The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1073799
B-2 Sports Wednesday, Januar y 23, 2019 The Press-Dispatch KNOX Continued from page 1 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' BASKETBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L Heritage Hills.................................. 5 -0 .......... 14-1 Southridge ........................................3-1 ............ 9 -5 Tell City .............................................3-1 .......... 10 -4 Forest Park .......................................2-1 ............ 9 -6 North Posey .....................................2-2 ............ 5 -8 South Spencer ..................................1-4 ............ 5 -8 Tecumseh .........................................1-4 ............ 8 -7 Gibson Southern..............................0 -2 ............ 3-8 Pike Central .....................................0 -2 .......... 2-10 Result of January 15 Princeton 73, Gibson Southern 41 Results of January 18 North Knox 65, Pike Central 61 Forest Park 54, Jasper 51 Heritage Hills 64, Southridge 52 North Posey 63, South Spencer 55 Evansville Mater Dei 55, Tell City 52 Results of January 19 Washington at Pike Central, ppd. South Spencer at Evansville North, ppd. Southridge 58, North Posey 46 Tell City 53, Crawford County 45 Game of January 22 Gibson Southern at Mount Carmel (Illinois) Games of January 25 Pike Central at South Spencer: Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. Heritage Hills at Evansville Mater Dei Mount Vernon (Posey) at Gibson Southern South Knox at North Posey Southridge at Forest Park Tell City at Wood Memorial Games of January 26 Pike Central at Barr-Reeve: Junior Varsity, 6 p.m.; Varsity, 7:30 p.m. Princeton at North Posey South Spencer at Heritage Hills Southridge at Washington Springs Valley at Tell City Tecumseh at Washington Catholic Game of January 28 Forest Park at Tecumseh Hancock County (Ky.) at South Spencer Games of January 31 North Posey at Pike Central: Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. Evansville Day School at Tecumseh Evansville Mater Dei at Forest Park Gibson Southern at Southridge Heritage Hills at Boonville Tell City at Cannelton Games of February 2 Evansville Mater Dei at Gibson Southern Evansville North at North Posey Jasper at Heritage Hills Perry Central at South Spencer Tecumseh at Laneville UPCOMING SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 High School Girls' Basketball: North Posey at Pike Central – Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. Middle School 6th Grade Girls' Basketball: Pike Central at Washington, 6 p.m. THURSDAY, JANUARY 24 High School Girls' Basketball: Heritage Hills at Pike Central – Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Boys' Basket- ball: Pocket Athletic Conference Tournament – For- est Park at Pike Central, 6:30 p.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls' Basket- ball: Pocket Athletic Conference Tournament – For- est Park at Pike Central, 7:45 p.m. FRIDAY, JANUARY 25 High School Boys' Basketball: Pike Central at South Spencer – Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 High School Boys' Basketball: Pike Central at Barr-Reeve – Junior Varsity, 6 p.m.; Varsity, 7:30 p.m. High School Wrestling: Pike Central in Sectional Meet at Southridge, 10 a.m. Middle School 6th Grade Boys' Basketball: Barr-Reeve at Pike Central (Old Petersburg Gym), 9:30 a.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Boys' Bas- ketball: Pocket Athletic Conference Tournament at Pike Central – Semifinals, 10 a.m,; Finals, 11:30 a.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls' Basket- ball: Pocket Athletic Conference Tournament at Te- cumseh – Semifinals, 10 a.m.; Finals, 11:30 a.m. MONDAY, JANUARY 28 High School Boys' C Team Basketball: Pike Cen- tral at Barr-Reeve, 6 p.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Boys' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29 High School Girls' Basketball: Sectional Tour- nament at Vincennes Lincoln – Sullivan. vs Vincennes Lincoln, 6 p.m.; Southridge vs. Pike Central, 7:30 p.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Boys' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. Middle School 6th Grade Boys' Basketball: South Spencer at Pike Central (Old Petersburg Gym), 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY, JANUARY 31 High School Boys' Basketball: North Posey at Pike Central – Junior Varsity, 6:30 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. High School Girls' Swimming: Pike Central in Sectional Meet preliminaries at Jasper, 6:30 p.m. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Boys' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls' Basket- ball: Pike Central in South Gibson Invitational, TBD. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1 High School Girls' Basketball: Sectional Tour- nament at Vincennes Lincoln – Washington vs. Sulli- van-Vincennes Lincoln winner, 6 p.m.; Princeton vs. Southridge-Pike Central winner, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 High School Girls' Swimming: Pike Central in Sectional Meet finals at Jasper – Diving preliminaries and semifinals, 10 a.m.; Finals, 2 p.m. High School Girls' Basketball: Sectional Tour- nament at Vincennes Lincoln – Championship game, 7:30 p.m. High School Wrestling: Pike Central in Regional Meet at Evansville North, 10 a.m. However, with the Chargers cling- ing onto a 61-59 lead after senior Aus- tin Holder hit one of two free throw at- tempts with 34.2 seconds remaining, North Knox sophomore Reece Ham- melman scored six straight points – on one field goal and four free throws – as the Warriors ended a nine-game losing streak while improving to 2-13. "Offensively, I thought we did a nice job," Pike Central head coach Hunter Elliott, whose team made 20 of 41 field goal attempts – including six of 16 tries from beyond the three-point line – and shot 22 free throws, hitting 15, while turning the ball over eight times. "We were attacking and getting the shots we needed to get. We were getting to the free throw line or getting to the basket." North Knox, on the other hand, was 13-for-20 from the charity stripe while making 21 of 45 field goal attempts – including 10 of 19 tries from three- point range – while turning the ball over nine times. During the first half, the Warriors made a total of eight three-pointers – including six in the second period – to take a 35 -31 halftime lead. "They shot the ball really well in that first half," Elliott said of the Warriors. "They were taking shots that we real- ly wanted them to shoot, and they just hit them." Pike Central jumped out to a 3-0 lead when junior Ethan Scott, off of an as- sist by Benson, hit a three-pointer with 7:46 left in the first quarter. A fter a basket by Hammelman and a three-point play by senior Carter Shaw gave North Knox a 5 -3 lead, the Char- gers scored five straight points – on a basket by Scott and a three-pointer by Benson – to surge ahead 8 -5 with 5:26 remaining in the opening period. The lead would exchange hands three times before North Knox – af- ter a free throw by Pike Central senior Judah Leathco tied the score at 12-12 – took a 15 -12 lead on a three-pointer by Hammelman with 1:23 left in the first quarter. Ahead 15 -14 at the start of the sec- ond quarter, the Warriors extended their lead to 18 -14 on a three-pointer by sophomore Isaiah Collins. A fter a basket by Benson pulled the Chargers to within 18 -16, North Knox scored five straight points – on a three-pointer by Collins and a bas- ket by sophomore Brayden Thorne – to stretch its lead to 23-16 with 5:22 left in the second quarter. Following a basket by Pike Central senior Hayden Kabrick that cut the deficit to 23-18, North Knox senior Keagan Thomas hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors a 26 -18 lead. The Chargers scored the next four points – on a basket and a pair of free throws by Benson – to close to within 26 -22 before sophomore Cole Jones hit a three-pointer to extend North Knox's lead to 29 -22. Two free throws by Benson, one by Holder and a basket by Stephen Krieg then fueled a 5 -0 scoring run that pulled Pike Central to within 29 - 27 with 3:33 left in the second period. Three-pointers by Collins and Jones – sandwiched around a free throw by Krieg – stretched the Warriors' lead to 35 -28 before Krieg, off of an assist by Benson, buried a trey of his own to narrow the deficit to 35 -31 at halftime. Pike Central opened the second half with a three-point play by Benson that pulled the Chargers to within 35 -34 with 5:53 left in the third period. A fter a basket by Thorne extended North Knox's lead to 37-34 with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter, a three-pointer by Leathco, off of an assist by Kabrick, tied the score at 37-37. Following an exchange of bas- kets that left the score tied at 39 -39, a three-pointer by Hammelman and a pair of free throws by Thorne gave the Warriors a 44-39 lead with 58.4 sec- onds remaining in the third period. However, back-to-back baskets by sophomore Ethan Gorby and Holder pulled the Chargers to within 44-43 heading into the final period. A fter a pair of free throws by Thorne extended North Knox's lead to 46 -43, a three-pointer by Scott tied up the score at 46 -46 with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Following an exchange of baskets, Thorne hit the second of two free throw attempts to give the Warriors a 49 -38 lead with 4:38 left in the contest. On the Chargers' next posses- sion, Scott attempted – and missed – a three-point shot. However, Benson was able to grab the long rebound and put the ball back up and in the basket as Pike Central took a 50 -49 lead. Fouled on the shot, Benson hit the free throw to complete the three-point play, giving the Chargers a 51-49 lead with 4:16 remaining. A fter North Knox rallied to within one point twice – at 51-50 and 53-52 – Scott hit a three-pointer to extend Pike Central's lead to 56 -52 with 2:48 left in the game. Two free throws by Thorne and a three-pointer by senior Brandon De- Coursey – sandwiched around a bas- ket by Leathco – narrowed the deficit to 58 -57. Following a pair of free throws by Gorby and a basket by Thorne, Holder went to the free throw line with the Chargers holding a 61-59 lead with 34.2 seconds left. A fter Holder hit his first free throw to extend Pike Central's lead to 61- 59, Hammelman was fouled while re- bounding Holder's miss on his second try, sending him to the line for two free throws with 33.7 seconds left. Hammelman's first free throw was good, cutting the deficit to 61-60. Hammelman's second foul shot, however, was no good, but Hammel- man was able to grab the ball away from Benson, and hit a short base- line jumper to give North Knox a 62- 61 lead. "The ball's in Benson's hands and, you know, he just got it taken from him, and the kid hit the shot," Elliott said. "It's just one of those things where our kids have to learn, that we have to be stronger with the basketball." A fter a free throw by Hammelman extended the Warriors' lead to 63-61 with 13 seconds remaining, Pike Cen- tral called a timeout with 10.4 sec- onds left after getting the ball past midcourt. However, on the ensuing play, a three-point shot by Holder fell short of the basket and bounced out of bounds with 5.3 seconds remaining. "We got it to Benson where I wanted him to get it, and I really wanted him to attack the basket and either get to the free throw line or drive and kick," Elliott said. "He just kicked to Holder, and he was open." "You know, there wasn't a lot of rhythm to that shot; it's not a shot that we really like," Elliott continued. "We like to get a paint touch before we take that, but, you know, he's been a pretty solid shooter for us. He was open, so we couldn't ask for a much better look, and he just didn't hit it." Hammelman would hit two more free throws with 3.6 seconds left to ice the four-point win for the Warriors. Scott, who picked up his fifth per- sonal foul with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter, added 13 points for the Char- gers, while Leathco also reached dou- ble figures in scoring with 10 points. Gorby and Krieg added six points each while Holder netted four points. Kabrick rounded out the scoring for the Chargers with two points. Benson also led both teams with six rebounds and five assists, while Kabrick dished out three assists. "He had a lot of confidence, and he just kept saying, 'Just give me the ball, I'll see you,'" Elliott said of Kabrick. "He did a nice job of seeing the floor." "I have all the confidence in the world in him, as I do any of our kids we put in," Elliott added. "It was just a good team effort tonight. We just came up a little bit short." Hammelman paced North Knox with 21 points while Thorne added 18 points. Collins came off the bench to hit three three-pointers in as many tries during the second period while netting a game total of 11 points. "They hit some shots in the first half that they don't normally hit," El- liott said. "They were shooting two free behind the volleyball line. I'm go- ing to live with that all day. It's one of those things where we played the odd and let them shoot some bad shots – but they just hit the bad shots tonight." In the junior varsity game, North Knox freshman Rhett Sheren scored a game-high 17 points to lead the War- riors to a 36 -34 victory over Pike Cen- tral. Krieg led the Chargers with 15 points while sophomore Sean Hansel- man pitched in 11 points. Pike Central was scheduled to host Washington on Saturday, Jan. 19, but the contest was postponed due to in- clement weather. The Chargers will play at South Spencer on Friday, Jan. 25, with the junior varsity game scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m., Eastern time. On Sat- urday, Jan. 25, Pike Central will trav- el to Barr-Reeve, with the junior varsi- ty game scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m., Eastern time. Pike Central High School senior Christian Benson (12) goes up for a shot over North Knox sophomore Brayden Thorne (right) during varsity boys' basketball action on Friday, Jan. 18. Benson scored a team-high 19 points in a 65-61 loss to the host Warriors. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Judah Leathco (20) drives toward the bas- ket while sophomore Ethan Gorby (11) sets a screen during varsity boys' bas- ketball action at North Knox on Friday, Jan. 18. Leathco scored 10 points in a 65-61 loss to the host Warriors. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Austin Holder (5) prepares to shoot a free throw during varsity boys' basketball action at North Knox on Fri- day, Jan. 18. Holder scored five points in a 65-61 loss to the War- riors. Ed Cahill photo