4A No. 1 Ben Davis kept alive its winning streak, extending it to 56 games with wins over Franklin Central and Warren Central. The defending champion Giants trounced the Flashes (9-14) 62-19 and knocked off Warren Central (21-5) 56-30 despite missing a pair of sophomores, Shawnece Teague and Brionna Arnold, that were lost last week with knee injuries. Teague, the starting center, and Arnold, the Giants sixth player, both tore ligaments in the sectional.
"I’d much rather have them in the lineup (against semi-state opponent Floyd Central), but now we just need to step up and have everyone play well," said Ben Davis head coach Stan Benge. "We had the luxury (of depth), so that if someone was having an off day we could find other options. Now we need everyone to be on the same page, especially defensively."
And Ben Davis missed not a single beat. The Giants clamped down hard in the first quarter of each game, holding both squads to just two points during the first eight minutes. The Giants led by as many as 34 against Franklin Central and were on top of the Warriors by 26 midway through the fourth quarter. Bria Goss led Ben Davis in both games, with 15 points and 19 points, respectively. Demetria Nunley-Lash had a combined 18 points in the two contests, while Jordan Huber and Dee Dee Williams each had a combined 17 points.
The Giants will have a chance to tie the state record for consecutive wins (57) on Saturday against No. 4 Floyd Central (25-1).
First-half play propels Rushville to regional crown
After a two-day delay due to snow, 3A No. 1 Rushville got its chance at No. 3 Hamilton Heights in the sectional final. After a 14-1 rally cut Rushville’s lead down to three points with less than two minutes left in the game, the Lions stuffed the Huskies and pulled out a 76-69 victory.
In its regional match-ups, Rushville worked hard to build an early lead. The Lions' first game against Western Boone was not very dramatic, as they built up a 34-14 lead at halftime and never let the Stars get closer than nine the rest of the way. The Lions second game against Roncalli saw the Rebels make a second-half run and tie the game at 36, only to be rebuffed by a 14-2 Rushville run to end the game.
Roncalli (16-8) got past Greensburg (18-6) 45-42 in the opening round of the regional behind 6-foot-2 sophomore Katie Brewer, who posted 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in the win. The Rebels were flat in the second quarter against Rushville and eventually stumbled into a situation where they were down 35-20 with just over a minute left in the third quarter. Roncalli’s defense then came together to key a 16-1 run to knot up the score, but the Rebels fell apart over the last six minutes and the Lions rode out another storm.
Despite their entire roster being shorter than Brewer, the veteran Lions held her to eight points on 4-of-12 shooting. The Lions were led by Alexa Bess with 18 points. Rushville will play Evansville Memorial (23-3) in the semi-state on Saturday.
Winchester ends Heritage Christian'
s record-setting run
Coming into its regional final match-up with 2A No. 1 Winchester, No. 9 Heritage Christian had won a state-record 31 straight playoff games, culminating in four state titles. The Eagles nearly pulled out another big win on Saturday, but they went cold over the last four-and-a-half minutes of the game. The Golden Falcons overcame an eight-point deficit to tie the game at 47 and force overtime. Winchester took over from there, outscoring Heritage Christian 9-6 in over time to take the regional championship 56-53.
Liz Stratman had 12 points, seven rebounds and six blocks for Heritage Christian, with Kaycee Jones with 17 points and Brittney Webb with 14. Sarah Hamm, the Golden Falcons' lone senior, led Winchester with 18 points and nine rebounds. Winchester will play Austin (24-2) on Saturday.
Boys basketball wrap-up
4A No. 8 Center Grove (15-3) squeaked by No. 2 North Central on Friday 69-67. Andrew Smeathers led the Trojans with 25 points, while Jonny Marlin added 16. Terone Johnson led North Central with 23 points. The Panthers (17-3) rebounded on Saturday with a 76-63 victory over 3A No. 1 Danville. Johnson again led the Panthers with 30 points, followed by D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera with 19 and Ronnie Johnson with 13. Travis Carroll had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Danville (18-1).
Michael Chandler, Lawrence North
File photo by Jim Redman
Lawrence North (13-6) downed Howe (16-5) 72-58 behind 21 points from Perrin Ashley and 18 points and 12 rebounds from Louisville-bound junior Michael Chandler. Howe was led by Andre Hampton with 25 points, while Detroit recruit Alvin Boutte had 12 points and six assists.
Decatur Central (4-13) upset Bloomington North (13-6) 50-47. The Hawks were led by Devell Coleman, who scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and added 10 rebounds. Terre Haute North (15-5) knocked off Cathedral (12-6) on a last-second layup by Thomas Anderson 61-60. Justin Gant led the Patriots with 24 points.
All five starters scored in double figures for 4A No. 1 Bloomington South (18-0), as the Panthers trumped Perry Meridian 75-59. Indiana recruit Matt Carlino scored 15 in the win.
Wresting state finals
103 lbs. - Cody Phillips of Union County earned his second straight championship with a 8-3 win over Paul Petrov of Hamilton Central. Phillips is 94-0 in his two year career.
112 - Kyle Ayresman of Lake Central beat Paul Beck of Mishawaka 3-1 in overtime.
119 - Lawrence North’s four-time state qualifying Brandon Nelsen beat undefeated Daniel Bradley of Knox 6-2. Nelsen, a Purdue recruit, did not allow a single takedown in his four state tournament matches.
125 - Branden Wright of Warren Central won his second state championship, and his first at 125 pounds with a dominating 9-1 performance over Indian Creek’s Ethan Raley. Wright finished as runner-up his freshman and junior years.
130 - Jason Tsirtsis of Crown Point won his second straight title with a 4-0 win against Devin Jackson of Yorktown.
135 - Brock Norton of Carroll defeated Mason Berryman of Anderson Highland 3-1.
140 - Hobart’s Fransisco Porras topped Justin Beck of Leo 5-1 for his second straight championship.
145 - Eric Roach beat Doug Welch of Castle 5-3.
152 - In Anderson Highland’s final year of existence, Sammy Bennett brought home a state title by beating Elkhart Memorial’s Zachary Corpe 6-2.
160 - Sean McMurray of Portage became a three-time state champion with a 9-0 win over Cathedral’s Tyler Willis.
171 - Drake Stein of Princeton knocked off Michael Duckworth of Union County 4-1.
189 - Warren Central’s Michael Johnson-Jones avenged his only loss this season with a 4-2 overtime win against Delphi’s Braden Atwook.
215 - Nathan Cleveland of Lowell topped Christian Lentz of Mishawaka 2-1 in overtime.
285 - Ross Janey of Yorktown beat James Travis of Merrillville 3-2.
