Big week starts well

County Tournament week is always a big week for Hancock County's basketball teams.

It signals the start of the 2nd half of the season -- and replicates the old Greenfield-Central sectional of single-class yore. It brings the rivalries we all know and love into a tournament atmosphere.

However, the 10th-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders will be going into the tournament already coming off one title -- winning the prestigious Hall of Fame Classic on Wednesday. MV (6-2) beat previously-unbeaten 4A No. 5 Munster 56-42 in the opening game, and then knocked off Zionsville 50-38 in an impressive defensive performance in the championship game, using its size to suffocate the Eagles' offense with a well-played zone defense. As is custom for the Marauders, they had different players carry them at different times -- Daniel Turner, Jake Stafford and P.J. Hubert all scored in different spurts to lead the Marauders in the title game.

Congrats to the Marauders for winning the state's most prestigious invitational tournament -- making it an HHC sweep. Rushville won the girls tournament by beating Mooresville and Jay County.

MV faces New Palestine (4-2) in the opening game -- a rematch of the last three county champinship games. NP is coming off a sectional title, and the two teams played a one-point game in their last meeting in February, won by the Marauders. NP is 2-0 against county competition, having defeated both Greenfield-Central and Eastern Hancock so far. The Dragons haven't played since a Dec. 18 victory over Morristown, which they won 52-50 when Trevor Baker hit a shot at the buzzer.

The other New Year's Day game pits Eastern Hancock (6-2) -- coming off a big 65-55 victory at Blue River on Tuesday -- at Greenfield-Central (1-6), a team with a very deceptive record. The Cougars have an OT loss to Whiteland and a one-point loss to New Palestine on their docket, and are rapidly-improving under first-year coach Josh Johnson. This game will feature some outstanding guard play -- G-C's Jordan Conley and Wes McQueeney can fill it up from long range, as can EH's Dustin Smith, Zach Kissick and Steven Stunda.

Each game is at 6 p.m., with a girls game to follow.

We will be broadcasting the championship game from New Palestine on Jan. 2, again with a 6 p.m. tipoff. You can listen here. The consolation game will be going on simultaneously in the NPHS auxiliary gym, with girls games again to follow.

Enjoy the county tournament. If you can't make it in person, join our webcast on Saturday night.

It's county tourney week

We haven't been as up on things on the blog side as we'd like to be, largely because of time pressures of late.

However, the Game of the Week contests have been barnburners so far -- the last 3 have been decided by a total of 7 points, all with the outcome in doubt in the last 60 seconds. Now, we're getting ready for a busy second half of the season, which begins with the traditional mid-season Hancock County Tournament. Our next Game of the Week broadcast will be the tournament title game on Saturday night. There is an early 6 p.m. tipoff, so we'll be on at approximately 5:40 p.m.

This year, it's on Jan. 1-2, for two reasons. The most obvious is the weekend date, but the less obvious is the fact that Mt. Vernon is playing in the Hall of Fame Classic on Wednesday, therefore giving the Marauders a day of rest before diving back in. MV is 4-2 so far, and has played a brutal schedule, with the two losses coming to HSE and Tipton, teams that have a combined record of 10-3. It doesn't get any easier Wednesday, as the Marauders take on an unbeaten Munster team in the opening 11 a.m. game. Defending 3A champ Princeton and Zionsville are the other two teams competing at New Castle.

The County Tourney has become a much-anticipated event in its six years of existence. Greenfield-Central won the inaugural tournament, but since, New Palestine (thrice) and Mt. Vernon (twice) have dominated the action, meeting in the title game each of the last three years. MV is the defending champ. That can't happen this year, as the Marauders and Dragons -- both posting 4-2 records coming into the week -- meet in the opening round on New Year's Day at MV. Eastern Hancock (5-2) visits Greenfield-Central (1-6) in the other opening-round matchup. All boys games are at 6 p.m. -- all games are boy/girl doubleheaders.

New Palestine will host the finals Saturday night -- boys at 6, girls at 8 -- with championship games in the main gym and consolations in the auxiliary gym across the hall. We will have the boys final as our Game of the Week webcast. Listen here.

The schedule
(boys @ 6 p.m., girls @ 8 p.m.)
Friday, Jan. 1: New Palestine @ Mt. Vernon; Eastern Hancock @ Greenfield-Central
Saturday, Jan. 2: Championship games @ NPHS Main Gym (LISTEN LIVE TO BOYS FINAL), consolation games @ NPHS Auxiliary Gym

Hancock County Tourney results
BOYS
2008-09
Mt. Vernon 65, @Eastern Hancock 64
@New Palestine 60, Greenfield-Central 54
Greenfield-Central 52, Eastern Hancock 51, OT, consolation
@Mt. Vernon 51, New Palestine 19, championship
2007-08
New Palestine 75, @Greenfield-Central 69
@Mt. Vernon 54, Eastern Hancock 46
Eastern Hancock 59, Greenfield-Central 56, consolation
@New Palestine 41, Mt. Vernon 39, championship
2006-07
@Mt. Vernon 70, Eastern Hancock 43
@New Palestine 61, Greenfield-Central 38
@Eastern Hancock 53, Greenfield-Central 43, consolation
Mt. Vernon 74, New Palestine 55, championship
2005-06
New Palestine 62, @Eastern Hancock 47
@Greenfield-Central 51, Mt. Vernon 50
@Mt. Vernon 50, Eastern Hancock 31, consolation
New Palestine 59, Greenfield-Central 57, OT, championship
2004-05
New Palestine 41, @Mt. Vernon 38
Greenfield-Central 53, @Eastern Hancock 49
Mt. Vernon 52, Eastern Hancock 45, consolation
@New Palestine 51, Greenfield-Central 50, OT, championship
2003-04
Greenfield-Central 67, @New Palestine 53
@Eastern Hancock 53, Mt. Vernon 47
New Palestine 59, Mt. Vernon 49, consolation
@Greenfield-Central 75, Eastern Hancock 63, championship

All-time record
Eastern Hancock: 3-9 (1 2nd, 2 3rds, 3 4ths)
Greenfield-Central: 5-7 (1 1st, 2 2nds, 1 3rd, 2 4ths)
Mt. Vernon: 7-5 (2 1sts, 1 2nd, 2 3rds, 1 4th)
New Palestine: 9-3 (3 1sts, 2 2nds, 1 3rd)

GIRLS
2008-09
Greenfield-Central 55, @New Palestine 42
Mt. Vernon 61, @Eastern Hancock 22
New Palestine 48, Eastern Hancock 31, consolation
Greenfield-Central 40, @Mt. Vernon 39, championship
2007-08
@Greenfield-Central 62, New Palestine 38
@Mt. Vernon 53, Eastern Hancock 42
@New Palestine 55, Eastern Hancock 29, consolation
Greenfield-Central 54, Mt. Vernon 38, championship
2006-07
Greenfield-Central 52, @New Palestine 33
@Mt. Vernon 55, Eastern Hancock 30
New Palestine 59, @Eastern Hancock 29, consolation
Greenfield-Central 62, Mt. Vernon 43, championship
2005-06
New Palestine 65, @Eastern Hancock 34
@Greenfield-Central 56, Mt. Vernon 39
@Mt. Vernon 47, Eastern Hancock 31, consolation
New Palestine 78, Greenfield-Central 75, 2OT, championship
2004-05
@Mt. Vernon 69, New Palestine 61
@Eastern Hancock 55, Greenfield-Central 50
@New Palestine 63, Greenfield-Central 44, consolation
Mt. Vernon 42, Eastern Hancock 35, championship
2003-04
Mt. Vernon 48, @Eastern Hancock 43
@New Palestine 72, Greenfield-Central 47
@Greenfield-Central 64, Eastern Hancock 54, consolation
Mt. Vernon 63, New Palestine 47, championship

All-time record
Eastern Hancock: 1-11 (1 2nd, 5 4ths)
Greenfield-Central: 8-4 (3 1sts, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, 1 4th)
Mt. Vernon: 8-4 (2 1sts, 3 2nds, 1 3rd)
New Palestine: 7-5 (1 1st, 1 2nd, 4 3rds)

Friday upcoming

We love rivalry matchups -- and we have three great ones in December. Last week, we had a down-to-the-wire back-and-forth game between the New Palestine Dragons and Eastern Hancock Royals, one NP pulled out 50-46, with a big boost from sophomore Taylor Rainey, who scored 17 points in his first career start.

Meanwhile, Greenfield-Central (1-3, 0-0) posted its first victory of the year with a 62-61 win over Southport, giving coach Josh Johnson his first win at the Cougars' helm. With some young talent, the Cougars appear to be improved. The Dragons (2-2, 0-1) have a veteran team, and will finally enjoy the comforts of home after playing their first four games on the road. Meanwhile, the Cougars will put on the blue uniforms for the first time after having played at home.

This is the first HHC game for the Cougars, while the Dragons fell last Saturday night at Rushville. Should be a fun one. Listen as Chris Lambert & Andrew Smith bring you the call at 7:10 p.m. Friday night from the Dragons' den.

Elsewhere, Mt. Vernon also has a big rivalry game and a HUGE game for early positioning in the HHC, as the Marauders (2-1) travel to Pendleton Heights (3-1, 1-0), while Eastern Hancock (3-1) will face sectional foe Northeastern at home on Friday.

Friday preview

Friday night, the CCSN crew heads to Royal country -- Eastern Hancock -- to see the first intra-county clash of the year, as the Royals face New Palestine.

Hancock County basketball has definitely been in an "up" cycle -- last seen in the early 2000s -- with one team ranked in the top five after two very impressive wins (Mt. Vernon), one that is defending a sectional championship (New Palestine) and one that is one basket away from being back-to-back sectional champs (Eastern Hancock). Greenfield-Central is in the midst of a rebuilding cycle, but nearly pulled off an OT win over Whiteland last Friday night.

The Royals are a very underrated 2A team -- and usually have been, as they play a fairly brutal schedule, especially on the front end. Last week's 2-0 start and back-to-back wins over Centerville and Frankton was the Royals' first since the 2002-03 season -- a year that ended with a regional championship. Aaron Spaulding's teams are generally known for having excellent 3-point shooting and solid post play. Dustin Smith poured in a school-record 7 3s and scored 27 points in the victory over Centerville on opening night. Zach Kissick then had a big game against Frankton, scoring 17 points. On the inside, 6-8, 300+-pound post Devin Tharpe is one rebound shy of back-to-back double-doubles. He's averaging in double-figures in both scoring and rebounding.

Meanwhile, the Dragons are in the midst of a similarly brutal stretch early in the year, playing four consecutive road games to open the season, before next week's home opener against rival Greenfield-Central (which will be our Dec. 11 Game of the Week broadcast). NP spoiled Dean Foster's debut at Jennings County with a 39-38 win on Wednesday before falling to New Castle on Saturday. NP is deep and quick -- racking up huge steals totals with a tight defense. Pat Feeney -- whose name we called a lot intercepting passes in football -- has 4.0 steals per game. Senior David Anderson has been the top scorer, with a 17-point game to his credit. Nathan Penley scored nine points to lead the Dragons on Saturday night. Trevor Baker and Andrew McClatchey were also key rotation players on the sectional-winning team last season, while outside bombers Nick Huntsman and Taylor Rainey played a big role late in the year last season, and now are full-time varsity performers, which gives coach Adam Barton a lot of options.

There was a time when the bigger area schools could circle a game against Eastern Hancock as a breather. That's not the case anymore -- NP beat EH on a 30-foot shot by Steve Kottlowski at the buzzer last season, and while the Dragons have won more than 20 in a row against the Royals, many of the games have been ultra-close (although last year's was the closest). The Royals do have multiple wins against both Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central in this decade, and they were exactly one point in regulation away from winning both county tourney games last year.

It should be a great game. Chris Lambert and I are looking forward to bringing it to you. Airtime is 7:10 p.m. Friday from Eastern Hancock High School. LISTEN HERE!

Elsewhere, it's a big weekend for Hancock County & HHC schools
EH visits Southwestern (Shelby) on Saturday.
NP heads to Rushville on Saturday night for each team's first HHC game.
Greenfield-Central (0-2) has a double-weekend at home, facing New Castle and Southport.
3A #4 Mt. Vernon (2-0) has another tough test against Hamilton Southeastern. HSE then turns around to face Pendleton Heights on Saturday.
Shelbyville opened the Tom Beach era 2-0, with Columbus North visiting Friday night.
After a 58-35 loss to Pendleton Heights in its opener, Delta meets Cowan on Friday and Muncie South on Saturday.
Dan Carmony's Rushville squad (0-1) meets arch-rival Connersville before facing the Dragons on Saturday.

As far as the WRAC:
Knightstown (2-0) visits Union County on Friday and Wapahani Saturday. Lapel (1-1) hosts Madison-Grant Saturday, while Shenandoah (1-1) is at Alexandria.