continued to spread the lead throughout the 2nd eventually winning, 76-61. Scholl continued his big start for the week with 30 pts and 8 rbs and Johnson scored 19 pts. Hammel finished with 28 pts and soph. DJ Nash put in 14 pts for the Kats. Northridge solidified their spot in my Top 20 while Scholl has looked like an Indiana All Star whenever I’ve seen him play.

Paoli v. Madison– The JCIT championship game was played on Tuesday the 3rd @ Madison as the host Cubs took on the Rams. Paoli came into this game 6-0 and one of the more slept on teams, in not just 2A, but in all of high school ball. Early on the Cubs kept up with the Rams thanks to freshman Gavin Barnes (16 pts for the game) getting to the rim and shots to fall. Slowly but sure the Rams depth and strength pulled ahead going into the 2nd quarter. Paoli plays a legit 9-10 deep and they all can play and lead the team in scoring on a given night. In this game it was 6’3 senior Dane Padgett. Padgett looks and plays like a football player that’s tough to handle on the inside. Throw in Ram senior Kirk Hughes, who is a knockdown shooter from the outside and Paoli continued extending their lead. By the end of the 3rd/ beginning of the 4th Madison got the lead down to 6 pts. Fellow Cub freshman Braysen Russell got some things going and got to the line giving him a total of 13 pts for the game. 6 pts. is as close as Madison came as Paoli flexed their muscle in the 4th eventually winning, 73-49. Padgett finished with 21 pts. while Hughes put in 13 pts. Alot of credit to Ram players Trey Minton and Ian Sullivan who did a great job defending Russell. Paoli moved onto 7-0 and into my 2A Top 10.

New Palestine v. FW Blackhawk- This was the 1:00 game @ the Lawrenceburg Tournament on Friday afternoon. I felt like this would be a pretty evenly matched game and gave me a chance to check out some teams I normally wouldn’t get to see. There was certainly no shot clock needed in this one. Both teams came down and got shots up (and usually hit them) in a hurry. Soph. Will Davison (21 pts for the game) got the scoring going for the Dragons and Sr. Evan Darrah got it going from deep. The Braves countered with their own sophomores, Drake Sefton (17 pts) and Bryce Lacross (15 pts). Sefton got going on the inside and even hit one from outside. Blackhawk had a small 4 pt. lead going into the break and extended it little by little throughout the rest of the game.  Senior Payton Rhinehart led the Braves with a game-high 23 pts and looked like he could score at will. Blackhawk went on to win the game, 73-62 to move their record to 2-0 in the tournament and 7-3 on the season.

South Dearborn @ Madison- The Knights game in this game 5-2 and one of the favorites in Sectional 29, but hadn’t played a game in 2 weeks. The Cubs were coming off a loss to Paoli but have won 2 of their last 3 games. Early on it looked like Madison was going to pull the upset at home. Freshman Cub, Braysen Russell got hot early and often putting up 20 pts by halftime as Madison took a 6 pt. lead into the break. The 1st 3 or 4 minutes of the 2nd half was the difference in the ball game. The Knights came out with something to prove and got basket after basket (mostly in transition) turning that 6 point deficit into a 5-6 pt. advantage. SD pushed the lead into double digits by the 4th quarter in spite of Russell continuing his big game. Braysen is not only hitting set shot 3s now; he’s creating his own shots and getting to the basket while initiating contact to get to the line where he’s a good free throw shooter. Russell put up 35 pts. and 8 rebounds in today’s game and is currently averaging 26.3 ppg thru 9 games (leading all freshmen in ppg in the state). South Dearborn Jr. Wyatt Adams had a really good game as well scoring 20 pts. in the Knights 69-58 win.

Plainfield v. Silver Creek- Championship Saturday night @ Lawrenceburg saw two top 10 teams overall in the state of Indiana (I’ve got Plainfield @ #4 and SC @ #8). This game was the one fans of SC have been waiting for. The Dragons stepped up and played their most complete game of the year (from what I’ve seen). Early on it was pretty even with Quaker Sr. Noah Smith getting going. Shots that normally fell for Plainfield weren’t falling tonight. The Dragons just threw waves of bodies with size and length @ Quaker players. Gradually, thanks to some big shooting from seniors Dane Sprigler and Kasen Daeger the Dragons lead slowly but surely grew and you could sense SC controlled the game. The game was within reach for the Quakers but it felt like SC was the deeper team with more weapons tonight. The matchup with Dragon Sr. Dane Caldwell (15 pts) and Smith (11 pts) for Plainfield was fun. Both nearly cancelled each other out, which was a W for SC. Jr. point guard Brandon Hunter really controlled the game tonight and was the most aggressive offensively I’ve seen him play. Hunter put #’s of 22 pts, 10 assists, and 8 rbs making a statement that he belongs as a core player on the Jr. All Star team in June. The game and the tournament belonged to Sprigler as he scored a game high 25 pts on his way to earning Player of the Tournament. Silver Creek sent a statement to the rest of the state that they’re in the convo. of top teams in the state with a 79-67 champ. win tonight.

Others News and Notes from Around the State

• Paoli’s Sr. Dane Padgett scored 16 pts in a W v. Southwestern and 21 pts in a W v. Madison in the champ. of the JCIT.
• Charlestown’s Sr. Keevin Bowman scored 26 pts in a L v. Lawrence North.
• In the consolation game Charlestown Sr. Anthony Fresh put in his own 26 pts. New Haven Jr. Deuce Baskerville also had 26 in the win. Fresh also scored 35 in a W v. Merrillville.
• FW Wayne duo of soph. Everin Askin and Sr. Jashawn Green both scored 20 pts in a W v. Mishawaka Marian.
• Sr. Blake Gray scored 27 pts for University in a W v. Metro.
• Henryville Jr. Manon Gant put up 20 pts v. Tri West and 26 pts in a W v. Switzerland County. He also scored 24 pts, 9 assists, + 6 boards in a W v. Medora.
• Carmel Sr. Evan Harrell puts up 15 pts, 7 rbs, 2 steals in a W v. Jeffersonville. He also scored 20 and 5 in a W v. Lake Central
• FW South continues their undefeated season beating Scecina, 58-46. Jr Jayvon Irby scored 25 in the win. Irby also hit the game winning 3 v. Delta in the champ. game
• Evansville Christian defeated Crawford County, 62-58. Sr. Hunter Redd scored 27 pts in the W. Wolfpack soph. Braxton Bowman put in 26 pts.
• Corydon beat Heritage Hills, 59-52. Panther Sr. Jack Fessel put in a game-high 19 pts. Fessel backed that up with a 20 pt. game v. Southwestern (Hanover) on Saturday.
• Ben Davis defeated FW Snider, 69-57. Lewis Harvey had 22 pts and 7 boards for the Giants. BD also defeated Shelbyville to win the Bob Wettig Tournament, 62-56. Giant Sr. Jashawn Ladd was name tourney MVP.
• Greensburg’s Jr. Jacoby Miller put up 33 pts, 7 rbs, and 6 assists in a W v. Indy Washington.
• Pike defeated Park Tudor, 86-72. Red Devil soph. Landon Lampley scored 18 pts while Jr. Isaiah Hill put up 16 pts and 13 rbs. Panthers Jr. Griffyn Robisch led PT with 18 pts.
• Bloomfield’s Sr. Blake Neill scored 31 pts in a W v. Sullivan, 27 pts in a W v. Edgewood, 28 pts in a L v. Terre Haute North, and 19 pts in a W v. Casey- Westfield (IL.)
• Sr. Cash Whitehead of Jeffersonville scored 20 pts in their W v. North Central
• Crown Point got a big W v. Cathedral on Tuesday. Bulldog senior Mason Darrell scored 22 pts. Cathedral Sr. Keaton Aldridge put in 26 pts.
• Crown Point also defeated HSE on Friday night 81-70. Bulldog Sr. Kingston Rhodes had a big game of 25 pts. Royal seniors Luke Weemer put up 19 pts and 5 rbs and Landon Osswald scored 17 pts and 7 rbs.
• Blackford soph. Amarian Leggett scored 36 pts in a W v. Randolph Southern.
• Sr. Caden Claxton of Shelbyville put up 27 pts, 5 rbs, 4 assists, and 4 steals in a W v. Indy Homeschool and 24 pts in a W v. FW North.
• Lawrence Central Sr. Doron Harris had another big game scoring 32 pts in a L v. New Albany.
• Ritter’s soph. big Devin Bolden had a good Friday @ the Lawrenceburg Tourney putting up 25 pts in a W v. New Pal. and 18 pts + 9 boards v. FW Blackhawk.
• Guerin Catholic Jr. Jake Grissom also had a good Friday @ Lawrenceburg scoring 17 pts. v. Plainfield and 22 pts + 4 steals in a W v. Castle.
• Evansville North Sr. Bryson Chapman had a good game in a W v. Chesterton on Friday scoring a game-high 25 pts.
• South Ripley’s Sr. Dylan Jesse scored a career high 20 pts in a W v. Forest Park while soph. Eli Gilpin put up 19 pts and 9 rbs.
• Jr. Drew Dixon of South Bend Adams had a 30 pts and game-winning 3 v. Columbia City on Monday. 11 pts in a W v. FW Dwenger. 8 pts and 9 assists in a W v. Hunt. North.
• Jr. Cooper Zachary put up 21 pts in their champ. win Saturday v. New Albany.
• On Saturday soph. Noah Washington put up 19 pts in a W v. Evansville Bosse and 18 pts v. Fishers.
• Andrean’s Soph. Cole Gilvydis puts up 29 pts and 8 rbs in a W v. Bishop Noll.

5 Stars of Week 6

Brady Scholl- Northridge. 40 pts, 12 rbs, and 5 blocks in a W v. Merrillville. 30 pts and 8 rbs. in a W v. Kokomo. 9 pts and 9 rbs winning the champ game of the Phil Cox Memorial Tourney.

Noah Smith- Plainfield. 20 pts and 10 rbs in a W v. Guerin Catholic. 32 pts in a W v. Castle and scoring his 1000 pt. 26 pts in a Game 3 W v. FW Blackhawk. 11 pts in champ. game v. Silver Creek

Dikembe Shaw- Crown Point. 25 pts in a W v. Cathedral. 40 pts and double digit rbs. in a W v. HSE while scoring his 1000 career pt.

Treigh Schelsky- Parke Heritage. 32 pts in a W v. Northview. 12 pts, 5 rbs, 4 assists in a W v. West Vigo. 13 pts in a W v. Greencastle. 14 pts in a L v. TH North. Named MOP of the First Financial Classic.

Tyrese Jones- South Bend Riley. 31 pts in a W v. Lawrence North. 23 pts in a W v. Charlestown. 10 pts, 6 rbs. and 4 steals in the champ. game v. Northridge.

Dane Sprigler- Silver Creek. 29 pts (9 three’s) in a W v. Harrison (West Lafayette). 20 pts in a W v. Bloomington South. 25 pts in a W v. Plainfield. Named MOP of Lawrenceburg Tournament

Team(s) of the Week- Northridge Raiders and Silver Creek Dragons. Northridge won the Phil Cox Memorial Tournament beating Merrillville, Kokomo, and SB Riley. Silver Creek won the Ray Furney Holiday Classic @ Lawrenceburg defeating Shortridge, Harrison (W. Lafayette), Bloomington South, and Plainfield.

Upset(s) of the Week- Edgewood defeated Linton, 50-49. Triton Central defeated Roncalli, 52-43. Gary Lighthouse defeated Munster, 53-52.

Top Freshmen from Around the State in Week 6

Braysen Russell- Madison. 27 pts and 6 rbs in a W v. CAI. 46 pts w/ 12 three’s in a W v. River City Homeschool. 13 pts v. Paoli. Named 1st Team All JCIT. 35 pts and 8 rbs v. South Dearborn

Karson Stoudemire- New Albany. 17 pts in a W v. Lawrence Central. 12 pts in a W v. Evansville Bosse. 14 pts and 9 rbs v. Fishers

Quinton Lewis- Southwestern (Hanover). 16 pts v. Paoli. 18 pts and 4 assists in a W v. RiverCity Homeschool.

Micah Mohler- Austin. 28 pts. v. Batesville. 22 pts in a W v. Harrison (OH.)

Prentiss Gates- Gary West. 11 pts, 10 rbs, and 10 blocks v. Whitney Young (IL.)

Naji Meux- East Chicago Central. 15 pts and 10 rbs in a W v. Lowell

Zayden Johnson- East Chicago Central. 14 pts. v. Laporte.

JP Siltz- Henryville. 16 pts. 6 rbs, + 6 assists in a W v. Medora

Ashton Brobston- Frankton. 16 pts, 4 rbs, and 5 assists in a W v. North Judson. 11 pts and 6 rbs in a W v. Heritage.

Max Hopkins- Fishers. 7  pts and 4 rbs in a W v. New Albany

Reid Dispennett- Seeger. 10 pts and 4 assists in a W v. Bellmont