BOYS AND GIRLS BB: Area roundup for Saturday, Jan. 29
Jan. 29—Tipton's boys basketball team used an 8-0 run in the first quarter to take control of Friday night's Hoosier Conference game at Hamilton Heights and the Blue Devils never relinquished that control as the Blue Devils went on to record a 66-55 victory to spoil the Huskies' homecoming.
Tipton finished East Division play with a 3-1 record and improved to 11-4 overall. The Huskies finished division play with a 2-2 record and dropped to 7-7 overall.
"We wanted to approach it with focus," Tipton coach Cliff Hawkins said. "We know it's an emotional type of setting, but our guys were focused on the 84-by-50 [Friday] , not looking up in the stands but focusing on the ball, our teammates and on the court. You can get into an emotional roller-coaster to where you're really not functioning as a unit. I thought this was our best effort yet in regards to our preparation and focus."
Tipton's Nate Powell and Heights' Luke Carroll hared game-high honors with 27 points each. Powell hit just 3 of 8 first-quarter shots but then went 8 of 9 from the field over the final three quarters and was 5 of 6 at the line. He also had seven rebounds.
Also for Tipton, Nolan Swan added 15 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Jackson Money finished with nine points and six rebounds, while Grady Carpenter chipped in seven points and four assists. Sam Ridgeway had six points, including two dunks, to go with three rebounds and four blocked shots.
Tillman Etchison added 12 points for the Huskies, while Dean Mason chipped in nine points and seven boards.
— Michelle Garmon, Tipton Tribune
EASTERN 49, ROSSVILLE 46
Eastern got key plays from Trever Crabtree and Corbin Snyder, and critical points from Levi Mavrick and Cayden Calloway down the stretch to hold on for a tight Hoosier Heartland Conference victory at Rossville.
The Comets led 15-13 after a quarter, opened a 31-17 lead at halftime, and led 38-29 after three quarters before the host Hornets made a move in the fourth quarter. The Hornets were within two points on two occasions in the final 90 seconds of the game and had the ball at halfcourt with :04.9 left before the Comets secured victory.
Eastern coach Mike Springer said "Comets get ahead early and withstand the rally by Rossville in the fourth quarter. Steals late by Crabtree and Snyder and free throws by Mavrick and Callaway kept the Comets ahead to the finish line. We needed this win."
Eastern improved to 6-7 overall and 2-2 in the HHC. Rossville fell to 8-7 and 2-3.
N. WHITE 50, CARROLL 49
North White dealt Class 2A No. 6-ranked Carroll its first loss of the season with Hunter Pogue scoring at the buzzer for the win.
Carroll led 17-16 after a quarter, North White led 27-25 at halftime, and NW led 49-39 after three quarters. The game was tied at 48-all for most of the final 90 seconds of the game before Carroll took a one-point lead with a Jake Skinner free throw with :06.1 left. Skinner had missed five straight free throws before hitting the one for the lead.
Chris Huerta led Carroll with 13 points. Austin Kuns and Owen Duff had nine points apiece.
Carroll fell to 12-1 overall. North White is 8-3.
PERU 69, WHITKO 57
Class 3A No. 9-ranked Peru moved to 12-1 on the season with a victory at Three Rivers Conference rival Whitko.
Matt Ross led Peru with 22 points. Braxten Robbins had 14 points, Matthew Roettger had 13, Alex Ross had eight and Gavin Eldridge had seven.
The Bengal Tigers led 17-10 after a quarter, 37-26 at halftime and 54-42 after three quarters. Peru is setting the pace in the TRC with a 5-0 mark. Whitko fell to 4-9 overall, 2-4 in the TRC.
DELPHI 60, TC 56
The Oracles caught and passed Tri-Central in the fourth quarter to edge the Trojans in an HHC game at Delphi. Tri-Central led 11-8 after a quarter, 29-23 at halftime, and the Oracles pulled within a point after three quarters with TC up 43-42 entering the final frame.
Tri-Central fell to 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the HHC. Delphi improved to 3-11 overall and 1-5 in the HHC with its first league win.
GIRLS GAMES
SHERIDAN 59, TAYLOR 47
Sheridan took a share of the HHC title for the first time in program history with the victory. The Blackhawks finished 7-1 in the HHC, tied with Carroll atop the conference.
Taylor (8-14, 5-3 HHC) led 13-10 after a quarter. Sheridan (13-5) led 23-21 at halftime, then shot into control in the third quarter as seven Blackhawks scored buckets in taking a 41-27 lead heading into the fourth.
"That's a good basketball team, well-coached," Taylor coach Tony Oliver said. "I thought our kids played hard. I still want to get us to where we play hard for 32 minutes. I don't think we did that [Friday]. Again, the third quarter killed us. But I'm proud of the kids."
Kelsi Langley led Taylor with 26 points including 4 of 8 from 3-point land. Emma Good scored 15.
"We knew [the Blackhawks] were going to be livened up with it being a girls-boys doubleheader and conference title [at stake]," Oliver said. "But I thought our kids played well and I thought Kelsi really looked to take over. It's been a while since she's done that. I thought Emma had a great first half. We got Jayden Underwood and Katie Hogan back, so we're OK."
Ashley Webel led Sheridan with 17 points and Cecilia Timme scored 16.
TC 42, DELPHI 29
Tri-Central led at every stop to close the regular season with a 9-13 record and 5-3 HHC mark. The Trojans led 10-6 after a quarter, 16-12 at halftime and 26-19 after three quarters.
Tri-Central finished the regular season 9-13 and 3-5 in the HHC while Delphi dropped to 9-11 and 1-6.
