The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, November 20, 2019 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg CHARGER MADNESS KICKS OFF SEASON By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net A fter a challenging start to the year, the Oakland City men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season. The Mighty Oaks (1-3) won 96 -89 against the Welch College Flames (5 -2) at the Johnson Center on Saturday, Nov. 16. "I really liked the effort our guys put in for the ma- jority of the game," Oak- land City head coach Lee Moore said. "We had a cou- ple lulls that I know they would like to go back and fix, but it was great to see the willingness to press for an extended amount of time and the heart to close it out in the end. Like I tell our team, we try to focus on our jobs during the game and let the end result take care of itself. It was nice to see the final score reflect their work during the game, and we really appreciated the vo- cal support from our crowd. It was a fun night to part of the OCU family." Oakland City led by as many as 13 in the first half before Welch tied the game 31-31 with five and half min- utes remaining until half- time. The Mighty Oaks eventually settled for a 42-42 advantage at the break after shooting 46.9 percent from the field in the first half. The Mighty Oaks shot even better in the second half, connecting on 21-of-37 attempts from the field for a 56.76 shooting percent. "Part of it surely has something to do with their conditioning, just getting into the season and playing themselves into shape, but shooting percentages are al- ways going to rise and fall," Moore said. "Their desire to find the open player and to have confidence in each oth- er to knock down shots will continue to give us a chance to work toward our perfor- mance potential." Pike Central alumnus Ty- ler Toopes led Oakland City with 26 points on 10 -of-13 shots from the field and 3-of- 5 free throws in 34 minutes. He is now averaging 23.25 points per game through the first four games of the season. "Tyler has done a great job in running the floor, as well as understanding the offen- sive systems," Moore said. "That combination has giv- en him the opportunity to get good looks, and he has really made it pay off with some nice performances so far this season." Toopes also had five as- sists, four rebounds, three blocks and a steal. The Mighty Oaks finished with 20 of their 36 baskets coming off of an assist and four other players finished in double figures: Nathan- iel Schmittler had 16, Ja- cob Sandford had 13, Kase Robinson had 11, DJ Red- ding had 10, JD Hoover had nine, Trevor Expert had sev- en and Javan Miller had four. "We had a number of guys that stepped up in the scor- ing column," Moore said. "That balanced attack re- flects not only their abilities, but their unselfishness." Oakland City will be on the road three times during the next week before com- peting in the Campbellsville Classic in Campbellsville, Ky., on Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30. The Mighty Oaks travel to Kentucky Wesleyan Col- lege (0 -3) on Wednesday, Nov. 20, to Wilberforce Uni- versity (2-9) on Saturday, Nov. 23 and to the Universi- ty of Southern Indiana (3-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Oakland City men pick up first win of the season By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Charger Madness kicked off the Pike Central boys' basketball season on Saturday, Nov. 17. The event had something for ev- eryone, including a meet and greet with the Pike Central boys' varsity team, youth activities and multiple in- trasquad scrimmages. "Charger Madness was very suc- cessful this year," Pike Central head coach Hunter Elliott said. "We had the opportunity to have our entire program in the same gym at the same time, which was very cool. I really en- joyed bringing our Charger Cub kids out here and allowing them to interact with our high school players and get to play on the big court." The event started with coaches and varsity players offering guidance and words of wisdom to the program's youth players during games and con- tests. Then there were four intrasquad scrimmages. First up were the Char- gers' seventh and eighth graders. "The middle school scrimmages both went really well," Elliott said. "I thought the seventh and eighth grad- ers looked very good and shot the ball well." Pike Central's seventh-grade class has some great size, while the eighth- grade squad has some elite athletes. Next, the Chargers' freshmen and sophomores took the court. "The freshman and sophomore scrimmage was also very competitive," Elliott said. "They got a little sloppy with the basketball at times, but they were definitely competing and play- ing hard." Finally, the juniors and seniors bat- tled for bragging rights. The upper- classmen scrimmaged for a 10 -min- ute quarter, while everyone else played eighth minutes. It started with the juniors taking an early advantage. "The juniors started playing very well and working to get the shots we are looking for and jumping out to a big lead early," Elliott said. "Then the se- niors were able to get out in the open floor and get back into the game, which ended in a tie." There was a solid turnout from the community to support Pike Central. The cost of admission was $5 or a case of water or Gatorade, so the Charger teams have plenty of drinks to hydrate with during the upcoming season. Oakland City forward and Pike Central alum- nus Tyler Toopes goes up strong against Welch College on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Johnson Cen- ter. Additional photos on the next page. Pike Central's Ethan Scott throws down an al- ley oop during Charger Madness on Saturday, Nov. 16 at PCHS. Charger Night participants gather around Pike Central head varsity basketball coach Hunter Elliott on Saturday, Nov. 16. See MADNESS on page 4