Regional Week

Regional Saturday is always a fun day. There were so many good matchups throughout the state it was a tough decision on what games to go to. I got to head down to Charlestown on Saturday and the games I didn’t get to in-person I got to stream later on.  What started as having a pretty good idea of who I thought would move on turned into Upset Saturday. The lone undefeated and 2A #1 Rams of Paoli went down @ Seymour to Linton. A week after defeating the invincible Tigers of Fishers, Carmel gets knocked out by FW Snider. Alot of people’s favorites in 2A, Gary 21st Century got beat by a very good Westview squad. The baby birds of East Chicago who play 3 freshmen in their rotation get a 2nd straight regional crown beating Mishawaka Marian. And not a huge upset but the mighty Red Devils of Pike got beat by Mt. Vernon and leading Mr. Basketball candidate Luke Ertel, a week after winning a gauntlet Sectional 11. There is actually no teams left from the big and bad Sectionals 3, 8, 10, and 11. Let’s take a look at Regional Saturday in Indiana.

Austin v. Forest Park- The last time the Eagles made it to regional Saturday was back in 2018 @ Paoli when their opponent was the Forest Park Rangers. The Eagles walked away from that game with a 21 pt. loss. Today they pretty much flipped the script against the Rangers. Forest Park came in with a uncharacteristic 13-13 season but have dealt with alot of injuries. 6’9 junior Kamdon Partenheimer is the name to know for the Rangers and he put up a monster sectional week averaging a double double. The gameplan from Coach Jameson and the Eagles would obviously be to zone them and make them hit 3s and for the first few possessions of the game, it looked like the Rangers would do just that. Partenheimer and Jr. Dee Finch both hit 3s to jump out to an early lead. For a bunch of underclassmen Austin did not shrink in the moment. Led in scoring by a sophomore and freshman, Austin answered every call. Jr. Braxton Barger got hot hitting a few from the outside early and Soph. Tracen Roush hit most everything he shot during the entire game to give Austin a slim 15-13 lead after 1. After that initial first quarter for much of the game Austin took control. Defense was the key for the Eagles this game with their close- outs and quick rotations that didn’t give the Rangers many open looks. In the 2nd quarter the freshman sensation Micah Mohler hit some big shots and controlled much of the tempo of the game. The question is becoming not, is Mohler one of the top freshmen in the state of Indiana, but is he THE top c/o 2029 kid in the state. Mohler has really elevated his game to another level these last few weeks- month of the season. He’s playing under control and taking what the defense is giving him. There’s not many games that he’s not already the most talented player on the floor but he’s really bought in on the defensive end now and making good decisions as the primary ball handler that’s rounded out his game. The Eagles lead ballooned to 35-17 at half and they just seemed a step faster than the Rangers. FP did come out of the 2nd half and showed some real life, especially on offense. Cutting the lead to 13 and drawing a 3rd foul on Mohler, the Rangers looked to have some momentum going. A steal and fast break layup from Mohler put an end to that. Austin also got a big boost when Mohler went to the bench with 3 and Jr. Carson Hunley. Hunley put in 10 points and 11 rebounds in this game. Tracen Roush was on a heater today hitting outside shots and numerous free throws to seal the game for Austin. Roush finished with a game- high 23 pts. while Mohler put in 16 pts. Forest Park had some chances in the 2nd half to cut the deficit to single digits but just could never take advantage. Austin ended up running away with it by a final score of 64-42. Jr. Dee Finch led the Rangers with 18 pts while Partenheimer put in 13 pts. A name to watch out for the next 3 years is 5’8 Eagle freshman, Hayden Hurt who played alot of big minutes in the 4th. What’s fun about both of these teams is they are full of underclassmen. Austin is playing with an extreme amount of confidence right now and honestly in my opinion a year ahead of schedule making this run to semi state. The Eagles had a run in the late 90s/ early 00s with players like Bruce Johnson, Anthony Winchester, and Jeremy Holland and this mid 20s version of the Eagles looks like they’re on their way to matching those teams.

Silver Creek v. Batesville- On paper this one was supposed to be a mismatch. I had seen Batesville play numerous times this year and I wasn’t concerned about their scoring but their ability to stop SC on defense. The Bulldogs like to play fast but the Dragons like to play at a lightning pace with bigger players. But games aren’t played on paper and the Bulldogs really showed what they were capable of. The game started out at a breakneck pace with both teams running and gunning. Bulldog Jr. James Hughes got to the basket scoring 2 of his game- high 28 pts and 7 rbs, meanwhile so did SC Sr. Kasen Daeger who got a layup and some quick 3s. Daeger has one of the quickest releases on his 3 pt. shot that you’ll see and certainly I’ve seen at the high school level. You pretty much have to hope he misses or faceguard him because he’s going to let it fly quick. In the first 3 minutes or so of the game there was 23 pts. scored total. Batesville Sr. Trenten Luers showed he was not afraid of the moment hitting some long bombs and scoring in double figures by the end of the 1st quarter. By halftime it was a Silver Creek 43-39 lead thanks to Dragon Sr. Dane Sprigler hitting a 3 in the final moments. Sprigler also hit a couple big 3’s with SC down 1 in the first few minutes of the 2nd half that stopped the momentum of the Bulldogs. The Dragons got some breathing room in the 3rd quarter but a Luers 3 pointer at the end of the quarter pulled Batesville back to within 8. SC needed everyone to play well today and most all of them did, Jr. Brandon Hunter put in 19 pts to lead SC in scoring. Sr. Dane Caldwell with 17 pts, Sr. Kasen Daeger with 16, Sr. Dane Sprigler with 14, and Jr. Brody McLaughlin with 11 pts. in a total team effort. For the Bulldogs Hughes led them with 28 pts and Luers with 26, but what Silver Creek does eventually is wear down teams with their depth by the 2nd half/ 4th quarter. As good as two or three players play it rarely matches the 5 or 6 that score in double figures for the Dragons. SC ended up pulling away at the end for a 92-77 W. Batesville played about as good as could on Saturday offensively. Hughes, Luers, Maple, and Holcomb were outstanding making shots and showing no fear v. the Dragons. There’s not many teams that can put up buckets like Batesville and the Dragons will have to work on locking down teams Saturday at the semi state in Seymour v. Roncalli and Princeton/ Cathedral. I guess if you score 92 and win by 15 it’s not so much a problem. Everyone has looked forward to a potential Silver Creek v. Cathedral matchup all year (and Cathedral has one of the highest ppg averages in the state) but don’t sleep on Princeton coming out of that 2nd game of the morning session.

Other News and Notes from Regional Week from Across the State

• Roncalli wins their regional defeating Northview, 54-43. Sr. Joe Taylor led the Royals with 16 pts.
• Decatur Central is headed to the semi state with a 73-60 W over Lawrence Central. Jr. Devin Colbert with 16 pts and 5 assists for the Hawks.
• Triton gets the last second layup W Marquette Catholic, 53-51. Soph. Brady Wood with 18 pts for the Trojans.
• Hauser got their 2nd consecutive regional title with a 74-54 W over South Decatur. Sr. Gavin Keller with 22 for the Jets.
• Cathedral moved past Brebeuf 69-67. Sr. Keaton Aldridge with 22 pts, 9 rbs, and 7 assists for the Irish.
• Bloomfield moves on to semi state weekend with a 46-37 W over Northeast Dubois. Sr. Blake Neill with 28 pts for the Cards.
• Parke Heritage knocked out Centerville for the 2nd yr. in a row by a score of 66-46. Sr. Treigh Schelsky with 23 pts for the Wolves.
• Delta gets the 40-30 W over FW Blackhawk. Soph. Ryan Lynch led the Eagles with 13 pts.
• Monroe Central moves on with a 64-48 W over Southwood. Soph. Luke Morgan with a game-high 28 pts for the Bears.
• Barr Reeve defeated West Washington in a close 55-53 game. Soph. Braxton Neidigh scored a career high 22 pts. for the Vikings.
• Linton knocks off previously undefeated Paoli, 55-51. Seniors Conner Daily scored 23 pts and Paul Oliver put in 22 pts for the Miners.
• FW Snider may have pulled off the upset of the day defeating Carmel, 54-46. Sr. Xavier Wilson led the Panthers with 18 pts.
• New Haven is moving on to the 3A North semi state with a 64-49 W over West Lafayette. Jr. Deuce Baskerville led the Dogs with 20 pts.
• Homestead won their regional with a 56-38 W over Harrison (West Lafayette). Jr. Mack Welker led the Spartans with 23 pts and 7 rbs.

5 Stars from Regional Saturday

Jr. Austin Schlabach- Westview. 33 pts. in a W v. Gary 21st Century.

Sr. Luke Ertel- Mt. Vernon (Fortville). 34 pts. and 11 rbs. in a W v. Pike.

Sr. Brady Scholl- Northridge. 33 pts and 17 rbs. in a W v. SB St. Joe’s

Soph. Quintyn Voltz- Princeton. 25 pts in a W v. Evansville Bosse.

Sr. Jamarie Pollard- East Chicago Central. 32 pts (6 three’s) in a W v. Mishawaka Marian.

Team of the Week- New Albany Bulldogs. Defeated Castle 80-44 @ the Southridge 4A South Regional.

Upset(s) of the Week- Linton over Paoli. Westview over Gary 21st. FW Snider over Carmel.

Top Freshmen from Around the State in Regional Week

Karson Stoudemire- New Albany. 17 pts and 4 rbs in a W v. Castle.

Micah Mohler- Austin. 13 pts in a W v. Forest Park.

Will Tonagel- Oak Hill. 12 pts, 6 assists, 4 rbs, and 4 steals in a W v. Benton Central.

Walker Johnson- Delta. 10 pts in a W v. FW Blackhawk.

Cade Baker- Castle. 8 pts and 3 rbs v. New Albany.