Friday's IHSAA boys high school basketball matchups
FRIDAY'S BOYS' BASKETBALL MATCHUPS
Bloomington North (10-3) at Evansville North (7-6)
GAME TIME: 7:30 p.m.
COACHES: Jason Speer, 61-39 in 5th year at Bloomington North, 176-87 in 12th year overall. Jason Roach, 50-58 in 5th year at North, 97-87 in 8th year overall.
LAST OUTING: Bloomington North defeated Martinsville, 59-56. North defeated Vincennes Lincoln, 75-48.
SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Bloomington North, 6-0.
LAST MEETING: Bloomington North, 79-59, Feb. 6, 2021.
OUTLOOK: Huskies have won three straight, capped off by routing a winless team from Vincennes, to stop a four-game skid. A trio of seniors lead the way with 6-5 forward Cameron Gelhausen (12.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg), 6-2 Ryan Caddell (12 ppg, 5 rpg) and 6-4 Mason Wicks (7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg). The Cougars are also looking for a fourth straight win.
Bloomington South (9-5) at Castle (9-4)
GAME TIME: 8 p.m.
COACHES: J.R. Holmes, 727-231 in 40th year at Bloomington South, 870-349 in 52nd year overall. Brian Gibson, 296-145 in 20th year at Castle.
LAST OUTING: Bloomington South defeated Eastern Greene, 65-24. Castle defeated Henderson County (Ky.), 64-54.
SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Bloomington South, 8-3.
LAST MEETING: Bloomington South, 68-65, OT, Jan. 22, 2021.
OUTLOOK: Castle just got one of its top players back in the city's best soccer player, Jackson Mitchell. Coming off ankle surgery in November, he scored 34 points in his first two games of the season on Jan. 15. 6-3 Weston Aigner leads the squad at 18 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 apg while Calen Niehaus adds 10 ppg, 7 rpg. The Knights have won six straight following a four-game skid in December and have reached the 60-point mark in seven consecutive games. South is giving up 37.6.
Edgewood (7-7) at Owen Valley (4-5)
GAME TIME: 7:30 p.m.
TWITTER: @JimGordillo.
COACHES: Matt Wadsworth, 36-30 in 3rd year at Edgewood, 177-158 in 15th year overall. Jon Neill, 4-5 in 1st year at Owen Valley, 74-80 in 7th year overall.
LAST OUTING: Edgewood defeated Greencastle, 67-30. Owen Valley defeated Cloverdale, 58-55.
SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Edgewood, 33-14.
LAST MEETING: Edgewood, 58-47, Jan. 14, 2021.
LOOKOUT: Owen Valley had to shake off some rust after 14 days off, but rallied past Cloverdale after trailing 29-22 at halftime, getting a late four-point play to win it to move to 3-1 in WIC play. Defense has given the Patriots trouble this season as they come in with a 63.1 average points given up and they will have to deal with two potent scorers in Caden Huttenlocker and Zach Sims.
Lighthouse Christian (8-5) at Columbus Christian (13-9)
GAME TIME: 7:30 p.m.
COACHES: Jeff Mills, 8-5 in 1st year at Lighthouse.
LAST OUTING: Lighthouse defeated Seven Oaks Classical, 79-11. Columbus Christian defeated Pleasant View Christian, 52-46.
SERIES LAST 10 YEARS: Columbus Christian 13-8.
OUTLOOK: Lighthouse continues on a run of four straight Southern Roads Conference games coming out of the league tournament. The Lions (2-1) have won three straight. The Crusaders (4-1) present a pair of double figure scorers in 6-3 Gave Ridder (19 ppg, 7 rpg) and Payton Rehlander (13.8 ppg).
Eastern Greene (3-8) at Bloomfield (12-2)
GAME TIME: 7:30 p.m.
COACHES: Jamie Hudson, 22-35 in 3rd year at Eastern Greene, 179-177 in 16th year overall. J.B. Neill, 42-21 in 3rd year at Bloomfield, 176-106 in 12th year overall.
LAST OUTING: Eastern Greene lost to Bloomington South, 65-24. Bloomfield defeated South Knox, 29-21.
SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Bloomfield, 24-21.
LAST MEETING: Bloomfield, 53-49, Jan. 22, 2021.
OUTLOOK: The Greene County Keg is on the line and Eastern will have a tough time holding on to it. Not available is forward and leading scorer Bryan Rippy (COVID), leaving a lineup short on height and experience. Bloomfield, led by senior Baylin Graf, also sits No. 4 in 1A, dropping a spot in the AP poll for some reason after losing by just three to 2A No. 2 Linton, the only program to beat the Cardinals this season.
—JIM GORDILLO
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Friday's IHSAA boys high school basketball matchups
