NP regional tickets on sale

New Palestine High School has pre-sale tickets to Saturday's Class 4A Shelbyville boys basketball regional on sale through 3 p.m. Friday in the NPHS athletic office.

Tickets are $9 and are good for both sessions.

The Dragons will face Castle in the noon semifinal. The regional championship game will be played at 8 p.m.

Shelbyville regional
10 a.m.: Bloomington South (13-9) vs. Jeffersonville (20-3)
Noon: New Palestine (17-6) vs. Castle (18-4)
8 p.m.: Championship
All New Palestine games will be broadcast by HancockCountySports.com 

Marauders fall in thriller

Mt. Vernon's dream season fell a minute short tonight, as Fort Wayne Concordia hit 67 percent of its shots in the second half and pulled out a 42-39 victory over the Marauders in the Class 3A State Finals tonight at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute.

Jessica Brown scored 17 points -- and factored into all of MV's points in the fourth quarter, scoring nine and dishing two to Anna Olson for a late layup -- but Concordia had an answer for virtually every one, seizing the lead early in the fourth quarter and then keeping the Marauders far enough at arm's length to take the title.

Senior Lauren Marinko scored 17 points for Concordia, and she scored all of the key baskets down the stretch for the Cadets, who won their second title in three years -- beating an HHC team each time. In 2010, Concordia knocked off Rushville in the 3A final.

MV's run ends with a 23-6 record and the first State Finals appearance for the program since 1977. But like that first team 35 years ago, the Marauders took the runner-up trophy.

MV led 30-29 on a Brown jumper early in the fourth, but Concordia's Lauren Marinko -- who scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half -- gave the Cadets the lead back with a layup in traffic, launching a 5-0 run that made it a 34-30 game. Brown scored on a drive on a third-chance rebound and after forcing two straight turnovers, she hit a fast-break jumper from 15 feet to tie the game at 34 with 2:01 remaining. Marinko and Brown each traded two free throws in the next two possessions.

Finally, with 35 seconds left and after two timeouts on the possession, Marinko scored on a drive to give the Cadets a two-point lead. Brown was fouled going to the hoop on the ensuing possession, but split the two free throws, putting MV in must-foul mode. Marinko hit four free throws -- sandwiched in-between an Olson layup -- and Courtney Smith deflected Brown's 3-point shot at the buzzer that would've tied the game to seal it for Concordia.

MV took an early lead and maintained it for much of the first half, with Rachel Houck hitting a big 3-pointer in the final minute of the half to give MV a 16-12 edge going into the break, but Concordia started the third quarter with a 7-0 run -- and hit 9-of-11 shots in the quarter -- to take the lead going into the final eight minutes. 

Brown had 17 points, three steals and two assists for the Marauders. Erica Moore added nine points and four rebounds. Olson had six points and eight rebounds.

Marinko had 17 for Concordia. Breanne Smith came off the bench and hit two big 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Cadets take the lead. She finished with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting. Courtney Smith had nine points.

Marinko also was awarded the Patricia Roy Mental Attitude Award. 

The game was the final one for Brown, Olson, Makenzi Reasor and Kelsie Owens, who won three county titles, two HHC championships, two sectionals, a regional and a semistate title during their four years -- one of the most decorated classes in county basketball history.

“We had a great year," MV coach Julie Shelton said. "It wasn’t the way we wanted to end it. We battled but we just couldn’t finish. Both teams played very hard. There was great defense. Both teams made runs back and forth but there were never any big leads either way. I thought at the beginning of the third quarter when they hit those three three’s that broke our back a little bit.”

Dragons, Royals both rally tonight

Tonight has to be one of the most memorable nights of sectional hoops in local history, as both New Palestine and Eastern Hancock registered improbable come-from-behind wins to advance to the sectional finals.

New Palestine 61, Whiteland 60: The Dragons had to rally from deficits of 10-0 early and 46-34 late in the third quarter, but did with a huge fourth-quarter run. NP finished with an 8-1 run that allowed them to pull ahead. Trailing 59-53, Josh Penley hit a baseline jumper, then Solomon Haynes forced a steal and fed Justin Ikerd for an open 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one. After Whiteland's Kyle Alford split two free throws, Michael Morris hit a 17-footer from the left wing to tie the game at 60-60 with 25 seconds left.

Whiteland was trying to hold for the last shot, but Haynes stripped the Warriors at midcourt again. He had a breakaway layup, but was fouled from behind with 6.7 seconds left. An intentional foul was called, giving Haynes two free throws and the Dragons the ball. He hit one. NP missed the front end of a one-and-bonus with 3.7 left and Whiteland had an open look from the corner at the horn to win, but Luke Dougherty's shot fell short, allowing the Dragons to pull away with the victory.

Morris scored 16 points -- 14 in the second half -- to lead the Dragons in scoring. Ikerd and Penley each scored 12 -- with Ikerd hitting four of the Dragons' five 3-pointers. Reid Clark hit five shots -- most from outside -- to score 10 points. Brandon Collins added seven first-half points and Haynes scored his four points in the fourth quarter, also adding a key 3-point play midway through the period that launched the Dragons' rally from a double-digit deficit.

Whiteland was led by DeJuan Davis' 17 points and 16 from leading scorer Taylor Robards.

The Dragons advance to face either Franklin Central or Center Grove in the 7:30 p.m. Saturday championship game at CG. FC leads CG 33-16 at halftime.

A full archive of the game can be found here!

Eastern Hancock 71, Cambridge City Lincoln 64: The Royals scored 16 points in the OT session and rallied from a late five-point deficit in an improbable way. Playing without leading scorer Victor Vincz due to an injury, the Royals also had two starters foul out in the fourth quarter. EH trailed 27-18 at halftime and 55-50 in the closing seconds. But Garrett Hancock was fouled on a 3-pointer and in the ensuing melee, a CCL player was called for a technical foul. Hancock hit all five free throws to tie the game up. EH missed a shot that would've sent the game to OT, but pulled away in the extra session.

Hancock had 22 points for EH. CCL senior Zac Rea led all scorers with 34 points.

EH is now 12-10, and will face either Centerville or Union County in Saturday's sectional final at Hagerstown.

Also Saturday: Listen to the 3A girls basketball State Finals: Mt. Vernon vs. Fort Wayne Concordia. Live broadcast begins at 5:30 p.m. from the Hulman Center at HancockCountySports.com!

Huge weekend of hoops!

We have a HUGE weekend of hoops in Hancock County, and therefore, at HancockCountySports.com!

Friday night, the New Palestine Dragons and Eastern Hancock Royals will both be in action, and both be playing at 6 p.m.

The Dragons (15-6) will face Whiteland (10-10) in the first semifinal of the 4A Center Grove sectional, which you can listen to live at HancockCountySports.com. The winner will face either Center Grove or Franklin Central in Saturday night's championship game. The game is a rematch of the Dragons' 88-81 loss to the Warriors on Jan. 21, in which New Palestine's Michael Morris (23), Josh Penley (20) and Brandon Collins (18) all had strong scoring games.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Hancock Royals (11-10) meet the Cambridge City Lincoln Golden Eagles (10-10) in the semifinals of the 2A Hagerstown sectional. EH advanced with a 69-51 victory over Hagerstown in the first round. CCL drew a first-round bye and is playing its first game in the tourney, and has dropped three straight to Centerville, Greenfield-Central and Winchester at the end of the season. The game matches two big scorers, as Victor Vincz is the county's leading scorer, having poured in 23 vs. Hagerstown, and Zac Rea of CCL is capable of putting up big offensive numbers. We will have continuous updates during our broadcast of Whiteland-NP.

On Saturday, the second-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders (25-2) meet the seventh-ranked Fort Wayne Concordia Cadets for the Class 3A state championship in girls basketball. Our pregame show will begin at 5:15 p.m. at HancockCountySports.com!

Tuesday's games

All four Hancock County teams were in action Tuesday night, and two remain alive in the IHSAA boys basketball tournament.

New Palestine and Eastern Hancock both posted first-round sectional wins and advanced to Friday night. Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon both fell in their openers.

New Palestine 51, Franklin 45: Michael Morris had 18 points as the Dragons pulled away from the Grizzly Cubs in the second half. NP improved to 15-6 on the season with the victory. NP trailed 10-4 early and was behind 20-19 at the half before rallying to take the lead in the third quarter and never relinquishing it. Morris hit several shots down the stretch to lead the Dragons. NP outscored Franklin 12-5 in the third to take a 31-25 lead going into the final eight minutes.

Morris hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor to score his 18 points, and also had seven rebounds. Josh Penley had 13 points and nine boards. Brandon Collins had eight points and three rebounds. Solomon Haynes added seven points. Reid Clark had five rebounds inside.

The Dragons will advance to play Whiteland on Friday night, a rematch of the Warriors' 88-81 win on Jan. 21. The game will tip off at 6 p.m., join Andrew & Chris for the play-by-play at 5:35 at HancockCountySports.com.

Eastern Hancock 68, Hagerstown 51: A big second quarter turned a 9-8 lead into a 30-16 halftime edge, and the Royals kept pulling away from there. Victor Vincz scored 23 points to help EH avenge a defeat from Friday night.

The Royals are now 11-10 on the year. They will face Cambridge City Lincoln at 6 p.m. Friday at Hagerstown.

Guerin Catholic 35, Mt. Vernon 28: Both teams' defenses were stifling, holding the opponent to below 35 percent shooting. But the 10th-ranked Golden Eagles used theirs to take a lead in the third quarter, turning a couple of steals by Riley Rapp and a couple of charges taken by Zach Hufford to get the defensive stands, and cashed in on the other end. Guerin turned a 15-13 halftime deficit into a 23-20 lead going into the fourth, and then used a two-minute possession that ended in an Aaron Brennan putback with 4:05 left that made it 25-20.

MV had two open 3-pointers to tie the game in the final two and a half minutes, but both were long and Guerin was able to secure the rebound.

C.J. Coleman had 12 points to lead MV. Anthony Burnett added nine. Stephen Turner had 10 boards. Bryan Hall scored 10 points -- including five fourth-quarter free throws to help put the game away -- to lead Guerin. Brennan, a solid sophomore who has been drawing major college interest, had nine points and seven rebounds.

MV's season ends at 13-8. Guerin is now 18-5 and advances to face Howe in Friday's semifinals.

Interestingly, Tuesday's game was the second-fewest points ever allowed by Mt. Vernon in a tournament game (and the fewest ever allowed in a sectional game). The only game that eclipsed it was a 45-30 regional victory against Greensburg in 2010. The 28 points were the fewest scored by MV in a tournament game.

Connersville 58, Greenfield-Central 27: The Spartans knocked off G-C for the second time in a week. Connersville jumped out to a 33-12 halftime edge and never looked back in the victory. G-C's season finishes at 3-18. Connersville will face #2 Pendleton Heights in Friday's semifinal.

Local sectional glances
Class 2A at Hagerstown
Tuesday's game
Eastern Hancock 68, Hagerstown 51
Wednesday's games
Northeastern (10-9) vs. Union County (18-2), 6 p.m.
Centerville (16-4) vs. Knightstown (1-19), 7:30 p.m.
Friday's games
Cambridge City Lincoln (10-10) vs. Eastern Hancock (11-10), 6 p.m.
Wednesday's winners, 7:30 p.m.
Winner goes to: Connersville regional, will face Broad Ripple sectional winner in first semi. Second semi: Triton Central vs. South Putnam sectional winners.

Class 3A at Mt. VernonTuesday's games
Chatard 67, Arlington 61

Guerin Catholic 35, Mt. Vernon 28

Friday's games
Brebeuf (10-9) vs. Chatard (14-8), 6 p.m.
Howe (8-13) vs. Guerin Catholic (18-5), 7:30 p.m.
Winner goes to: Greencastle regional, will face Beech Grove sectional winner in the first semi. Second semi: Greencastle vs. Frankfort sectional winners

Class 4A at New Castle (Greenfield-Central)
Tuesday's games
Richmond 57, Anderson 55
Connersville 58, Greenfield-Central 27
Friday's games 
New Castle (15-5) vs. Richmond (20-3), 6 p.m.
#2 Pendleton Hts. (21-2) vs. Connersville (13-10), 7:30 p.m.
 Winner goes to: Hinkle regional, will face Northview sectional winner in the second semifinal. First semi: Tech vs. Southport sectional winners
(Tech-Southport--North-view-NC/ BS-Seymour, Evansville-C. Grove)

Class 4A at Center Grove (New Palestine)
Tuesday's games
New Palestine 51, Franklin 45
Franklin Central 59, Greenwood 36 

Friday's games 
Whiteland (10-10) vs. New Palestine (15-6), 6 p.m. (HancockCountySports.com LIVE broadcast)

Center Grove (11-9) vs. Franklin Central (13-9), 7:30 p.m.
Winner goes to: Shelbyville regional, will face Evansville sectional winner in the second semifinal. First semi: Bloomington South vs. Seymour sectional champs.

This week at HancockCountySports.com

Keep up with the action this week at HancockCountySports.com!

Tuesday night, log on as the Mt. Vernon Marauders (13-7) open sectional play against the Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles (17-5). Andrew & Chris have the call at 7:15 p.m.

On Friday night, our broadcast week continues with sectional semifinal action featuring one of the four county schools. Check this space on Wednesday to see what game we'll do!

On Saturday, we'll be in Terre Haute as the second-ranked Marauders (23-5) play for the IHSAA Class 3A state championship against the Fort Wayne Concordia Cadets. Join our crew at 5:30 p.m. for the pregame and the tipoff at 6 p.m.

Semistate Saturday

We have girls hoops forthcoming on Saturday: Join Andrew Smith, Chris Lambert and Greg Elkins for all of the play-by-play as the Mt. Vernon Marauders (22-5) meet the Madison Cubs (18-7) with a State Finals berth on the line.

The broadcast begins at 12:30 p.m. at HancockCountySports.com

Friday wrap: MV forges 3-way tie for second in HHC

Mt. Vernon emphatically forged a tie for second place in the Hoosier Heritage Conference tonight, knocking off the Yorktown Tigers 61-34 on the road tonight.

MV never trailed, jumping out to leads of 7-0, 13-8 and 28-18 in the first half, before using a 21-4 second-half run to pull ahead 54-26.

As a result, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine and Yorktown all tied for 2nd in the HHC at 5-2. 

On Yorktown's senior night, youth reigned for MV. Sophomore guard C.J. Coleman scored 24 points for the Marauders -- 17 in the middle quarters as MV pulled away. Freshman guard Dan Werner hit three 3-pointers -- MV hit seven as a team -- and scored 13 points. Stephen Turner added seven to go along with strong play on the glass and on defense.

MV began to push the game out of reach in the final 20 seconds of the second quarter. Trailing by six, Yorktown missed an open 3-pointer, Coleman rebounded, drew a foul and hit two free throws. On the ensuing possession, Anthony Burnett turned a midcourt steal into a breakaway layup at the buzzer to push MV's lead to 28-18. It never was cut below eight the rest of the way.

Hogan Crenshaw scored nine for Yorktown. The Tigers finished 14-7, the Marauders 13-7. MV opens sectional play at home Tuesday against Guerin Catholic (17-5) in a game that will be broadcast by HancockCountySports.com

New Palestine 53, Greenwood 37: Michael Morris scored 20 points and Brandon Collins added 14 points and seven boards to lead the Dragons to their 14th victory of the season.

NP jumped ahead 19-7 after a quarter and led 35-21 at the half. They pushed it to 47-33 after three before holding Greenwood to four fourth-quarter points

Reid Clark had nine points for NP. Josh Penley added six points and six boards. Solomon Haynes added four assists.

By virtue of MV's win tonight, the Dragons finished in a three-way tie for second in the HHC with Mt. Vernon and Yorktown. NP is 14-6 overall and opens sectional play at Center Grove at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Franklin.

Hagerstown 53, Eastern Hancock 50: The Royals and Tigers met in the first half of their doubleheader, and Hagerstown took this one in a back-and-forth tussle.

Victor Vincz had 19 points, while Jared Pyle had a double-double with 10 points and 15 boards. Isaiah McCormick (7 points) and Cody Clark (6 points) also had strong games for the Royals, who finish the regular season 10-10.

The scene shifts to Hagerstown on Tuesday for the sectional matchup between the same two teams. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Greenfield-Central (3-17) was idle tonight. The Cougars open sectional play Tuesday against Connersville

Tuesday wrap: great matchups

All 3 county teams who played tonight fell as the final week of the regular season began tonight, but all three fell in their Tuesday-night contests.

Morristown 80, Eastern Hancock 68: The Royals and Yellow Jackets hooked up in a back-and-forth tussle that saw Morristown pull away in the final five minutes. A big reason why was the play of 6-foot-4 Morristown senior Dylan Langkabel. He had 44 points -- 30 in the second half -- to carry the Yellow Jackets to the victory.

Langkabel scored 15 points in each the third and fourth quarters and helped the Jackets pull away. EH led 31-30 at the half and had a 38-32 lead in the third quarter, but Langkabel led an 8-1 run that saw Morristown take the lead at 40-39. He also hit a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper on back-to-back possessions to turn a three-point edge into a 65-57 game and essentially put it away midway through the fourth.

Victor Vincz followed up his 52-point game from last week by leading four Royals in double-figures, with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Isaiah McCormick had 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Garrett Hancock also hit three triples -- EH hit 10 for the game -- and scored 11 points. Jared Pyle battled foul trouble but finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Cody Wallace had six rebounds.

You can listen to the archive of tonight's game at HancockCountySports.com

EH (10-9) finishes Friday against Hagerstown.

Westfield 59, Mt. Vernon 52: The Marauders dropped their third straight game -- all against 4A schools -- against a strong Shamrocks team on the road.

Stephen Turner led the Marauders with 19 points and 10 rebounds. C.J. Coleman scored 15. Center Wade Burtron led Westfield with 21 points.

Westfield built an early 10-point lead. MV cut it to one on several occasions, but couldn't get over the hump, as Westfield outscored the Marauders 26-20 in the fourth quarter.

MV is now 12-7 and finishes the regular season Friday at Yorktown. That game will be live at HancockCountySports.com

Connersville 59, Greenfield-Central 29: The Cougars hung tough for a half, trailing 26-23 at the break, but Connersville started the second half on a big run and outscored G-C 33-6 after the break to pull away.

G-C finishes the regular season 3-17, and opens sectional play Tuesday at New Castle against the same Spartan team it played tonight.

New Palestine was idle tonight, and finishes the regular season Friday at Greenwood. NP is 13-6.

Gymnastics
New Palestine posts season-high score:New Palestine's gymnastics team posted a season-high score in a 103.0-85.725 victory over the Shelbyville Golden Bears.

 

Kenzi Hoffman swept the meet, winning first place in all four events and the all-around. She scored 9.05 on vault, 8.85 on uneven bars, 9.225 on balance beam and 9.025 on the floor exercise. Her winning all-around score was 36.150. Senior Jessica Marshall placed second on beam (9.0) and in all-around (32.975). Ciarra Hough was second on floor (8.725) and third in all-around (30.275). Whitney Weileman was second on vault (8.3) and bars (8.6).Maddie Wallace and Julie Hilton tied for fourth on vault (8.15).

 

The Dragons' next meet will be Saturday's Columbus East Olympian Invitational, which will begin at noon.

 

Upcoming broadcasts

HancockCountySports.com will open sectional play on Tuesday, Feb. 28 as the Mt. Vernon Marauders meet the Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles. Join Andrew & Chris at 7:15 p.m. for the live play-by-play of the opening round of the sectional.

HancockCountySports.com will have a broadcast each night a local team is playing in the state tournament. Keep checking here or on our Facebook/Twitter feeds to find out upcoming matchups.

This week, we'll have Eastern Hancock vs. Morristown boys on Tuesday and Mt. Vernon vs. Yorktown boys on Friday. Both broadcasts begin at 7:10 p.m.

Saturday afternoon, log on at 12:30 p.m. to listen as the second-ranked Marauder girls meet the Madison Cubs in the Southport semistate.

HancockCountySports.com is your home for live coverage of high school sports in Hancock County!

Boys sectional draw

We'll fill in the blanks on the boys sectional pairings as we get them.

This year, the county schools will feed into 4 different sectionals.


All championship games will be Saturday, March 3. Big IF here: if Mt. Vernon is playing in both the girls basketball State Finals on March 3 and advances to the boys sectional final, the Mt. Vernon sectional championship game will be played Monday, March 5.

Class 2A at Hagerstown
Tuesday's game
Eastern Hancock (10-8) vs. Hagerstown (10-8)
Wednesday's games
Northeastern (9-9) vs. Union County (16-2)
Centerville (14-4) vs. Knightstown (1-17)
Friday's game
Cambridge City Lincoln (10-8) vs. EH-Hagerstown winner
Wednesday's winners
Winner goes to: Connersville regional, will face Broad Ripple sectional winner in first semi. Second semi: Triton Central vs. South Putnam sectional winners.

Class 3A at Mt. Vernon
Tuesday's games
Chatard (12-8) vs. Arlington (7-12)
Mt. Vernon (12-6) vs. Guerin Catholic (16-5)

Friday's games
Brebeuf (10-8) vs. Chatard-Arlington winner
Howe (7-12) vs. MV-Guerin winner
Winner goes to: Greencastle regional, will face Beech Grove sectional winner in the first semi. Second semi: Greencastle vs. Frankfort sectional winners


Class 4A at New Castle (Greenfield-Central)
Tuesday's games
Richmond (18-3) vs. Anderson (8-11)
Greenfield-Central (3-16) at Connersville (11-10)
Friday's games 
New Castle (14-4) vs. Richmond-Anderson winner
#4 Pendleton Hts. (19-2) vs. GC-Connersville winner
Winner goes to: Hinkle regional, will face Northview sectional winner in the second semifinal. First semi: Tech vs. Southport sectional winners
(Tech-Southport--North-view-NC/ BS-Seymour, Evansville-C. Grove)


Class 4A at Center Grove (New Palestine)
Tuesday's games
Franklin (8-12) vs. New Palestine (13-6)
Greenwood (4-14) vs. Franklin Central (11-9)
Friday's games 
Whiteland (10-9) vs. Franklin-NP winner
Center Grove (11-8) vs. Greenwood-FC winner
Winner goes to: Shelbyville regional, will face Evansville sectional winner in the second semifinal. First semi: Bloomington South vs. Seymour sectional champs. 

Saturday wrap: G-C wins swim sectional; 2 runner-up wrestlers

Wrapup of Saturday's events: 
Wrestling
Two Hancock County wrestlers were state runners-up tonight at the IHSAA State Finals.

Greenfield-Central's Josh Farrell (138) and New Palestine's Connor Robinson (160) both advanced through the quarter and semifinals to the spotlight matches, where each dropped a decision and finished as the state runner-up -- a tremendous accomplishment for both.

Farrell (39-4) lost to unbeaten Devon Jackson of Yorktown (52-0) by a 12-2 major decision in the 138-pound final. He won two 4-3 decisions -- over SB St. Joe's Mitchell Hartman and Evansville Mater Dei's Jake Lannert -- to advance to the spotlight match. A junior, Farrell will likely be a favorite to return to the Fiedhouse next year.

Robinson (39-9) rallied in the third period to defeat TH South's Tsali Lough 8-5, then beat Perry Meridian's Kirk Johnson 3-2 in OT to get to the championship match, which he fell to unbeaten Brian Harvey of Cathedral by a 12-4 major decision.

Two other county wrestlers placed fifth. At 113, NP's Tommy Cash (45-2) lost his quarterfinal match 7-1 to the eventual state champion, Hanover Central sophomore Stevan Micic. Cash's only two losses this season came to the state champ and state runner-up, Nathan Boston of LN at the semistate round. Cash beat Perry Meridian's Jacob Coffey 4-0 and Penn's Zachary Davis 8-2 to wrestle back to fifth. At 195, G-C's Ian Early lost to eventual runner-up Kourtney Berry of Merrillville by a first-period fall in the quarters. Early then beat Westfield's Taylor DeLong 6-0 and Avon's Dylan Jones 3-1 to wrestle back to fifth place.

Boys swimming
Greenfield-Central won the boys swimming sectional title, totaling 433 points to outdistance second-place Mt. Vernon (337) and third-place New Palestine (284). With 50 points, Eastern Hancock placed 10th.

Several local swimmers will move on out of the sectional to next week's State Finals at the IUPUI Natatorium.

From Greenfield-Central, the 200 medley relay of Josh Cummins, Jon McCormick, James Young and Austin Wilburn (1:39.62) moved on. So did the 200 free relay of Patrick Stutz, Cody Wilburn, Young and Austin Wilburn (1:28.50). The same quartet also moved on in the 400 free relay (3:15.71).

Mt. Vernon's David Hantz (100 backstroke, 55.11) and Kenny Gilpin (100 breaststroke, 59.15) will also advance to next week's State Finals.

MV's David Cochran won the diving competition and will join G-C's Nathan Graber and Austin Gaunt at the diving regional next week.

New Palestine's Jake Greig is moving on in two events: the 50 freestyle (22.31) and 100 freestyle (48.32).

Boys basketball
Greenfield-Central 55, Cambridge City Lincoln 51: The Cougars won for the second time in three games and sent senior David Johnston off with a victory on Senior Night.

Mason Irbe scored 21 points and Jordan Keener 16 to lead the Cougars. Grant Wolfe added eight and Drew Dougherty seven for G-C, which overcame a 23-point night from CCL standout Zac Rea.

The Cougars are now 3-16.They close the regular season Tuesday at Connersville.

Upcoming broadcasts
HancockCountySports.com will broadcast three basketball games next week, so log on and join our crew for the live sports coverage!

• Tuesday: Eastern Hancock at Morristown, 7:10 p.m.
• Friday: Mt. Vernon at Yorktown, 7:10 p.m.
• Saturday: Girls basketball semistate, Mt. Vernon vs. Madison, TBA

Friday wrap: Dragons beat MV 61-38

New Palestine was impressive tonight, scoring the game's first 13 points and holding MV without a field goal for the first 4+ minutes of each of the first two quarters. The Dragons then staved off every Marauder run from the end of the first quarter on en route to a 61-38 victory over MV Friday night.

NP's defense was strong, holding the Marauders to 26 percent shooting in the contest. Meanwhile, the Dragons hit 52 percent from the floor (21-of-40).

Justin Ikerd was key in the early run, hitting two 3-pointers to give the Dragons an 8-0 edge, which was later pushed to 13-0. Michael Morris scored seven first-half points and Ikerd nine. NP's lead was never inside double-digits after the quick start. NP led 15-5 after a quarter, and after a Marauder run at the end of the first half, Solomon Haynes hit an off-balance 3-pointer to make it a 25-11 game at the break.

The Dragons continued to get strong balance and defense in pulling ahead 41-21 after three quarters.

Morris had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. The Dragons held a 32-21 rebounding edge. Ikerd hit four 3-pointers for his 14 points. Solomon Haynes had eight points and four boards. Reid Clark added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. Josh Penley had six points, four assists and contributed strong defense with five steals. Brandon Jonas had five rebounds as New Palestine had contributions from everywhere. Wade Whitaker contributed strong defense off the bench, and Brandon Collins did the same, with five points and four boards.

NP is now 13-6 and 5-2 in HHC play, with a game next Friday at Greenwood. MV is 12-6 (4-2) with two games remaining -- Tuesday at Westfield and Friday at Yorktown. The Yorktown game will be broadcast live by HancockCountySports.com.


Rushville 56, Greenfield-Central 39: The game was close early, but Rushville pulled ahead in the second quarter.

Jordan Keener had 19 points to lead the Cougars (2-16). Dallas Pribble added eight points and Mason Irbe five for G-C. The Cougars are back in action Saturday, honoring senior David Johnston on Senior Night when they host Cambridge City Lincoln.

Eastern Hancock was idle tonight. The Royals (10-8) will next play Tuesday at Morristown. Listen to the game LIVE at HancockCountySports.com.

Wrestling
Seven Hancock County wrestlers competed tonight in the IHSAA State Finals round of 16. Four -- two each from Greenfield-Central and New Palestine -- advanced to the quarterfinals with Friday-night victories at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

G-C junior Josh Farrell, the semistate champ at 138, defeated Franklin's Jacob Stevenson with a 23-8 tech fall to move on. Farrell (37-3) will meet South Bend Clay's Mitchell Hartman (44-5) in the quarterfinals.

At 195, G-C's Ian Early (40-2) defeated Spencer Raypole of Carroll (Allen) 5-4 to advance. Early will face Kourtney Berry (30-0) of Merrilville in the quarters. Berry was the Merrillville semistate champ.

At 160, New Palestine's Connor Robinson -- who has put together a string of big tournament victories -- improved to 37-8 with a 10-5 victory over Leo's Isaac Steury. Robinson will meet Tsali Lough (45-2) of Terre Haute South in the quarters. Lough is the Evansville semistate champ.

At 106, NP's Tommy Cash improved to 44-1 with an 11-4 decision over Evansville Memorial's Damon Kuhn. Cash will meet Hanover Central's Stevan Micic (44-0) in the quarterfinals. Micic is the Merrillville semistate champ.

Three county wrestlers were defeated in their first-round matches. NP's Taylor Fee (113) lost by fall in his first-round match to undefeated Fort Wayne semistate champ Jared Brooks of Warsaw. G-C's Sam Locke (126) fell in a 5-0 decision to Yorktown's Chandler Carroll. G-C's Austin Gearlds lost by fall at 220 to Aaron See of Northview.

Hoops tonight, hoops tomorrow

We have a BIG broadcast tonight as the Mt. Vernon Marauders (12-5) host the New Palestine Dragons (12-6).

HancockCountySports.com is the ONLY place where you can get a LIVE broadcast of tonight's game, and the only place to get live broadcast coverage of all of the county schools.

The Marauders come in having won six of seven and are playing very well. Led by guard C.J. Coleman -- who has topped the 20-point mark on multiple occasions this season -- MV is looking to seal up second place in the HHC. The Dragons are looking to bounce back from Tuesday's 68-64 home loss to a solid Westfield team. Reid Clark posted his second straight double-double and Brandon Collins scored 15 points for the Dragons. Michael Morris had hit double-figures in nine straight games.

Log on at 7:10 p.m. to join Andrew & Chris for the play-by-play.

Saturday, join Andrew Smith, Chris Lambert and Greg Elkins for the play-by-play as the Marauder girls team opens regional play. Join us at 9:30 a.m. for the pregame show as the Marauders meet Lebanon in the opening round, with the tip at 10 a.m. Then, should the Marauders win, we'll be back on-line that evening for the championship at HancockCountySports.com!

Then, on Tuesday night, join us as the Eastern Hancock Royals visit the Morristown Yellow Jackets. The Royals are coming off a week where they've received national attention for Victor Vincz's 52-point game in the 92-91 victory over Alexandria and Mitch Yeagy's 51 points, believed to be the only time in Indiana history where two players have hit 50 in a game. Morristown has its own big scorer in Dylan Langkabel. Join us at 7:10 p.m. for the broadcast at HancockCountySports.com!

Other games tonight:
Greenfield-Central (2-15) at Rushville (4-12): With both teams sitting on one HHC win, conference positioning is up for grabs in Memorial Gymnasium tonight. The Cougars are looking for their second straight victory after last week's buzzer-beater against Knightstown.

Just 1 boys game Saturday: Cambridge City Lincoln (10-8) at Greenfield-Central: The Cougars host Senior Night against Cambridge City Lincoln and big-scorer Zac Rea. Assuming the Marauders are playing Saturday night, we'll have updates during the game.

5 county players in Top 100

Hoosier Basketball Magazine has released its top 100 seniors list this year, and naturally with the strength of this year's senior class, five Hancock County basketball players are on the list:

*-Jessica Brown, Mt. Vernon (1,000 point career scorer, area leader in assists)
*-LaRae Cruz, Greenfield-Central (county's leading scorer)
*-Bethany Murrell, New Palestine (15 ppg, 7 rpg, strong all-around player, Fla. Gulf Coast recruit)
*-Anna Olson, Mt. Vernon (strong defensive player, MV's leading rebounder)
*-Makenzi Reasor, Mt. Vernon (14 ppg scorer, ISU recruit)

More on EH-Alex shootout

We've been asking some of the state's basketball historians about some of the great individual shootouts in Indiana high school hoops history.

What we've unearthed, so far, are some memorable games, but none where players from both teams topped 50 like Eastern Hancock's Victor Vincz and Alexandria's Mitch Yeagy did last night.

Vincz hit 17-of-25 from the field, 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 11-of-12 from the line. According to VarVee stats, Yeagy was 15-of-25, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and a whopping 17-of-19 from the stripe in the Royals' 92-91 victory.

Both set their respective schools' single-game scoring records.

Here are some of the other games that fall under the "memorable shootouts" line. 

• The "Church Street Shootout" that featured Ray Pavy of New Castle and Jimmy Rayl of Kokomo, which Kokomo Tribune sports editor Bob Ford called, at the time, "the greatest show ever staged in this fabled Indiana high school basketball." Pavy scored 51 that night on 23-of-39 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the line. Rayl hit 18-of-36 from the floor and 13-of-14 from the line and scored 49. Pavy's New Castle team won the game 92-81, the last varsity game ever played in the 1,800-seat Church Street Gymnasium in New Castle. The Trojans moved across town to the 9.325-seat New Castle Fieldhouse the following season. Pavy and Rayl would become teammates at Indiana University.
• Blackmon vs. Alford in 1983 at the New Castle Fieldhouse. Blackmon and Alford were in the race for Mr. Basketball at the time -- Alford would win it -- and their teams were among the state title contenders. Alford scored 48 points that night for New Castle, Blackmon 41 for Marion. New Castle won the game 103-79. 
• 1983 state semifinals at Market Square Arena. James Blackmon shows up on this list twice -- the early 1980s were an unbelievable time in the North Central Conference with great scorers throughout the league. This time, Marion and Anderson met up in the state semifinals. Blackmon scored 52 points -- a State Finals record -- and Anderson's Troy Lewis scored 42 in a game that went double-OT (back then, OT was 3:00, so the teams played 38:00 of basketball, not quite one extra quarter). Anderson won 89-87 in 2OT, and then lost to Connersville that night in a game the Spartans won when Lewis missed a would-be game-winning shot at the buzzer. 
• 1998 Tournament of Champions another game involving Alexandria. The postseason tournament of the first four single-class state champs featured a matchup between 2A's Alexandria and 1A's Lafayette Central Catholic that would've been one of the most memorable tournament games in state history if anybody had ever paid attention to the short-lived TOC (which, while ill-fated, produced some great basketball games). Dan Schukraft of LCC scored 36 points, Daniel Lustig of Alex scored 37. Lustig hit 13-of-17, including 5-of-6 3s. LCC won 113-106 in a 2OT game that featured multiple buzzer-beaters and some great comebacks -- LCC scored 35 fourth-quarter points, but Lustig hit a 3 at the buzzer to force OT, and teammate David Porter hit another off a turnover to force the second OT. I'm tossing this one in because it's the most amazing high school game I've ever attended. What was even nuttier was that Lustig was averaging less than four points per game prior to that night.

Thanks to Chris May with the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, HickoryHusker.com publisher Leigh Evans and former IHSAA sports information director Jim Russell for the assistance and reminiscing (which, believe me, I love to do :) ).

Vincz broke Eastern Hancock's record of 42 set by Dustin Smith last year. It's the third time in the span of 35 games the EH single-game scoring record has been broken -- as Smith set it at 40 on Dec. 17, 2010 at Knightstown, then scored 42 the next night against Cambridge City Lincoln.

Vincz is at least the fourth Hancock County player to break 50 in a game. The county record is 57 points, by Greenfield High School standout Mike Edwards, which he set in the final regular-season game in GHS history (and the final varsity game to be played in the old Greenfield High School gymnasium on School Street) in 1969. Edwards hit 21-of-34 shots that night, was a perfect 15-of-15 from the line, and scored 35 points in the first half of a 99-45 victory over Morristown. Edwards didn't play the last 5:30 of the game. Due to consolidations, that mark doesn't show as a school record, as G-C reset its record book when Greenfield and Hancock Central consolidated at the end of the 1969 school year.

Greenfield-Central's John Hamilton and Kevin Bell have each tallied 50-point games in their careers.

Log on to HancockCountySports.com to listen to a live broadcast of EH's next game, Tuesday at Morristown. Between then, join us for the New Palestine-Mt. Vernon game Friday night, and the Mt. Vernon girls in the Lebanon regional Saturday.

Vincz-Yeagy redux

We have been checking with other basketball historians & record-keepers to find out if there are any other instances of two players scoring 50+ points in the same game, as happened Tuesday when EH's Victor Vincz (52) and Alexandria's Mitch Yeagy (51) scored 50+ in the Royals' 92-91 victory.

According to Jason Wille of the IHSAA, their records did not show any. They do have instances of two 50+ point performances in the same day, but not in the same game. Another basketball historian also believes it to be the first instance. We are also checking with the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

So, for now, we'll call it the first "known" instance of two 50-point scorers in the same game.

Upcoming broadcasts

We have several broadcasts coming up at HancockCountySports.com:

FRIDAY: New Palestine at Mt. Vernon BOYS, 7:10 p.m.
The Dragons come in with a 12-6 mark. The Marauders are 12-5. NP won a 61-55 matchup for the county title, but these two teams are evenly-matched and have some outstanding inside-outside games. Positioning in the HHC is on the line.
SATURDAY: Mt. Vernon GIRLS in regional, 9:30 a.m. and (if necessary), 6:30 p.m.
The #2 Marauders face Lebanon in the opening round of the Lebanon regional. Should MV (20-5) win, the Marauders will face either #8 Edgewood or Tri-West in the title game.
TUESDAY: Eastern Hancock at Morristown BOYS, 7:10 p.m.
A preview of the Mid-Hoosier Conference for the Royals. Fresh off a double 50-point game with Victor Vincz setting EH's school record with 52 and Alexandria's Mitch Yeagy scoring 51, the Royals head to Morristown and face one of the area's most dynamic players in Dylan Langkabel. Join Andrew Smith & Chris Lambert for the LIVE audio webcasts of all of these games at HancockCountySports.com, the only place in Hancock County to get LIVE, professional broadcast coverage of local sports.

Tuesday wrap: Vincz sets Royal record

A year ago, when we saw Dustin Smith drop 40 on Knightstown, a short-lived Eastern Hancock single-game school record was set -- because Smith broke it with 42 the next night.

That record, too, was short-lived.

Victor Vincz broke it tonight, becoming the first player in the 48-year history of Eastern Hancock boys basketball to score 50 points in a game, scoring 52 in the Royals' 92-91 victory over Alexandria.

But that wasn't all. Vincz was the game's leading scorer by just one point. Mitch Yeagy of Alex scored a school-record 51 in the loss.

Vincz hit 17-of-25 from the floor, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range. He was also 11-of-12 from the FT line and had five assists. He hit two free throws and two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to try to cut the Royals' advantage, the last coming at the buzzer. 

He scored 18 points in the first quarter, seven in the second, 15 in the third to get to 40, and then added 12 of the Royals' 28 fourth-quarter points.

Yeagy hit 15-of-25 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and 17-of-19 from the line. He also had six assists.

Alex outscored EH 22-11 in the second quarter to take a 44-35 lead into the locker room. EH then outscored the host Tigers 29-13 in the third to seize the lead back at 64-57 going into the final eight minutes, which saw 62 points scored between the two teams. Alex had 34 in the final quarter, but the Royals scored just enough to win.

Jared Pyle added 16 points and eight boards and Garrett Hancock scored eight off the bench for the Royals. Alex had three double-figure scorers, with Jordan Allen scoring 13 and freshman Blaize Kelley 10. 

It was the Royals' most points since a 93-58 victory over Lapel last year on Jan. 21, 2011.

EH is now 10-8 on the year, its sixth consecutive season with double-digit victories. The Royals are idle until next Tuesday, when they visit Morristown, a game we'll be broadcasting at HancockCountySports.com. Log on at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday for the play-by-play as EH faces Dylan Langkabel and the Yellow Jackets.

(thanks to VarVee and EH assistant coach Joe Paxton for additional game info. The eyewitness game story can be found from the Anderson Herald-Bulletin)

Westfield 68, New Palestine 64: Center Wade Burtron scored 25 points to lead the Shamrocks to the come-from-behind victory over the Dragons, spoiling NP's senior night.

Burtron hit 12-of-14 from the floor and carried the Shamrocks, especially early, when he had 10 first-quarter points.

Westfield hit 63 percent of its shots -- 26-of-41 -- in the game, but the Dragons led throughout the first half despite having leading scorer Michael Morris saddled with early foul trouble, and maintained the lead through the late stages of the third quarter, when Westfield rallied. The Shamrocks outscored NP 19-10 in the third to take the lead at 44-43. The Shamrocks then opened the fourth with an 8-2 run to push the lead to seven.

The Dragons managed to keep fighting back. Trailing by six in the final three minutes, two backcourt turnovers led to a basket by Josh Penley and a 3-pointer by Justin Ikerd to cut a Westfield lead to 56-55. The Dragons again nearly rallied from a late six-point deficit, with Ryan Curry coming off the bench and hitting a 3-pointer to make it a 67-64 game. Penley then stole an inbounds pass with 5.5 seconds left and raced to the top of the key, but his 3-pointer fell short and the Shamrocks rebounded and hit a free throw with 0.3 seconds left to ice it.

Brandon Collins had a strong first-half for the Dragons, scoring 13 of his 15 points. Reid Clark continued his strong play with a 15-point night, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from the line. He added 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double and fifth of the season. Penley added seven points, while fellow senior Wade Whitaker started and had two rebounds. The four make up a senior class that has been part of two sectional and two county title teams during their four years.

Justin Ikerd hit three 3-pointers for nine points for NP. Morris had seven points and five rebounds. Freshman Brandon Jonas had a strong floor game and scored five points.

The Dragons are now 12-6 on the year. They next play Friday at Mt. Vernon, a game we'll broadcast at HancockCountySports.com. Log on at 7:10 p.m. for the play-by-play.

Marauders win sectional 77-32

Mt. Vernon showed why it's the second-ranked team in Class 3A tonight, outscoring Chatard 77-32 in the sectional championship game at Arlington High School.

The Marauders were suffocating on defense, forcing several steals & deflections and turning them into fast-break points.

MV trailed 5-4 early, but then went on a sizeable run that never seemed to stop. The Marauders finished the first quarter with a 15-2 spurt that put them up 19-7 after one, then started the second on a 12-2 run that saw the lead pushed to 31-9.

Sophomore forward Erica Moore had 18 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, and when she scored her 24th point, she had as many as the opposing team.

Jessica Brown then had a big second half, scoring 13 of her 19 points as MV extended a 39-16 halftime lead and turned it into a 59-24 edge by the end of the third quarter. MV scored at least 18 points in each quarter, and held Chatard to single-digits in each.

Four Marauders scored in double-figures, as Makenzi Reasor added 11 points and Rachel Houck 10.

The Marauders are now 20-5 on the season, and have won county, conference and sectional championships. They'll play in the Lebanon regional next week, facing the host Tigers in the 10 a.m. first semifinal. Lebanon beat No. 8 Western Boone 68-61 in the sectional title game at WeBo. The second semifinal will feature Tri-West and No. 10 Edgewood. TW beat Indian Creek 75-70 in OT at Beech Grove, while Edgewood beat Brown County 56-48 at Owen Valley. The championship game will be at 7 p.m.

All of the Marauders' games the rest of the tournament will be LIVE at HancockCountySports.com the rest of the way!