The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, December 25, 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 LADY CHARGERS SURRENDER FOURTH QUARTER LEAD, LOSE TO WARRIORS IN OT Boonville pulls away from Pike Central By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central boys' basketball team will use the holiday break to regroup, re- focus and recharge after suf- fering its fifth consecutive loss of the young season. Boonville (5 -1, 2-0 Big Eight) won 63-40 at PCHS on Tuesday, Dec. 17. "The Boonville game was a game we came in feeling like we had a really good chance coming in," Pike Central head coach Hunt- er Elliott said. "We knew they had quite a bit of a size advantage, but I felt like we were quicker and could shoot the ball better. We came out in the first half and really struggled turning the ball over by just not execut- ing and allowing their size to bother us." The Pioneers were able to jump out to an early lead, which forced the Chargers (0 -5, 0 -1 PAC) to adjust their defense. Ethan Scott provid- ed Pike Central with a spark by scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. "We are a different team with him on the floor and we moved the ball and got much better looks in that third quarter," Elliott said. "When we started flashing and wanting the basketball in our hands we started to make some plays and they couldn't stop us from getting good looks on offense in the second half." Pike Central was able to narrow the lead to 11 at one point in the second half, but the team ran out of gas to- wards the end of the game. "Their size advantage hurt us at times as they got deep positioning and we could not do much to deter them," Elliott said. "I was not happy with the defen- sive effort and the passive- ness we showed on offense, especially in that first half." Sean Hanselman led the Chargers with 13 points. He also had five rebounds. Other Pike Central scorers were Ethan Gorby (8), Col- in Craig (6) and Jaden Guth (2). Gorby led the team with By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net North Knox (6 -6, 1-3 Blue Chip) overcame a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Pike Central girls' basket- ball team on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Lady Warriors tied the scored 44-44 near the end of the regulation to force overtime. The Lady Chargers (6 -7, 2-2 PAC) had a couple of chances for a game-winning shot, but both at- tempts were off the mark. Once in overtime, North Knox domi- nated, outscoring Pike Central 13-3 to win 57-47. "North Knox was a very phys- ical game and both teams played very hard," Pike Central head coach Kyle McCutchan said. "I was very proud of our effort, but they made a few more plays in overtime." The Lady Chargers suffered a huge blow when senior standout Jayln Nelson went down in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury. McCutchan said the good news is it's just a sprain, but he isn't sure when she will be able to return at this time. Nelson was an All-PAC hon- orable mention selection last season, and along with Lauren Vaughn, is one of the team's most integral pieces. "It was a tough blow, but we played well and battled," Mc- Cutchan said. "But like I said, North Knox just made more plays than us in crunch time." Despite the early exit, Nel- son finished with seven points. Vaughn led the team with 14 and Kailee Mann added nine. Other Pike Central scorers were Mal- lory Hunt (6), Mallory Hickey (5), Jenna Horrall (5) and Kya Leighty (1). The Lady Chargers suffered a much tougher loss earlier in the week at Gibson Southern (10 -2, 3-0). The Lady Titans' defensive length and quickness really frus- trated Pike Central in the lopsid- ed 70 -23 win. "Gibson Southern played very well against us," McCutchan said. They shoot the ball very well and they controlled the game from beginning to end." The Lady Titans are ranked No. 6 in Class 3A in the latest AP poll. Pike Central had been play- ing pretty well heading into the game, they had won five of their last seven contests. "They are a highly-ranked Chargers split with Wildcats, Alices By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central wrestling team com- peted in a triangular meet with Jasper and Vincennes Lincoln Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Vin- cennes Lincoln High School. The Chargers lost by a large margin to the Wildcats, 55 -13, but several wrestlers made strides since the last time the teams faced off. "Jasper was a tough match," Pike Cen- tral coach Ryan McCain said. "They are a pretty solid from top to bottom, and will be next year, too." Some improvements were made from the head-to-head matches from the Reitz Tour- nament. Jon Cannon took Ian Giesler the distance before losing by a major decision 12-2 in the 145 -pound weight class. Their previous match-up ended with Giesler pinning Can- non in the championship match at Reitz. "This time Jon was able to hang with him for six minutes and give up the decision," McCain said. "We have to keep chipping away at matches like that. I expect next time for it to be closer if they see each oth- er at sectional." Corey Goeppner nearly went the distance in his match at 220, before being pinned in the final second. "He has a real tough kid in [Ashton] Schuetter," McCain said. "He was able to survive [almost] the entire match this time. He showed a lot of heart." Hayden McDowell picked up a nice win for Pike Central at 160, where he won by a 14-8 decision. "I've moved some guys around to strengthen our line-up, it seemed to pay off," McCain said. "It was a pretty good night overall for us." Pike Central defeated Vincennes Lin- coln, 57-16, in the Chargers' second match. "We hammered Vincennes," McCain said. "We see them again this weekend at the Harrison 10 -way. We need to go at them again with the same intensity." Griffin Boyd was able to get his first high school win at 106. Jagar and Ryan Gladish each earned impressive wins against the Alices. "I feel we are getting more confidence," McCain said. "Hopefully, that carries on this weekend and after the break." The team was back in action this past weekend at the Evansville Harrison 10 -way. See OVERTIME on page 3 See SPLIT on page 3 See SPLIT on page 3 See BOONVILLE on 3 Evansville North paddles past PCHS By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central swimming and diving teams fell to Evansville North on Wednes- day, Dec. 18, at PCHS. "North brought power in numbers to the pool, as well as some quick swimmers," Pike Central head coach Travis Cochren said. "We knew they would be tough com- ing into this meet, but our boys' and girls' teams both swam well. Despite the out- come of the meet, we still had several in- dividuals put up fast times and take some top places." The Chargers also had several swim- mers set personal bests. Isaac Burdette won the 100 -yard breaststroke with a time of 1:18.39 seconds. Jenna Meyer dominated the one-me- ter diving competition with a score of 194.25. The next highest score was near- ly 50 points lower (146.05), and Charlotte Dudenhoeffer claimed gold in the 200 indi- vidual medley with a time of 2:44.68. "As we go into the winter break, we have a plan to keep building from where we cur- rently are," Cochren said. "We should see new personal bests from everyone on the team when we return to competition after the first of the year." RESULTS Boys Evansville North 134, Pike Central 50 200 -yard medley relay: 3, Pike Central (Brayden Cooper, Coleman Henson, Mi- chael Burkhart, A J Hill) 2:11.48; 4, Pike Central (Sam Theising, Isaac Burdette, Draven Readle, Tyler Kirby) 2:14.57. 200 freestyle: 4, Noah Russell (PC) 2:30.47; 5, Michael Burkhart (PC) 2:36.75. 200 indi- vidual medley: 3, Readle (PC) 2:50.99. 500 freestyle: 3, Hill (PC) 29.27; 5, Kirby (PC) 32.30. 100 butterfly: 4, Sam Theising (PC) 1:20.14; 5, Isaac Theising (PC) 2:11.65. 100 butterfly: 3, Cooper (PC) 57.03; 5, Hill (PC) 1:06.23. 500 freestyle: 4, Readle (PC) 6:30.07; 5, Russell (PC) 7:00.97. 200 free- style relay: 3, Pike Central (Burkhart, Kir- by, Burdette, Henson) 1:57.81. 100 back- Pike Central's Jenna Meyer and Avery Hunt compete in the 100-yard free- style against Evansville F.J. Reitz on Monday, Dec. 16. Kailee Mann goes for a shot late in Pike Central's match-up with North Knox on Saturday, Dec. 21. Pike Central wrestler Hayden McDowell takes Jasper's Evan Crowder. McDowell went on to defeat Crowder by a 14-8 decision at the 160-pound weight class. Submitted photo