Semi State Saturday is always a fun day of basketball. The weather is usually good (it was mid 70s and sunny) and there’s plenty of good games/ venues around the state to chose to go to. With a 2-game semi state now it has an old school type feel with 2 games in the morning and one at night. Over @ the Hatchet House in Washington there were the top 4 teams in 1A played (Barr Reeve, Liberty Christian, Hauser, and Bloomfield) in front of a packed house. Over @ Seymour the top 3 teams were in action with Cathedral, Princeton, and Silver Creek. At the Muncie Fieldhouse Oak Hill, Westview, Lapel, and FW Luers was a big time semi state with 2 of the top 3 teams. There was just alot of good basketball matchups all over the state today. It’s one of those days where I hate that I can only be at one place at once. Thanks to streaming games later on I was able to watch most of them. In person I had to make the 35 minute drive up to Seymour to check out a loaded 3A South semi state. Silver Creek came in as #1 and favorites to make it to Indy but things don’t always go as planned and ended up playing Cathedral in a classic championship game Saturday night. There were another buzzer beater for a title that happened up in Logansport as Deuce Baskerville’s shot sent New Haven to Indy defeating Columbia City. Let’s get to some of the games from Saturday’s semi state.
Linton v. Austin- The 2nd of two games in the morning up @ Southport was a classic between two teams that were coming in hot. After starting out the season 1-5, Austin has been 16-3 since. Linton has just been good all year, and pretty much for the last decade coming in with a record of 24-4. After seeing both of these teams last weekend I figured it would be a close game. The Miners got past previously undefeated Paoli in the regional and the Eagles dismantled Forest Park down @ Charlestown. The Miners were hot right out of the gate with the 3s flying from around the court. Coach Jameson had to call a TO to get his guys to regroup after a quick Linton start. The Eagles did get settled into the game led by their freshman Micah Mohler who got some shots to fall and sophomore Tracen Roush. By the end of the 1st quarter it was the Miners up 22-17. In the high school basketball world we know Linton’s 6’5 Sr. Paul Oliver as a tough inside player for the Miners but he’s a very good football player that’s committed to play @ Indiana State next year. Oliver ended up with 24 pts in the game. Coach Jameson was throwing all sorts of defenses out there this game to give the Miners different looks in the 1st half. It slowed the offenses down to a half as the half ended with Linton on top, 32-26. Early in the 3rd the Eagles took a 2 pt. lead after a 3 from sophomore Tracen Roush who got hot from deep in the quarter. Mohler gets alot of attention for Austin, and rightly so, but Roush is a big time player for Austin as just a sophomore and will be one of the premier players in southern Indiana for the next 2 years. By the end of the 3rd, Austin took control of the lead 48-42 even though Linton got a big last second putback from their sophomore, Reuben Goodman who ended up scoring 28 pts in the biggest game of his young career. The two GPP 16U teammates, Goodman and Roush continued on in the 4th quarter exchanging 3s and hitting big shot after big shot. In the last couple of minutes of regulation it looked like Austin told Mohler to go make a play and win us this game. After a layup and And 1 he looked like he would do just that. Austin ended up going down 2 with Linton going to the line, one make and one miss. Roush gets a shot to tie that bounces out and it looked like the Miners would finish it off with a W. After calling a TO when having trouble getting the ball in, Linton was called for an offensive push off which gave the ball back to Austin. The Eagles run to huddle up while the referees discuss something and the Miners team runs to get next to the Austin huddle. It was a strange sequence to say the least. The refs need to control that situation a little better by either allowing both to go the sidelines to discuss a call or none at all. After all that the ball is inbounded to Roush with less than 2 seconds to go who gets a decent look at it as it goes through the net. Overtime. I don’t believe Austin has ever won a semi state game (1985 and 2002) but they certainly had the momentum going into OT. After a Braxton Barger 3 from the Eagles, all signs pointed to the Eagles sneaky out a W in this one. In the end it looked like Austin sort of wore down the last 3 or 4 minutes of OT. Credit to the Miners who’ve built a big time winning program and seem to be a mainstay force in 2A since the Lincoln Hale/ Joey Hart days. The Eagles future looks to be bright with 2 juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman returning from their starting lineup plus 3 other freshmen who got some varsity experience this year. After county rival Scottsburg had their run in 2023 and 2024 it looks like Austin is due for their turn in 2027-2029.
Cathedral v. Silver Creek- This was the game that most every high school basketball fan wanted to see on Saturday night. Cathedral and Silver Creek have been on a collision course since the beginning of the season to meet @ the 3A South semi state. Earlier in the day Cathedral beat #2 Princeton, 85-64 in convincing fashion. Sr. Julien Smith was awesome in the first game putting in 20+ pts. in the W. For Silver Creek they also got a convincing W over Roncalli. As far as common opponents, both Cathedral and Silver Creek had lost to Crown Point while New Albany beat Cathedral just a few weeks ago and the Dragons beat them back in January. At 29-1 you could give the nod to Silver Creek as the favorites in this one, but it’s very rarely that the Irish are considered underdogs. The Irish and their Indiana All Star candidate, Sr. Keaton Aldridge certainly didn’t start the game out playing like underdogs. Aldridge went downhill to the basket and battled his way to the first 8 pts for Cathedral giving them an 8-2 lead. It wasn’t long before SC brought in Jr. Donavon Whitehead. So right away SC had to adjust to what Cathedral was doing, rather than the other way around. What Aldridge did in the first few minutes, SC Sr. Dane Caldwell matched him the rest of the 1st scoring 8 and putting the Dragons ahead 14-12. He actually scored 17 of their first 23 pts for SC. Listed @ 6’10 Caldwell is long and fairly athletic with a good jump shot. I expect him to certainly be named to the Indiana All Star team in June. Honestly, Aldridge probably made a pretty good case for himself to be on that All Star team himself on Saturday. In the 2nd quarter SC started to get control of the game and the momentum with 3 straight possessions of dunks including a monster Caldwell slam off the Daeger miss. Although the Dragons held a lead throughout game the Irish answered every time to keep the game from getting away. By halftime it was SC up 32-28. In the 3rd the game sort of stalled out with both teams missing opportunities @ the free throw line. It seemed like it was about to be the breaking point for Cathedral as a Daeger 3 put SC up 41-32. Watching the Dragons this year there’s usually a point in the game where they just begin to breakaway from good teams. It felt like this was the time most teams fold and SC runs them out of the gym. That is not exactly what happened. After some SC turnovers and missed free throw Irish Jr. Owen Peterson hit a big 3 and Aldridge got downhill for 2. By the end of the 3rd it was SC up 48-41. Cathedral instantly jumped into the 4th quarter by getting a Skylar Rogers 3 from the corner and a Braylon Pippins breakaway dunk. Lose balls started going Cathedral’s way, guys for SC were taking some bad shots, and since SC hasn’t been in many close games all year, things got tight for the Dragons. The Irish took their first lead since early in the game, 54-52 thanks to a couple Aldridge free throws with 4 minutes to go. A real bright spot for the Irish in Saturday night’s 4th quarter (and future) was freshman Ryan Gold. Gold put in 5 straight pts in the 4th and 8 pts in the quarter. Once it was SC’s turn to be down and come back they wanted to take some 6 or 7 pt. shots and get the lead back quick. Cathedral hit just enough free throws to put the game on ice and head to Gainbridge next weekend by a score of 73-68. You have to give credit to Cathedral for battling back and weather the SC storm. Throw in the cramps Aldridge during the 4th and his performance and Cathedral earned that W. Aldridge put in a team- high 28 pts while Caldwell had a game-high 31 pts for the Dragons.
Other News and Notes from Semi- State Week from Across the State
- Linton Sr. Paul Oliver put in 24 pts in a W v. Austin and 21 pts in the semi state champ game v. Parke Heritage.
- New Albany Jr. Reece McKee scored 23 pts in a W v. Terre Haute North and soph. Noah Washington put in 22 pts, 3 rbs and 2 steals in the semi state champ game v. Mt. Vernon.
- North Vermillion soph. Teagan Leonard put up 35 pts in a W v. Monroe Central.
- Barr Reeve soph. Kierson Lengacher put in 29 pts in a W v. Hauser in the semi state championship game.
- Northridge Sr. Brady Scholl put in 23 pts in a W v. Homestead in the morning session of the 4A North semi state.
- Luers Sr. Carmani Davis scored 26 pts in an upset W v. Oak Hill in the first game of the 2A North semi state.
5 Stars from Semi- State Saturday
Jr. Austin Schlabach- Westview. 23 pts, 8 rbs, 8 assists, and 3 steals in a W v. Lapel. 27 pts in a W v. FW Luers in the semi state championship.
Sr. Keaton Aldridge- Cathedral. 11 pts, 10 rbs, 6 steals, and 6 rbs. in a W v. Princeton. 29 pts in a W v. Silver Creek in the semi state championship.
Jr. Tavar Baskerville- New Haven. 13 pts in a W v. Delta. 17 pts and game winner v. Columbia City in the semi state championship.
Sr. Luke Ertel- Mt. Vernon. 24 pts in a W v. Decatur Central. 22 pts. 11 rbs, and 10 assists in the semi state championship
Sr. Dane Caldwell- Silver Creek. 22 pts in a W v. Roncalli. 31 pts (career- high) and 12 rbs v. Cathedral
Team of the Week- Cathedral Irish. Beat #2 Princeton 85-64 then defeated #1 Silver Creek 73-68.
Upset of the Week- Cathedral over Silver Creek 73-68. North Vermillion defeated Monroe Central 63-55. FW Luers beating Oak Hill, 68-64.
Top Freshmen from Around the State in Semi- State Week
Micah Mohler- Austin. 28 pts, 7 rbs, and 5 assists v. Linton.
Will Tonagel- Oak Hill. 19 pts, 4 rbs, 4 steals and 3 assists v. FW Luers.
Karson Stoudemire- New Albany. 14 pts and 10 rbs v. Mt. Vernon.
Ryan Gold- Cathedral. 8 pts in a W v. Silver Creek.
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