Week 9 News and Notes

After an eventful Week 8, Week 9’s Tuesday and Friday slates were full of really good games. It started out Tuesday night with 3 massive games such as; Lawrence North @ Plainfield, Columbia City @ Homestead, and Penn @ Northridge. All teams I would have in my Top 25 overall in the state. I got to check out and cover the LN/ Plainfield game which was an instant classic. Wednesday was a nice short drive over to Hanover to check out a finally healthy Southwestern Rebel team. Thursday was another really good MSC game down in Corydon between the Panthers and Pirates. Friday was obviously the big game down in southern Indiana with my #11 New Albany Bulldogs going to #3 Silver Creek. Crown Point v. Chesterton got pushed to Monday night so that one will have to wait until Week 10. Snow and cold weather was the big winner of Saturday so most everyone either played early or not at all. I got to check out alot of good games across the state this week so let’s get to Week 9.

Lawrence North @ Plainfield- It seems like every week Indy area teams deliver the goods when it comes to fun and close games. The Wildcats were coming off a Marion County title and defeating Pike on Saturday night while the Quakers won 2 big games themselves @ Carmel on Friday and @ Northview on Saturday. Arguably these are 2 of the hottest teams in Indiana. The game started out with both teams hot and hitting shots from the inside and out. Quaker Sr. Noah Smith got it going early and didn’t stop until the final buzzer. This was the most aggressive and best I’ve seen Smith play in his 4 years @ Plainfield. The Quakers took an early lead but LN hung around and kept it close in the 1st. The Wildcats eventually caught up and took a 24-23 lead halfway through the 2nd quarter thanks to Indiana All Star lock, Sr. Brennan Miller holding his own against Smith. Not to be outdone was LN Sr. Cam Webster who just built off a strong Marion County Tourney and led the Cats in scoring tonight. LN took a 31-27 lead into the half and after a Duke Karnes 3 from the Wildcats pushed the lead to 41-33, it looked like they had too much for Plainfield. I felt like the depth and talent of LN would wear on the Quakers and just continue to slowly spread their lead. That’s when Plainfield really went to Smith and he put them on his back. And after battling back to tie it going into the 3rd, thanks to a 15-2 run, the Quakers took a lead they would not relinquish. Smith and their Jr. All Star Harper Baker Lands at one time accounted for 43 of the teams 51 pts. It looked all but over when Plainfield had a 8 or 9 pt. lead late but LN battled back to give themselves a chance in the end. Four HUGE free throws from Quaker Sr. Landon Gilliatt helped keep the lead at 3 points in the last minute and a halfcourt 3 from LN’s Webster bounced off the rim giving Plainfield a 65-62 win. Smith ended the game with 29 pts and 3 blocks. Baker Lands added 18 while Gilliatt finished with 10 pts. For LN it was Webster ending the game with a team high 24 pts and Miller with 15. This game is up there in terms of best games I’ve seen so far this year.

Rock Creek @ Southwestern (Hanover)- In a last minute decision I decided to make the trip over to Hanover to check out the now fully healthy Rebels take on the Lions. Southwestern came into the season with some pretty high expectations with a good senior group and some good young talent. One of the Rebels leading scorers and main threats, Sr. Braxton Lewis was hurt in the first game of the season against Madison which helps explain the 8-6 record. They’ve not really taken a bad loss with losing games against unbeaten Paoli, a good 3A Corydon team, and a 1 loss Batesville squad. Lewis just returned last week so I expected to a see an improved Rebel team. The first few minutes of the game went kind of slow with both teams trading baskets. SW put on a full court press that really bothered Rock Creek and started to build their lead from then on. Lewis got super hot scoring 19 pts in the 1st half on route to a 47-20 Rebel lead at the half. It was one of those nights where everyone for SW contributed offensively. The younger Lewis brother, freshman Quinton Lewis got going in the 3rd quarter on his way to 17 pt. game. Quinton is one of the area’s top scorers and will be a major player for the Rebels for the next 4 years. Seniors Caleb Goode and Brady Cook also got in some good numbers on the night as SW continuted running and getting outlet buckets. Goode finished with 12 pts and Cook put up 9 pts. Rock Creek has had traditionally a strong 1A program and they’ll be back in the mix again as long as Coach Brown is on the sidelines. In what would have been Terrence Nord and Zion Mitchell’s senior season (who are now @ Jeffersonville), the Lions would have been in the mix for a sectional/ regional crown. Tonight though belonged to the Rebels as SW went on to win, 78-38. Southwestern, along with Austin and South Ripley make up what will be a very interesting and fun Sectional 45 in Hanover.

Charlestown @ Corydon Central- This was a really good game between 2 teams that are battling essentially for the 2 spot in the MSC. The Panthers came in with a 12-2 record while the Pirates, who’ve played a brutal schedule were at 8-6. Corydon came out shooting early on with 3s from multiple players. Junior Grant Lindemann and Sr. Devon Murphy made some early shots to give Corydon a 21-12 lead after the 1st quarter. The Pirates energy seemed low early on and Coach Lynch benched their Jr. All Star Anthony Fresh at the end of the quarter and beginning of the 2nd. While Fresh was out, Sr. Keevin Bowman helped catch the Pirates up to eventually tie it up @ 28. Bowman has to be one of the more improved players in the area from last season and is currently averaging 15 ppg. One constant in this game was Panther Sr. Jack Fessel who’s Corydon’s leading ppg scorer on the season. Fessel ended up being the game-high scorer with 27 pts on the night. Charlestown started out with a full court press in the 2nd half which helped them get going turning over the Panthers and forcing timeouts. After going up 1 both teams battled back and forth throughout the 3rd quarter. Pirate Sr. AJ Todd got hot from three hitting 4 big ones in the game. Entering the 4th Charlestown held a 3 pt. lead when the teams 2 star players, Jack Fessel and Anthony Fresh went to work. Fresh ended up close to his average scoring 17 pts in the game. including some big free throws down the stretch. With a tie game the Pirates did alot of holding the ball for the last minute or 2 eventually getting to the free throw line with about 25-30 seconds left. Keevin Bowman stepped to the line and hit 2 big ones to give him his final total of 18 pts in the game. After a couple of fouls that Charlestown had to give on Corydon, the Panthers ended up finding a shooter from 3 with a pretty decent look that bounced just off the rim giving Charlestown a 67-64 win. These two teams are pretty evenly matched and could see each other again @ Madison in Sectional 30.

New Albany @ Silver Creek- This game was touted as the best 2 teams south of Indy before the season started (by me) and I haven’t seen anything yet to change my mind. The Dragons came in with only 1 loss against #2 Crown Point while the Dogs have lost to top 10 teams, Plainfield, LN, and Fishers. There was alot of talk between both schools and teams in the week leading up to this one. It was a full house/ sellout in Sellersburg and the parking lots at the high school and entire campus was full. The Dragons came out shooting with 3s by senior Kasen Daeger and Jr. Brandon Hunter. New Albany had a hard time scoring and figuring out the size/ length of the Dragons. Combine that with some missed open looks and SC took a 19-13 lead after 1. In the 2nd the Dogs couldn’t seem to slow down SC. Dragon Sr. Dane Caldwell got a steal in the open court and went down for a monster slam that really got the crowd fired up. Hunter continued his big scoring night on his way to 28 pts, 4 rbs, and 5 assists on the night. He showed he can go inside, outside, all while getting others involved and should be right in line to get a Core 6 Junior All Star spot in June. Soph. star Noah Washington was held to just 6 pts. on 6 free throws in the 1st half while trailing 36-24 @ halftime. The Bulldogs came out with a better mindset in the 2nd half with Jr. Reece McKee getting to the basket and hitting shots scoring 16 pts on the night. SC just couldn’t be stopped on offense. A spark for the Dragons with alot of potential going into next season is 6’8 Jr. Lucas Linderman who scored most of his 10 pts on dunks. In a game that looked like it was over and headed for a blowout, the 4th quarter got very interesting. Mainly Noah Washington happened and put the Dogs on his back making shots and getting to the line at will. His deep 3s were hitting, his 15 foot jumpers started falling, and all of a sudden the SC lead was cut from 20+ to 8. New Albany looked to have momentum on their side when a no-call led to a Coach Jones technical foul and what could’ve been a 6 pt. deficit was back up to 14. Washington scored 20 of his 26 total in the 4th quarter alone while NA put up 32 pts. SC just had too many weapons and too big of a lead to come back from eventually winning the game 87-70. Dragons Dane Caldwell had a 17 pts and 8 rbs game while Daeger put in 20. McKee put in 15 and Sr. TJ Washington 13 pts to round up the scoring for the Dogs. What really helped close the game out for the Dragons was 23/26 free throws for the game and 14/14 in the 4th quarter.

Other News and Notes from Around the State in Week 9

• Michigan City defeated 90-45. Jr. Azarion Lemons put up 19 pts and 10 rbs for the Wolves.
• Jr. Max Vise scored 22 pts and 6 boards in a 64-52 Mt. Vernon W over Avon.
• Trinity Lutheran got a 73-61 W v. Milan. Juniors Hudson Lang scored 17 pts and Reed Mellencamp put up 16 pts.
• Whiteland Jr. Kyle Edwards put up 20 pts and 7 rbs. in a W v. Shelbyville on Tuesday.
• Jennings County earned a 48-45 up W over Roncalli on Tuesday. Sr. Jeremiah Davis put up 19 pts and 5 assists.
• SB Riley Sr. Tyrese Jones put up 30 pts and 5 steals in a W v. Career Academy.
• Shortridge got a 67-56 W over Greenfield. Blue Devil Jr. Elijah Wilson put up 23 pts. Cougar Sr. Clay Mullins put in 27 pts, 6 rbs, and 6 assists.
• Attucks defeated Cristel House, 78-57. Sr. Dezhon Hall with 27 pts.
• Guerin Catholic defeated Brebeuf 48-39. Jr. Jake Grissom puts up 21 pts and 8 rbs.
• Kokomo over Muncie Central on Friday night, 66-59. Sr. Korbyn Hammel with a game-high 22 pts.
• Barr Reeve beat Wood Memorial 66-52. Viking soph. Jaylon Graber with 27 pts.
• Hauser took care of Waldron, 82-55. Senior Jets Stryker Gill and Gavin Keller both score 21 pts.
• Ritter holds on to defeat Heritage Christian 68-67. Soph. Devin Bolden put up 28 pts and 20 rbs.
• Paoli remains undefeated beating rival Springs Valley 62-27. Jr. Dakota Apple with 15 pts and 11 rbs.
• Fishers also remains undefeated with a 65-50 over Avon. Sr. Kai McGrew with 24 pts.
• Trinity Lutheran with a 66-42 W over Oldenburg Academy. Junior Reed Mellencamp led the Cougars with 19 pts.
• Southwestern (Hanover) beat Lawrenceburg 69-67 on a last second shot. Sr. Brady Cook with 24 pts and 8 rbs for the Rebels. SW Sr. Caleb Goode put up 23 pts.
• Northridge rolls over Mishawaka 81-40. Sr. Brady Scholl with 27 pts to lead the Raiders.
• Westview over Fairfield 66-52. Jr. Austin Schlabach with 23 for the Warriors.
• Columbus East got an OT win over Scottsburg, 76-68. Jr. Olympian Judah Lewis scored a game-high 30 pts, 6 rbs, and 3 steals. CE Sr. Keaton Lawson also had 28 pts, 8 assists, 6 rbs, 4 steals, and 3 blocks.
• South Ripley defeated Milan, 82-78. Raider Jr. Drew Volz with 24 pts and soph. Eli Gilpin scored 23 pts. Indian Sr. Micah Norman put up 26 pts moving him into 2nd place all time in Milan school history.
• Seymour got a road W @ Bedford, 59-40. Owl Sr. Nate Fritsch scored 22 pts.
• Ft. Wayne Wayne got the W over Northrop, 69-46. General soph. Javonte Eldridge with 12 pts and 12 rbs. Sr. Lashawn Green with 15 pts, 4rbs., and 4 steals.
• Eastern Hancock over Monroe Central, 79-69. Royals Sr. Caden Powers with 33 pts
• Bloomfield with the 63-48 W over Eastern Green. Sr. Blake Neill with 29 pts and 14 rbs.
• Brenden Carmichael of White River Valley scored 34 pts and 14 rbs in a W v. Owen Valley.
• Shelbyville got a 64-45 W over Greenfield Central. Sr. Caden Claxton put up 29 pts.
• Edinburg defeated Southwestern (Shelby) 48-39. Sr. Bailey Totten with 21 pts, 9 steals, and 5 rbs. for the Lancers.
• New Haven got a 58-51 W over Norwell. Bulldog Jr. Levell Ledbetter led the team with 16 pts.
• Monroe Central’s Sr. Ta’Shaun Beatty put up 23 pts and 22 rbs in a W v. Blackford
• Lawrence North defeated North Central 58-52. Sr. Brennan Miller had 18 pts, 17 rbs, and 5 assists for the Cats.
• Although Centerville lost to Richmond, 76-74, Sr. Shae Hollendonner scored 40 pts
• Penn defeated FW Wayne 96-65. Soph. Caleb Coolman put up 31 pts, 8 rbs, and 6 assists for the Kingsmen. Wayne’s soph. Everen Akison scored 28 pts.

5 Stars of Week 9

Noah Smith- Plainfield. 29 pts, 5 rbs, and 3 blocks in a W v. Lawrence North. 14 pts in a W v. Mooresville.

Luke Ertel- Mt. Vernon. 33 pts, 11 rbs, and 4 assists in a W v. Avon. 22 pts, 17 rbs, and 11 assists in a W v. Hamilton Southeastern.

Landon Lampley- Pike. 22 pts in a W v. Carmel. 24 pts in a W v. Shortridge.

Brandon Hunter- Silver Creek. 28 pts, 5 assists, and 4 rbs. in a W v. New Albany

Elijah King. South Bend St. Joe’s. 32 pts, 8 steals, 5 rbs, and 3 assists in a W v. Northwood.

Team of the Week- Gibson Southern Titans. 62-60 W over Evansville Bosse and 54-46 W over Evansville Reitz.

Upsets of the Week- Jennings County over Roncalli, 48-45. Franklin Central over Noblesville 46-44. Ft. Wayne North over Homestead 72-59. Northwood over Goshen 57-49. Indy Scecina over Attucks, 67-38.

Top Freshmen from Around the State in Week 9

Micah Mohler- Austin. 30 pts in a W v. New Washington.

Quinton Lewis- Southwestern. 17 pts in a W v. Rock Creek.

Romyiez Calvin- Evansville Harrison. 15 pts and 10 rbs in a W v. Evansville Memorial.

Caleb Salas- Scottsburg. 15 pts and 6 rbs v. Columbus East. 10 pts, 7 rbs, 3 assists and 2 steals v. Seymour.

Donnell Dawson- Attucks. 11 pts in a W v. Cristel House.

Camden Thoman- Shelbyville. 9 pts in a W v. Greenfield Central.

Jaxon Owens- Scottsburg. 7 pts and 4 rbs v. Columbus East.

Games to see Next Week

Monday- Chesterton @ Crown Point

Tuesday- Homestead @ New Haven/ Cathedral v. Scecina City Champ.

Thursday- East Chicago Central @ Gary Westside

Friday- Paoli @ Corydon/ Southwestern (Hanover) @ Milan

Saturday- Batesville @ Hauser and Fishers @ Carmel