It's MV-NP night and a big weekend

It's a huge night in high school basketball. After being gone for a couple of weeks, we're back for the end of the regular season. We also will have a special announcement for you hopefully after the IHSAA Tournament draw on Sunday.

Mt. Vernon vs. New Palestine.

Nothing needs to go further. The Marauders, ranked #3 in 3A, are 16-2 and have won 12 straight. The Dragons are 9-8, but they have been very strong against some good teams and are somewhat snakebitten -- losing back-to-back games in 3OT and 2OT on one weekend a couple of weeks back. There are a few storylines going on here:

• MV is looking to clinch the HHC title outright. It would be the Marauders' second HHC championship in a row, but first outright title. MV can clinch with a win in either of its final two conference games OR a Shelbyville loss.
  
• It's Senior Night for a very decorated Marauder senior class, which includes UWGB signee Daniel Turner, IUPUI signee P.J. Hubert, 6-7 center D'Armond Davis, 6-4 guard Jake Stafford and forward Daniel Morales. The first four are all averaging 10+ points per game. As a group, they've been at the forefront of a program that has gone 33-6 the last two seasons. They've won two HHC titles, two county titles and the Hall of Fame Classic in that run.
  
• New Palestine is a tough matchup. The Dragons and Marauders played a five-point game on New Year's Day, and their second regular-season meeting last year ended up a 42-41 game decided on a late FT by Turner. The Dragons have much of the nucleus back from a sectional championship team, led by athletic slashers Pat Feeney and Nathan Penley and a couple of steady senior guards in Trevor Baker and David Anderson, with sophomore Taylor Rainey providing scoring punch from outside. They spread their scoring around -- several players average between 8-10 ppg.
  
• This could be a sectional preview. That takes place in two weeks on the same floor. NP and MV last met in the sectional in 2007, with the Dragons winning that matchup.
  

The broadcast begins at 7:10 p.m. with Andrew & Chris. We'll talk to coaches Steve Lynch & Adam Barton before the game, and have a lot to chat about during and after the contest as well. Listen LIVE here.

Also, the IHSAA tournament draw will be Sunday night at 6 p.m. We will find out where all four of the Hancock County schools go. As the draw is made, we'll post the pairings.

Elsewhere in the county, G-C has a double-weekend with Cambridge City coming to town on Friday and a trip to Delta on Saturday for a make-up game. EH is off, with a make-up game against Triton Central Monday.