For the second straight year, North Central captured the Marion County title with a win over Warren Central. It was the first time since 1995 that there has been a repeat county champion, when Ben Davis took home its third consecutive title en route to a 32-1 season and a state crown.
Perhaps the deepest team in the state, North Central has a chance to make its own mark on the state tournament. The Panthers have won six straight, with their only two losses coming by a combined six points. North Central trounced Roncalli by 22 points and pummeled Speedway by 43. On Friday, the Panthers' stout defense propelled them past perennial power No. 10 Lawrence North 59-55 by virtue of forcing 18 turnovers.
Saturday, North Central sealed its second straight title with a 71-52 throttling of Warren Central (9-4), which topped Decatur Central, Brebeuf and Perry Meridian to reach the title game. After a lackluster first quarter, North Central came out strong in the second against Warren Central. Purdue recruit Terone Johnson poured in nine of his game-high 17 points, helping the Panthers to a 21-9 advantage on 7-of-11 shooting. The Warriors never got closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
North Central (11-2) will host Lawrence North on Friday, then travel to Muncie Central on Saturday, which will lead to a rematch with Warren Central on Jan. 30. The Warriors will travel to Southport and Terre Haure North before hosting the Panthers.
Noblesville bounces back from loss, coach earns 400th win
Noblesville suffered its second loss of the season in ugly fashion on Friday, falling to conference rival Avon 54-41. The 4A No. 6 Millers returned to form on Saturday, toppling Muncie Central at home 49-41 and earning head coach Dave McCollough his 400th victory of his 27-year career.
Avon (7-4) went into Friday's contest without 6-foot-9 sophomore Austin Burgett, making the Orioles' stifling defensive performance that much more impressive. Avon held Noblesville to 13-of-67 shooting, including 1-of-27 from behing the 3-point line. So smothering was Avon's defense that they missed 12 free throws and committed 16 turnovers and still managed to hold Noblesville to just 13 points in the first half and secure a double-digit win.
Leland Brown led the Millers with 18 points and 19 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-24 from the field.
Noblesville managed to turn its game around on Saturday, holding the lead for the entire second half against Muncie Central. Brown had another solid performance with 13 points and five rebounds, while Jake Yeary dropped in 15. The Millers (8-2) will host Decatur Central on Tuesday.
Boys wrap-up
3A No. 2 Danville had four scorers in double figures, led by Purdue recruit Travis Carroll with 20 points and 20 rebounds, as the Warriors improved to 12-0 witn a 74-47 win over Covenant Christian.
Chrishawn Hawkins had 31 points, eight rebounds and six blocks for Manual in a 55-46 win over Brownsburg.
Indianapolis Howe (8-3) ended its game with Chicago Brooks (Ill.) on an 11-0 run and took the victory 60-56 over the Eagles. James Manuel contributed 24 points and six blocks.
Girls basketball: Westfield suffers first loss in double overtime
Despite starting off with a 12-0 lead and increasing that lead to 20-5 in the second quarter, Westfield could not fend off a pesky Fishers team and fell 47-44 in double overtime on Saturday.
Fishers went on a 16-0 run in the middle of the second quarter, sparked by Shannon Gillespie with three 3-pointers, and Shanika Maddox, who added seven of her game-high 17 points in the run. The final quarter was a see-saw battle and the first overtime saw five lead changes. Fishers scored the first four points of the second overtime and led by three with 38 seconds remaining.
Westfield's Allison Gray rebounded a missed 3-pointer and went back up with the ball, only to be blocked by Maddox, who also contributed eight rebounds. Gray had the game's final shot as well, but narrowly missed the game-tying three. Gillespie had a career-high 15 points for Fishers (12-4), while Gray had 14 and Jenna Ehrman tallied 10 points for Westfield (16-1). The Shamrocks will look to rebound at Brownsburg on Saturday, while Fishers will chase their sixth straight win at four-time defending 2A champion Heritage Christian.
Heritage Christian wins fifth straight city title
Despite losing several players from a squad that won four counsecutive city and 2A state titles, Heritage Christian proved that it is still a program to be reckoned with, taking its fifth city championship with a 48-41 win over Bishop Chatard.
Chatard, who had been the city tournament's runner-up for three of the past four years, played the Eagles well through the first three quarters, until Heritage Christian's experience took over. The Trojans were held scoreless for more than half of the fourth quarter and ended up shooting 5-of-20 over the game's last 16 minutes of play.
Gabriella Bryant smothered Chatard star Cathy Doyle, holding her to two points on 1-of-10 shooting, 18 points below her average. Kaycee Jones, the Eagles' lone senior, had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while teammate Liz Stratman led all scorers with 14. Heritage Christian (9-7) will travel to Crawfordsville (13-2) on Tuedsay, while Chatard (12-4) will begin a four-game road trip on Wednesday at Roncalli (9-6).
Girls wrap-up
Chelsey Miller had 23 points and Consuelo Owens added 21 as Lawrence North (10-4) toppled Terre Haute North (10-7) 80-48.
3A No. 6 Hamilton Heights (13-1) knocked-off Eastern (12-4) 71-36. Maddie Herr had 14 points and six boards, while teammate Jessica Carr had 10 points and nine assists.
Greenfield-Central won 66-44 over conference rival New Palestine behind 21 points and nine rebounds for Kelsey Bryant, 16 points and six assists for LaRae Cruz, and five points and 10 boards for Cierra Hall.
2A No. 7 Indian Creek beat 1A No. 6 Waldron 67-59 for their 12th straight win. Kylee Hamilton scored 24 points, while Erica VonStein chipped in 16 and Ally Lehman had 15 points and 18 rebounds.
Sarah Brewer led Western Boone (12-2) with 21 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, as the Stars topped Frankfort (8-8) 43-40.
4A No. 1 Ben Davis improved to 16-0 with a 61-37 victory over Warren Central (13-4). The Giants had four players in double-figures, led by Bria Goss.
Football
Pike senior wide receiver Anthony McClung committed to Louisville. Opposite star wideout Dyjuan Lewis, McClung was often overshadowed but managed to compile 45 receptions for 649 yards. He chose Louisville over Cincinnati and West Virginia.
