By Andrew Smith,
HancockCountySports.com
A few years back, I grabbed a basketball, dribbled up to the lane, elevated on the springy Hinkle Fieldhouse floor, and fired a jump shot.
Swish.
Bobby Plump hit a memorable shot from nearly that exact spot on that exact floor nearly 50 years before. I wanted to do the same.
Why was it possible?
Because our high school team had been invited to Hinkle to play in a basketball doubleheader.
It was an annual tradition -- there were a few dates we circled on the high school basketball calendar. Sure, Pike High -- where I attended -- had a powerhouse basketball program that was consistently ranked among the state's best, so we played a lot of big games. But there were always a few dates that stood out -- the annual Marion County Tournament, with the final four at Southport in mid-January, and the annual games against other powers like Muncie Central and Ben Davis among them.
But the biggest was our annual trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse, almost always to play the equally-powerful Lawrence North Wildcats. Another memory is playing the Hall of Fame Classic in front of a nearly-packed house at Assembly Hall against Bedford North Lawrence and some guy named Damon.
But according to an NCAA ruling from last month, those things can't happen anymore, as the NCAA has spiked "non-scholastic" events from taking place at college venues. We all remember the furor when the ruling led to the disbanding of a sextupleheader that was scheduled for the gym in early December on 24 hours' notice. It appears to have also killed the Hoosier Heritage Conference girls basketball shootout that was to have taken place at Hinkle that is scheduled for Jan. 21, as reported by both the Daily Reporter and Indianapolis Business Journal sports guru Anthony Schoettle.
Originally, the girls basketball shootout was not affected by the NCAA rule, which only applied to boys hoops. But the NCAA is set to meet and likely add girls programs to that. My guess is, football is probably next.
It's intended to keep some schools from getting a recruiting advantage over others.
What it's doing instead is taking away opportunities. At the risk of telling a "walking to school in the snow uphill both ways" story, it's a crime that today's student-athletes won't get to experience what thousands of Hoosiers have been able to experience.
When we got to play our annual game at Hinkle, it was a date in the "big-time." It
was a great opportunity for our players, our fans, our community to be a
part of an awesome venue. Yes, Hinkle belongs to Butler University, but
since it was built in 1928, it has really belonged to the entire state.
It was "ours" -- Mecca for high school hoops. Just about every big game
in Indianapolis was played there. It was practically the home gym for
Crispus Attucks in its 1950s heyday, and an Indianapolis school could go
through the entire state tournament without ever stepping off of
Butler's campus to play a tournament game.
It was even better if you caught a day game -- as Mt. Vernon did a couple of years ago when its boys and girls teams played Hamilton Heights at Hinkle -- and saw the blue seats awash in the sunlight pouring in through the windows. But Hinkle was a magical destination.
This is a case of the NCAA cutting off its nose to spite its face. The percentage of student-athletes who will play at a Div. I college is miniscule, and any perceived recruiting advantage is definitely miniscule.
Are there unscrupulous operators who would try to schedule "made-for-TV" events with tons of prospective recruits in a college's venue? Certainly. But those are few and far between, and legitimate operations like Ray Compton's Compton Strategies get sucked into the vortex. It's unfortunate that the many (people like Compton, who have long put on such events that enhance the student-athlete experience) get sucked into the issues with a few.
A sensible alternative would be to have the NCAA approve the operators of such "non-scholastic events" and make sure they don't have ties with agents, shoe companies, AAU teams or colleges themselves. Because, in most cases, these events are put on by well-meaning people who are providing the infrastructure to give high school students a memorable experience, not to gain any perceived recruiting advantage for a school.
After all, high school games have been played at Butler for more than 80 years. It's only been in the last two that Butler University has advanced to the NCAA title game -- in an era when the slate of high school games played at Hinkle was sharply reduced.
The other issue is that conferences like the HHC have long been proactive about giving their student-athletes good experiences. Every three years since 2003, the HHC has held a football quadrupleheader at either the RCA Dome or Lucas Oil Stadium. Given the limited number of opportunities at Lucas Oil next year, the 2012 event -- if it happens -- is slated to be played either there or at Ball State University's Scheumann Stadium. BSU's venue has also hosted numerous "conference days" for neighboring leagues, including the North Central and Mid-Indiana Conferences. The eventual plan was to make this Hinkle quadrupleheader a regular day for both boys and girls teams, giving more of the conference's student-athletes a chance to play a memorable, special game in a special venue. They started with a girls basketball event because all eight HHC schools were slated to play conference games on the weekend of Jan. 21.
All of that could be in jeopardy. The HHC does this as a conference -- a scholastic entity -- to enhance opportunities for its student-athletes. Have a handful gone on to play in college? Certainly, but the vast majority of HHC athletes -- like any high school athletes -- will hang up their tennis shoes or cleats the moment their last IHSAA tournament event ends their senior years.
In the zeal to protect a select few student-athletes from unscrupulous recruiters -- those select few student-athletes who are often influenced by shoe companies, boosters and other handlers and who would be highly unlikely to be influenced by playing one high school game at a college venue -- we deny the many student athletes the opportunity to step out of the normal high school venue and play a memorable game at an awesome venue. We've essentially locked the door and said "to play here, you must get a scholarship."
That's wrong. Well-intentioned, but still wrong.
The NCAA is denying the opportunity to provide outstanding experiences for the many because of the fear of a few. A memorable day and a great celebration of a conference's basketball teams will instead become another 1/20th of the high school basketball schedule.
It's time for the organization to do the right thing and allow approved "non-scholastic" operators like Compton Strategies, the folks running the Region Roundball Rumble (which was booted from Valpo University) and Super Hoops -- whose Jan. 7 all-day classic at Mackey Arena was also shelved -- to use college venues if they've been properly vetted and are proven to not have ties to the slimier elements of college recruiting, and give student-athletes great experiences while they're still in high school, rather than reserving them for the select few who are talented enough to garner a Div. I scholarship.
Until then, I'd implore the HHC to continue to seek out a legendary high school venue within the conference footprint that would work. The Muncie and New Castle Fieldhouses are both iconic venues which would be a great place to host high school hoops.
Programming note: Because of this event changing and the games likely reverting back to their originally-scheduled campus sites, we will have to make adjustments to our broadcast schedule. We were slated to broadcast the New Palestine vs. Rushville and Mt. Vernon vs. Greenfield-Central games that Saturday, in addition to the Eastern Hancock at Lapel boys game that Friday night and the Mt. Vernon vs. Knightstown boys game that Thursday. Several games -- and game dates -- might change due to his move, and therefore, we will significantly change the broadcast schedule. Please stay logged into here, our Twitter account, our Facebook account or our website for more info.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
#3 Marauders beat Franklin
In a hard-fought game, the third-ranked Mt. Vernon girls basketball team pulled away to a 68-56 victory over the Franklin Grizzly Cubs Thursday night.
MV used a 15-0 first-quarter run to build a 12-point lead, and had four players score in double-figures in the victory, doing so while battling foul trouble much of the night.
MV improved to 8-2 on the season with the victory, heading into the Hancock County Tournament on Tuesday.
Makenzi Reasor scored eight points in the first-quarter run and finished with 16. Teammate Erica Moore -- the Marauders' other 6-footer on the front line -- led the Marauders with 18 points.
After trailing 15-4 at the end of one, Franklin made a run in the second and cut the Marauders' lead to 30-25 at halftime. Moore had a big third quarter as the Marauders pushed the lead to 46-35, and then MV scored 22 in the fourth to pull away.
Rachel Houck hit six late free throws to help salt the game away, and scored 14 points. Jessica Brown added 13 points and Anna Olson scored seven for the Marauders.
Shelby Parmer led Franklin with a game-high 21 points. The Grizzly Cubs are now 6-5 headed into their own tournament Dec. 30 -- which will include New Palestine. Franklin will meet West Vigo in the first semifinal, with New Palestine facing Indian Creek in the second semi.
The Marauders' next game will be at Eastern Hancock at approximately 11:30 a.m. in Tuesday's Hancock County Tournament. MV is a two-time defending county champion. New Palestine will host Greenfield-Central in the other semifinal round. MV will host the championship and consolation games, with the boys playing at 6 p.m. and the girls at approximately 8 p.m. HancockCountySports.com will broadcast both championship games on Tuesday.
MV used a 15-0 first-quarter run to build a 12-point lead, and had four players score in double-figures in the victory, doing so while battling foul trouble much of the night.
MV improved to 8-2 on the season with the victory, heading into the Hancock County Tournament on Tuesday.
Makenzi Reasor scored eight points in the first-quarter run and finished with 16. Teammate Erica Moore -- the Marauders' other 6-footer on the front line -- led the Marauders with 18 points.
After trailing 15-4 at the end of one, Franklin made a run in the second and cut the Marauders' lead to 30-25 at halftime. Moore had a big third quarter as the Marauders pushed the lead to 46-35, and then MV scored 22 in the fourth to pull away.
Rachel Houck hit six late free throws to help salt the game away, and scored 14 points. Jessica Brown added 13 points and Anna Olson scored seven for the Marauders.
Shelby Parmer led Franklin with a game-high 21 points. The Grizzly Cubs are now 6-5 headed into their own tournament Dec. 30 -- which will include New Palestine. Franklin will meet West Vigo in the first semifinal, with New Palestine facing Indian Creek in the second semi.
The Marauders' next game will be at Eastern Hancock at approximately 11:30 a.m. in Tuesday's Hancock County Tournament. MV is a two-time defending county champion. New Palestine will host Greenfield-Central in the other semifinal round. MV will host the championship and consolation games, with the boys playing at 6 p.m. and the girls at approximately 8 p.m. HancockCountySports.com will broadcast both championship games on Tuesday.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
New Palestine wins 5th straight
The New Palestine basketball team trailed at halftime, but seized the lead in the third quarter and eventually pulled away to a 62-48 road victory over Beech Grove Wednesday night.
The victory was the Dragons' fifth straight, and their first since receiving votes in the AP Class 4A poll. The Dragons are now 6-1 on the season heading into the Dec. 27 Hancock County Tournament.
Reid Clark and Josh Penley helped the Dragons take the lead after Beech Grove led for much of the first half. Penley and Michael Morris combined for 16 points in the third quarter after scoring two between them in the first half, helping the Dragons turn a 19-17 deficit into a 39-30 lead. It would be cut to 39-38 when BG's Cody Utterback and Ronnie Dietz hit back-to-back 3-pointers to sandwich the quarter break, but the Dragons responded.
Justin Ikerd's 3-pointer -- the only one for the Dragons in the game -- helped the Dragons re-build a six-point edge and they pulled away from there. Clark scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Penley added 17 points -- 10 in the third quarter, 15 in the second half -- to help lead a balanced attack. Penley also had four rebounds and three steals.
Clark had a double-double -- his second of the season -- by adding 13 rebounds to his 18 points. The Dragons outrebounded Beech Grove 36-20. He scored five straight points in the fourth quarter to help the Dragons pull out to a double-digit lead.
The Dragons had to rally from an early 11-4 deficit, as they scored nine straight points to take a brief lead in the second quarter before BG took the lead at halftime.
Morris added eight second-half points for the Dragons. Brandon Collins had seven points and five rebounds off the bench. Brandon Jonas also had five rebounds. The Dragons' defense held Beech Grove to 34 percent shooting. Zach Barkdull led the Hornets with 22 points and three assists. Ronnie Dietz had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Listen to the archive at HancockCountySports.com
The next games for all of the county teams will be Dec. 27 in the county tournament. New Palestine (6-1) will host Greenfield-Central (0-7); while Eastern Hancock (5-3) will host Mt. Vernon (4-2) in the semifinal rounds, which will begin at 10 a.m. The girls games will follow each.
The boys championship and consolation games will be played at 6 p.m. that evening at Mt. Vernon. Listen to the title game live at HancockCountySports.com beginning at 5:40 p.m.
The victory was the Dragons' fifth straight, and their first since receiving votes in the AP Class 4A poll. The Dragons are now 6-1 on the season heading into the Dec. 27 Hancock County Tournament.
Reid Clark and Josh Penley helped the Dragons take the lead after Beech Grove led for much of the first half. Penley and Michael Morris combined for 16 points in the third quarter after scoring two between them in the first half, helping the Dragons turn a 19-17 deficit into a 39-30 lead. It would be cut to 39-38 when BG's Cody Utterback and Ronnie Dietz hit back-to-back 3-pointers to sandwich the quarter break, but the Dragons responded.
Justin Ikerd's 3-pointer -- the only one for the Dragons in the game -- helped the Dragons re-build a six-point edge and they pulled away from there. Clark scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Penley added 17 points -- 10 in the third quarter, 15 in the second half -- to help lead a balanced attack. Penley also had four rebounds and three steals.
Clark had a double-double -- his second of the season -- by adding 13 rebounds to his 18 points. The Dragons outrebounded Beech Grove 36-20. He scored five straight points in the fourth quarter to help the Dragons pull out to a double-digit lead.
The Dragons had to rally from an early 11-4 deficit, as they scored nine straight points to take a brief lead in the second quarter before BG took the lead at halftime.
Morris added eight second-half points for the Dragons. Brandon Collins had seven points and five rebounds off the bench. Brandon Jonas also had five rebounds. The Dragons' defense held Beech Grove to 34 percent shooting. Zach Barkdull led the Hornets with 22 points and three assists. Ronnie Dietz had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Listen to the archive at HancockCountySports.com
The next games for all of the county teams will be Dec. 27 in the county tournament. New Palestine (6-1) will host Greenfield-Central (0-7); while Eastern Hancock (5-3) will host Mt. Vernon (4-2) in the semifinal rounds, which will begin at 10 a.m. The girls games will follow each.
The boys championship and consolation games will be played at 6 p.m. that evening at Mt. Vernon. Listen to the title game live at HancockCountySports.com beginning at 5:40 p.m.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Notebook: Sectional sites see slight changes
The IHSAA announced the 2011-12 sectional sites Monday, and there were some slight changes from what had been announced earlier this year.
Where the local schools will be headed (all teams feed into the south semistate)
Boys basketball
Greenfield-Central (4A Sectional 9): Sectional at New Castle, regional at Hinkle
New Palestine (4A Sectional 13): Sectional at Center Grove, regional at Shelbyville
Mt. Vernon (3A Sectional 27): Sectional at Mt. Vernon, regional at Greencastle
Eastern Hancock (2A Sectional 41): Sectional at Hagerstown, regional at Connersville
Girls basketball
Greenfield-Central (4A Sectional 9): Sectional at Greenfield-Central, regional at Decatur Central
New Palestine (4A Sectional 13): Sectional at Franklin, regional at Bedford North Lawrence
Mt. Vernon (3A Sectional 27): Sectional at Arlington, regional at Lebanon
Eastern Hancock (2A Sectional 41): Sectional at Cambridge City Lincoln, regional at Speedway
Two of the sites were changes from what was announced -- NP's girls sectional will be at Franklin and not Franklin Central. MV's girls regional will feed into the Lebanon regional, rather than a site at Danville. This year will be the first time since the IHSAA switched to the four-team, three-game regional format in 2002 that MV will not be hosting a girls regional.
Team rankings
Three Hancock County basketball teams are receiving poll votes this week. Mt. Vernon's girls remained No. 3 in Class 3A in the ICGSA girls poll. The Marauders are tied for No. 18 in the single-class IBCA poll. The Marauders are also fourth in the Sagarain Class 3A rankings.
On the boys side, New Palestine is receiving votes in the AP Class 4A poll -- it would be a 22nd-place tie if the poll ranked teams past No. 10. Mt. Vernon is receiving votes in the 3A poll -- and would be in a 16th-place tie. MV is also second in the Sagarin computer rankings in Class 3A, in part because of one of the toughest schedules in the state.
Where the local schools will be headed (all teams feed into the south semistate)
Boys basketball
Greenfield-Central (4A Sectional 9): Sectional at New Castle, regional at Hinkle
New Palestine (4A Sectional 13): Sectional at Center Grove, regional at Shelbyville
Mt. Vernon (3A Sectional 27): Sectional at Mt. Vernon, regional at Greencastle
Eastern Hancock (2A Sectional 41): Sectional at Hagerstown, regional at Connersville
Girls basketball
Greenfield-Central (4A Sectional 9): Sectional at Greenfield-Central, regional at Decatur Central
New Palestine (4A Sectional 13): Sectional at Franklin, regional at Bedford North Lawrence
Mt. Vernon (3A Sectional 27): Sectional at Arlington, regional at Lebanon
Eastern Hancock (2A Sectional 41): Sectional at Cambridge City Lincoln, regional at Speedway
Two of the sites were changes from what was announced -- NP's girls sectional will be at Franklin and not Franklin Central. MV's girls regional will feed into the Lebanon regional, rather than a site at Danville. This year will be the first time since the IHSAA switched to the four-team, three-game regional format in 2002 that MV will not be hosting a girls regional.
Team rankings
Three Hancock County basketball teams are receiving poll votes this week. Mt. Vernon's girls remained No. 3 in Class 3A in the ICGSA girls poll. The Marauders are tied for No. 18 in the single-class IBCA poll. The Marauders are also fourth in the Sagarain Class 3A rankings.
On the boys side, New Palestine is receiving votes in the AP Class 4A poll -- it would be a 22nd-place tie if the poll ranked teams past No. 10. Mt. Vernon is receiving votes in the 3A poll -- and would be in a 16th-place tie. MV is also second in the Sagarin computer rankings in Class 3A, in part because of one of the toughest schedules in the state.
Tuesday wrap: Royal boys, girls post big wins
Eastern Hancock's boys basketball team improved to 5-3 on the season with a big road victory at Blue River Tuesday night.
EH beat the Vikings 66-59, knocking off a squad that had been receiving votes in the AP Class A poll.
The Royals next play Tuesday, Dec. 27 in the opening round of the county tournament. The Royals will host Mt. Vernon at 10 a.m. in the semifinal round. The championship/consolation rounds will be played at MV at 6 p.m.
Girls basketball
Eastern Hancock 53, Cambridge City Lincoln 49: The Royals used a big third quarter to build a double-digit lead, then held off a furious comeback to post the best 10-game start in school history.
The Royals now have an 8-2 record on the season. Sophomore guard Kiersten Schrope had 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Sophomore forward Kristen Eischen added 15 points and five boards to lead the Royals.
Alora Marshall had eight points and four steals. Lauren Harmon added seven points and four boards.
EH used a big third quarter to pull away in a game that was tied 12-all after a quarter and 21-all at halftime. The Royals outscored the Golden Eagles 19-5 in the penultimate frame to go up 40-26 headed into the final eight minutes.
EH's next game is against 3A No. 3 Mt. Vernon in the opening round of the county tournament at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 27.
Connersville 55, Greenfield-Central 47: Connersville jumped out to a double-digit lead after a quarter and held on to snap the Cougars' six-game winning streak.
Sara Jones and LaRae Cruz led the Cougars, scoring 14 points each. Katie Peters added six points for G-C.
Connersville led 19-7 after a quarter and 26-13 at the half. G-C cut the deficit to 10 at the end of three and scored 20 fourth-quarter points.
The Cougars are now 7-4. Their next game is Dec. 27 at New Palestine in the Hancock County Tournament. Their semifinal game will be at 11:30 a.m. -- after the boys teams play -- with the championship/consolation games at Mt. Vernon that night.
Upcoming broadcasts
We have several games coming up on HancockCountySports.com. On Wednesday, join Andrew Smith and Chris Lambert for live play-by-play as the 5-1 New Palestine Dragons -- receiving votes in the AP poll -- take on the Beech Grove Hornets. Join us at 7:10 p.m. for the broadcast.
On Tuesday, Dec. 27, join Andrew, Chris and Greg Elkins for the Hancock County championship games, starting with the boys final at 5:40 p.m. from Mt. Vernon. The girls championship game broadcast will follow.
On Thursday, Dec. 29, join Andrew and Chris for the Hall of Fame Classic. We'll be on at approximately 11:20 for Mt. Vernon vs. Penn in the semifinal round, and then we'll have the Marauders' game that night.
EH beat the Vikings 66-59, knocking off a squad that had been receiving votes in the AP Class A poll.
The Royals next play Tuesday, Dec. 27 in the opening round of the county tournament. The Royals will host Mt. Vernon at 10 a.m. in the semifinal round. The championship/consolation rounds will be played at MV at 6 p.m.
Girls basketball
Eastern Hancock 53, Cambridge City Lincoln 49: The Royals used a big third quarter to build a double-digit lead, then held off a furious comeback to post the best 10-game start in school history.
The Royals now have an 8-2 record on the season. Sophomore guard Kiersten Schrope had 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Sophomore forward Kristen Eischen added 15 points and five boards to lead the Royals.
Alora Marshall had eight points and four steals. Lauren Harmon added seven points and four boards.
EH used a big third quarter to pull away in a game that was tied 12-all after a quarter and 21-all at halftime. The Royals outscored the Golden Eagles 19-5 in the penultimate frame to go up 40-26 headed into the final eight minutes.
EH's next game is against 3A No. 3 Mt. Vernon in the opening round of the county tournament at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 27.
Connersville 55, Greenfield-Central 47: Connersville jumped out to a double-digit lead after a quarter and held on to snap the Cougars' six-game winning streak.
Sara Jones and LaRae Cruz led the Cougars, scoring 14 points each. Katie Peters added six points for G-C.
Connersville led 19-7 after a quarter and 26-13 at the half. G-C cut the deficit to 10 at the end of three and scored 20 fourth-quarter points.
The Cougars are now 7-4. Their next game is Dec. 27 at New Palestine in the Hancock County Tournament. Their semifinal game will be at 11:30 a.m. -- after the boys teams play -- with the championship/consolation games at Mt. Vernon that night.
Upcoming broadcasts
We have several games coming up on HancockCountySports.com. On Wednesday, join Andrew Smith and Chris Lambert for live play-by-play as the 5-1 New Palestine Dragons -- receiving votes in the AP poll -- take on the Beech Grove Hornets. Join us at 7:10 p.m. for the broadcast.
On Tuesday, Dec. 27, join Andrew, Chris and Greg Elkins for the Hancock County championship games, starting with the boys final at 5:40 p.m. from Mt. Vernon. The girls championship game broadcast will follow.
On Thursday, Dec. 29, join Andrew and Chris for the Hall of Fame Classic. We'll be on at approximately 11:20 for Mt. Vernon vs. Penn in the semifinal round, and then we'll have the Marauders' game that night.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday wrap: Hoops & wrestling
Boys basketball
New Palestine 64, Franklin Central 63: The Dragons won a see-saw battle against the Flashes with some clutch play at the end of the game.
The Dragons trailed 60-57 when Justin Ikerd hit a 3-pointer to knot the game up in the late stages. Then, Josh Penley got a steal and turned it into a basket to give the Dragons the lead. The Dragons then forced a stop and Michael Morris drained two free throws with 3 seconds left to ice it.
Four Dragons scored in double-figures as they improved to 5-1 on the season. Morris had a 17-point night, hitting 5-of-9 shots and adding nine rebounds and four assists. Ikerd scored 15 points, hitting five 3-pointers and grabbing four rebounds. Penley had 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while junior guard Solomon Haynes had a season-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, three assists and two steals. Senior Reid Clark added six points, five rebounds and a team-high three steals.
The Dragons rallied from deficits of 20-13 after a quarter and 34-26 at the half, taking the lead by scoring 20 third-quarter points and going ahead 46-44, setting up a see-saw finish.
The Dragons' next game will be Wednesday at Beech Grove. It will be broadcast live by HancockCountySports.com
Mt. Vernon 60, Whiteland 31: The Marauders posted lopsided victories in back-to-back games, beating a Whiteland team that came into the game with a 4-1 record and had just beaten Center Grove.
The Marauders, now 4-2, won their two weekend games by a combined score of 137-79. They will next play Jan. 27 in the Hancock County Tournament, visiting Eastern Hancock at 10 a.m. in the morning session before hosting the championship/consolation games at 6 p.m.
Cambridge City Lincoln 65, Eastern Hancock 54: The Royals trailed 27-22 at halftime, and then saw Cambridge City Lincoln pull away in the second half.
CCL was led by Zac Rea, who nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Jared Pyle scored in double-figures for the Royals.
The Royals are now 4-3 and play Tuesday at Blue River.
Girls basketball
Eastern Hancock 57, Northeastern 54: Playing less than 24 hours after their hard-fought game against Knightstown, the Royals rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes to beat Northeastern.
EH trailed 28-20 at halftime after Northeastern scored 23 in the second quarter, but the Royals chipped away, cutting the deficit to 37-33 at the end of three.
The Royals had tremendous balance in scoring, as six players scored between seven and 11 points.
Lauren Harmon led the way for the Royals, scoring 11 points to pace a balanced attack. She hit three 3-pointers and also added six rebounds. Alora Marshall had 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Skyler Overleese also scored nine points, with Hannah Best adding eight points and four assists. Guard Kiersten Schrope had seven points, seven boards, four assists and two steals. Kaytlin Eastes had seven points and six boards, while Kristen Eischen had five points. Peyton Neisler had five rebounds off the bench.
The Royals are now 7-2 and play Tuesday at home against Cambridge City Lincoln.
New Palestine 65, Yorktown 24: The Dragons jumped ahead 19-2 after a quarter and used a strong defensive effort to pull away. The Dragons got a lot of production from throughout their lineup.
Tori Stephenson led the way with three 3-pointers and 15 points to go along with eight steals, hitting a pair of triples in the second quarter to help the Dragons open up a 37-9 halftime lead. NP's defense held Yorktown to two points in the third, with the Dragons leading 51-11.
Lauren Tieman added 12 points and eight rebounds. Bethany Murrell scored 12 points -- all early -- and added a strong all-around game with 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots. Taylor Espich had a career-high 10 points, four assists and three steals, making her first career start.
Emily Curry and Abby Seifert each scored seven points. Seifert also added eight rebounds and four steals.
The Dragons' defense forced 20 steals and 30 turnovers, leading to 38 Dragon points.
The Dragons' next game will be against Greenfield-Central in the Hancock County Tournament on Dec. 27.
Wrestling
New Palestine wins Dragon 5-way: The Dragons won a thrilling 34-33 decision over Greenfield-Central to take the New Palestine 5-way duals Saturday afternoon.
The Dragons also beat Mt. Vernon 84-0, Union County 60-15 and Triton Central 66-6 en route to the victory. The Dragons are now 18-1 on the season in dual matches.
Greenfield-Central is now 12-3. The Cougars beat Mt. Vernon 82-0, Union County 60-14 and Triton Central 58-15.
For New Palestine, Willie Bryan (285), Tommy Cash (106), Taylor Fee (120), Gordon Wagner (126), Billy Emmons (113), Nick Ulrey (145) and Connor Robinson (160) all won their matches against G-C in their dual meet, with Bryan, Cash and Robinson all winning by fall and Emmons taking a forfeit. Fee won a major decision wrestling up a weight class.
Bryan, Cash, Fee, Ulrey and Robinson were all 5-0 on the day. In addition, Rylan McCarty was 3-0 at 120. Gordon Wagner, Brian Wagner, Cameron Denney, Matt Roembke and Robbie Elsea all went 3-1, with Wagner wrestling the match of the day, taking two-time state champion Cody Phillips of Union County the distance before falling 9-6. Ulrey and G-C's Josh Farrell -- also a state-ranked wrestler -- had a down-to-the-wire match that wasn't decided until the final takedown in the closing seconds.
Greenfield-Central's Kyle Wilburn, Ian Early, Farrell, Austin Rose and Dezmen McGinley all went 4-0 on the day.
Mt. Vernon went 0-4 as a team.
Swimming
Greenfield-Central's boys finished fourth in the Hamilton Southeastern invitational, with two school records being set. Jon McCormick set a record finishing fifth in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.33. The 400 free relay of Patrick Stutz, Wilburn, Wilburn and James Young finished fourht and set a record in 3:21.28. Other top-8 finishers were Young (4th 100 fly, 8th 200 free), Stutz (2nd 50 free, 6th 100 free), McCormick (4th, 200 IM0 and the 200 free relay of Stutz, Wilburn, Young and Wilburn, which finished 2nd. The 200 medley relay was seventh.
G-C's girls finished eighth. Carly Fernandes was fifth in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 200 IM.
New Palestine 64, Franklin Central 63: The Dragons won a see-saw battle against the Flashes with some clutch play at the end of the game.
The Dragons trailed 60-57 when Justin Ikerd hit a 3-pointer to knot the game up in the late stages. Then, Josh Penley got a steal and turned it into a basket to give the Dragons the lead. The Dragons then forced a stop and Michael Morris drained two free throws with 3 seconds left to ice it.
Four Dragons scored in double-figures as they improved to 5-1 on the season. Morris had a 17-point night, hitting 5-of-9 shots and adding nine rebounds and four assists. Ikerd scored 15 points, hitting five 3-pointers and grabbing four rebounds. Penley had 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while junior guard Solomon Haynes had a season-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, three assists and two steals. Senior Reid Clark added six points, five rebounds and a team-high three steals.
The Dragons rallied from deficits of 20-13 after a quarter and 34-26 at the half, taking the lead by scoring 20 third-quarter points and going ahead 46-44, setting up a see-saw finish.
The Dragons' next game will be Wednesday at Beech Grove. It will be broadcast live by HancockCountySports.com
Mt. Vernon 60, Whiteland 31: The Marauders posted lopsided victories in back-to-back games, beating a Whiteland team that came into the game with a 4-1 record and had just beaten Center Grove.
The Marauders, now 4-2, won their two weekend games by a combined score of 137-79. They will next play Jan. 27 in the Hancock County Tournament, visiting Eastern Hancock at 10 a.m. in the morning session before hosting the championship/consolation games at 6 p.m.
Cambridge City Lincoln 65, Eastern Hancock 54: The Royals trailed 27-22 at halftime, and then saw Cambridge City Lincoln pull away in the second half.
CCL was led by Zac Rea, who nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Jared Pyle scored in double-figures for the Royals.
The Royals are now 4-3 and play Tuesday at Blue River.
Girls basketball
Eastern Hancock 57, Northeastern 54: Playing less than 24 hours after their hard-fought game against Knightstown, the Royals rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes to beat Northeastern.
EH trailed 28-20 at halftime after Northeastern scored 23 in the second quarter, but the Royals chipped away, cutting the deficit to 37-33 at the end of three.
The Royals had tremendous balance in scoring, as six players scored between seven and 11 points.
Lauren Harmon led the way for the Royals, scoring 11 points to pace a balanced attack. She hit three 3-pointers and also added six rebounds. Alora Marshall had 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Skyler Overleese also scored nine points, with Hannah Best adding eight points and four assists. Guard Kiersten Schrope had seven points, seven boards, four assists and two steals. Kaytlin Eastes had seven points and six boards, while Kristen Eischen had five points. Peyton Neisler had five rebounds off the bench.
The Royals are now 7-2 and play Tuesday at home against Cambridge City Lincoln.
New Palestine 65, Yorktown 24: The Dragons jumped ahead 19-2 after a quarter and used a strong defensive effort to pull away. The Dragons got a lot of production from throughout their lineup.
Tori Stephenson led the way with three 3-pointers and 15 points to go along with eight steals, hitting a pair of triples in the second quarter to help the Dragons open up a 37-9 halftime lead. NP's defense held Yorktown to two points in the third, with the Dragons leading 51-11.
Lauren Tieman added 12 points and eight rebounds. Bethany Murrell scored 12 points -- all early -- and added a strong all-around game with 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots. Taylor Espich had a career-high 10 points, four assists and three steals, making her first career start.
Emily Curry and Abby Seifert each scored seven points. Seifert also added eight rebounds and four steals.
The Dragons' defense forced 20 steals and 30 turnovers, leading to 38 Dragon points.
The Dragons' next game will be against Greenfield-Central in the Hancock County Tournament on Dec. 27.
Wrestling
New Palestine wins Dragon 5-way: The Dragons won a thrilling 34-33 decision over Greenfield-Central to take the New Palestine 5-way duals Saturday afternoon.
The Dragons also beat Mt. Vernon 84-0, Union County 60-15 and Triton Central 66-6 en route to the victory. The Dragons are now 18-1 on the season in dual matches.
Greenfield-Central is now 12-3. The Cougars beat Mt. Vernon 82-0, Union County 60-14 and Triton Central 58-15.
For New Palestine, Willie Bryan (285), Tommy Cash (106), Taylor Fee (120), Gordon Wagner (126), Billy Emmons (113), Nick Ulrey (145) and Connor Robinson (160) all won their matches against G-C in their dual meet, with Bryan, Cash and Robinson all winning by fall and Emmons taking a forfeit. Fee won a major decision wrestling up a weight class.
Bryan, Cash, Fee, Ulrey and Robinson were all 5-0 on the day. In addition, Rylan McCarty was 3-0 at 120. Gordon Wagner, Brian Wagner, Cameron Denney, Matt Roembke and Robbie Elsea all went 3-1, with Wagner wrestling the match of the day, taking two-time state champion Cody Phillips of Union County the distance before falling 9-6. Ulrey and G-C's Josh Farrell -- also a state-ranked wrestler -- had a down-to-the-wire match that wasn't decided until the final takedown in the closing seconds.
Greenfield-Central's Kyle Wilburn, Ian Early, Farrell, Austin Rose and Dezmen McGinley all went 4-0 on the day.
Mt. Vernon went 0-4 as a team.
Swimming
Greenfield-Central's boys finished fourth in the Hamilton Southeastern invitational, with two school records being set. Jon McCormick set a record finishing fifth in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.33. The 400 free relay of Patrick Stutz, Wilburn, Wilburn and James Young finished fourht and set a record in 3:21.28. Other top-8 finishers were Young (4th 100 fly, 8th 200 free), Stutz (2nd 50 free, 6th 100 free), McCormick (4th, 200 IM0 and the 200 free relay of Stutz, Wilburn, Young and Wilburn, which finished 2nd. The 200 medley relay was seventh.
G-C's girls finished eighth. Carly Fernandes was fifth in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 200 IM.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday wrap: Heading toward county
All four Hancock County boys teams -- and one of the girls teams -- were in action at home tonight, with several big performances throughout.
Eastern Hancock 56, Knightstown 51: The Royals took an early lead and never looked back in a five-point victory. EH led by four points at the end of the first quarter and never trailed in the game. Knightstown kept within striking distance, but EH's lead was often between 3-8 points much of the night.
The game was a coming-out party for EH's Cody Clark, who had 17 points and eight rebounds and commanded the paint inside. The Royals' Jared Pyle also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, including 10 in the second quarter as the Royals opened up an eight-point lead -- one that would be whittled to four at halftime, but would be pushed back up to nine by the end of the third. Victor Vincz would hit four late free throws to help seal the victory, among his nine points.
Clay Ratliff led three Panthers in double-figures with 16 points. Freshman point guard Jake Kwisz had 13 for Knightstown.
EH (4-2) is back in action Saturday night at Cambridge City Lincoln, and then again Tuesday at Blue River. Knightstown is now 1-5.
New Palestine 73, Morristown 61: The Dragons used a big second quarter to build a 31-19 halftime lead and pull away, using three double-figure performances.
Dragon forward Michael Morris -- their leading scorer on the year -- had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Justin Ikerd had his second straight double-figure game with 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Josh Penley had 17 points and three assists, while Reid Clark added eight points and five boards. Solomon Haynes added seven assists and six rebounds.
The Dragons shot 50 percent from the floor and won despite a 30-point effort by Morristown's Dylan Langkabel.
NP is now 4-1, and will be back in action Saturday night at Franklin Central. The Dragons then will travel to Beech Grove Wednesday evening, for a game we will broadcast on HancockCountySports.com.
Mt. Vernon 77, Shelbyville 38: The Marauders led 51-12 at the half and extended the lead into the second half. C.J. Coleman led MV with 20 points in the victory, which gave the Marauders a 3-2 record on the year and a 1-1 HHC mark.
The Marauders next play in the county tournament Dec. 27. They will visit Eastern Hancock in the morning semifinals, and then host the championship/consolation round that evening.
Yorktown 84, Greenfield-Central 31: The Tigers built a big lead and handed the Cougars their seventh straight loss. G-C is now also 0-2 in HHC play. The Cougars' next game will be Dec. 27 in the Hancock County Tournament semifinal round at New Palestine.
Jordan Keener led G-C with 12 points. Cole Olesky added six points. Two Tigers scored 17 points to lead Yorktown.
The county championship games from Mt. Vernon that evening will be broadcast live at HancockCountySports.com
GIRLS
Knightstown 46, Eastern Hancock 39: Knightstown was able to pull away from a close game late and hand the Royals their second loss of the year in eight games.
The game was a see-saw contest early, but Knightstown took the lead for good in the second quarter, feeding sophomore post player Emily Thomas. She finished with 14 points, scoring 10 in the middle quarters.
EH was led by Kristen Eischen and Hannah Best, who each scored 11 points. Best hit two 3-pointers to help lead a Royal comeback. EH tried to rally from a late 11-point deficit, led by Best's second 3 of the game, but the Panthers were able to hold on. Eischen had 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. Kaytlin Eastes had seven rebounds and five blocked shots, and Kiersten Schrope had six steals for the Royals.
EH is now 6-2 on the year. Knightstown is 6-3. The Royals next play Saturday afternoon at Northeastern.
Eastern Hancock 56, Knightstown 51: The Royals took an early lead and never looked back in a five-point victory. EH led by four points at the end of the first quarter and never trailed in the game. Knightstown kept within striking distance, but EH's lead was often between 3-8 points much of the night.
The game was a coming-out party for EH's Cody Clark, who had 17 points and eight rebounds and commanded the paint inside. The Royals' Jared Pyle also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, including 10 in the second quarter as the Royals opened up an eight-point lead -- one that would be whittled to four at halftime, but would be pushed back up to nine by the end of the third. Victor Vincz would hit four late free throws to help seal the victory, among his nine points.
Clay Ratliff led three Panthers in double-figures with 16 points. Freshman point guard Jake Kwisz had 13 for Knightstown.
EH (4-2) is back in action Saturday night at Cambridge City Lincoln, and then again Tuesday at Blue River. Knightstown is now 1-5.
New Palestine 73, Morristown 61: The Dragons used a big second quarter to build a 31-19 halftime lead and pull away, using three double-figure performances.
Dragon forward Michael Morris -- their leading scorer on the year -- had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Justin Ikerd had his second straight double-figure game with 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Josh Penley had 17 points and three assists, while Reid Clark added eight points and five boards. Solomon Haynes added seven assists and six rebounds.
The Dragons shot 50 percent from the floor and won despite a 30-point effort by Morristown's Dylan Langkabel.
NP is now 4-1, and will be back in action Saturday night at Franklin Central. The Dragons then will travel to Beech Grove Wednesday evening, for a game we will broadcast on HancockCountySports.com.
Mt. Vernon 77, Shelbyville 38: The Marauders led 51-12 at the half and extended the lead into the second half. C.J. Coleman led MV with 20 points in the victory, which gave the Marauders a 3-2 record on the year and a 1-1 HHC mark.
The Marauders next play in the county tournament Dec. 27. They will visit Eastern Hancock in the morning semifinals, and then host the championship/consolation round that evening.
Yorktown 84, Greenfield-Central 31: The Tigers built a big lead and handed the Cougars their seventh straight loss. G-C is now also 0-2 in HHC play. The Cougars' next game will be Dec. 27 in the Hancock County Tournament semifinal round at New Palestine.
Jordan Keener led G-C with 12 points. Cole Olesky added six points. Two Tigers scored 17 points to lead Yorktown.
The county championship games from Mt. Vernon that evening will be broadcast live at HancockCountySports.com
GIRLS
Knightstown 46, Eastern Hancock 39: Knightstown was able to pull away from a close game late and hand the Royals their second loss of the year in eight games.
The game was a see-saw contest early, but Knightstown took the lead for good in the second quarter, feeding sophomore post player Emily Thomas. She finished with 14 points, scoring 10 in the middle quarters.
EH was led by Kristen Eischen and Hannah Best, who each scored 11 points. Best hit two 3-pointers to help lead a Royal comeback. EH tried to rally from a late 11-point deficit, led by Best's second 3 of the game, but the Panthers were able to hold on. Eischen had 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. Kaytlin Eastes had seven rebounds and five blocked shots, and Kiersten Schrope had six steals for the Royals.
EH is now 6-2 on the year. Knightstown is 6-3. The Royals next play Saturday afternoon at Northeastern.
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