The Press-Dispatch
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B-1 Wednesday, January 8, 2014 The Press-Dispatch Wrestlers top Paoli, Crawford County at Heritage Hills The Pike Central High School wrestling team traveled to Heritage Hills on Saturday, Jan. 4, where the Chargers recorded wins over Paoli and Crawford County while dropping losses to Centerville, Mount Vernon and the host Patriots. "We had a weekend at Heritage Hills that shows us what we needed to work on," said Pike Central head coach Billy Hewig. "We had a lot of kids that could not wrestle because they were sick and a lot that were wrestling while they were sick, so we were missing a few of the normal names that you usually see in our lineup." Senior Dalton Miller, competing in the 285-pound weight class, went 4-1 with two wins by pin and one win by decision along with one win by forfeit. Going 3-2 were freshman Blake Carroll (one win by pin and two wins by forfeit) in the 106-pound weight class, junior Caleb Hawkins (one win by pin and two wins by forfeit) in the 113-pound weight class, senior Nick Baker (two wins by pin and one win by decision) in the 132-pound weight class, sophomore Gage Fiscus (three wins by pin) in the 138-pound weight class, freshman Colton O'Neal (two wins by pin and one win by forfeit) in the 152-pound weight class, junior Colt Brittain (two wins by pin and one win by decision) in the 160-pound weight class, freshman Ty Bryant (two wins by pin and one win by decision) in the 170-pound weight class, and senior Alex Roberts (one win by decision and two wins by forfeit) in the 195-pound weight class. "We had some freshmen really step up and wrestle well this weekend," Hewig said. "Colton O'Neal, Ty Bryant and Blake Carroll really showed a lot of potential this weekend, each getting three wins apiece." "I saw a lot we need to be working on in the room and a lot that we have improved on over the year," Hewig added. "We just have to be sure and finish strong over the next three weeks in preparation for the conference tournament." The Chargers, whose home meet against Gibson Southern scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 7, was postponed due to inclement weather, will travel to Ferdinand on Saturday, Jan. 11, to compete in the Forest Park Invitational, starting at 9 a.m. Following are the results from Saturday's meet at Heritage Hills: Pike Central 60, Paoli 18 195 - Alex Roberts (PC) wins by forfeit. 220 - Jordan Cadal (Pa) wins by decision over Jacob Day, 6-1. 285 - Dalton Miller (PC) wins by forfeit. 106 - Blake Carroll (PC) wins by forfeit. 113 - Caleb Stroud (Pa) wins by decision over Caleb Hawkins, 4-2 120 - Double forfeit. 126 - Draven Kline (PC) wins by forfeit. 132 - Nick Baker (PC) pinned Phillip Strange, 1:38. 138 - Gage Fiscus (PC) pinned Aaron Allen, 0:30. 145 - Tristan Murphy (Pa) wins by decision over Devin Phillips, 4-2. 152 - Colton O'Neal (PC) wins by forfeit. 160 - Alex Rominer (Pa) pinned Colt Brittain, 3:31. 170 - Ty Bryant (PC) pinned Chris SatSee Wrestlers on B-6 Aldridge, Toopes lead Chargers past Springs Valley Pike Central High School senior Emily Howes (right, with ball) looks to make a pass while being defended by South Spencer senior Chandra Shroeder (32) during game action on Saturday, Jan. 4. Howes scored 31 points as the Lady Chargers defeated the visiting Lady Rebels in overtime, 72-66. Ed Cahill photo. Howes nets 31 as Lady Chargers rally for OT win Pike Central High School sophomore Tyler Toopes (11) looks inside while Springs Valley sophomore Hector Walker (34) defends during game action on Friday, Jan. 3. The Chargers defeated the host Blackhawks, 56-37. Ed Cahill photo. By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Trailing 31-29 with 4:32 left in the third quarter, the Pike Central High School boys' basketball team scored seven straight points – on a free throw by freshman forward Gabe Elliott and three straight baskets by senior guard Kegan Aldridge – to take the lead for keeps while rolling to a 56-37 win over host Springs Valley on Friday, Jan. 3. Aldridge and sophomore forward Tyler Toopes scored 17 points each to lead the Chargers, who improved to 2-2, while the Blackhawks fell to 3-6. "At halftime, we talked about picking up tempo and we changed defenses," said Pike Central head coach John Mokris. "We went to a trapping defense, and it seemed to make them turn the ball over. We got a couple of key steals and we got that seven-point swing. From there, we just did a nice job of finding the open man and taking more time with the ball." Playing for the first time since suffering a 67-49 loss at North Posey on Saturday, Dec. 21, the Chargers fell behind 5-0 before a pair of free throws by Gabe Elliott and a threepointer by Aldridge tied the game at 5-5 with 4:21 left in the opening period. After Springs Valley sophomore forward Brogan Burton scored, off an assist by senior guard Colton Crew, to give the Blackhawks a 7-5 advantage, Pike Central took its first lead when Toopes buried a three-pointer with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter. Springs Valley answered with a basket by junior forward Blake Robling and a threepointer by Crew to surge ahead 12-8 before the Chargers rallied, on back-to-back baskets by Gabe Elliott and freshman guard Colton White, to tie the game at 12-12 going into the second period. Pike Central then scored the first six points of the second quarter, on a put-back by senior center Bailey White, a pair of free throws by junior forward Garrett Elliott and a layup by Toopes, to take an 18-12 lead with 6:09 left in the first half. After senior Hunter Whitaker scored to pull the Blackhawks to within 18-14 with 5:42 remaining in the second period, Aldridge sank a pair of free throws to extend the Chargers' lead back to six points, at 20-14, with 4:59 left in the first half. During its ensuing possession, the Springs Valley bench was assessed a technical foul when a player not listed in the official scorebook entered the game. Pike Central took advantage of the mistake, as Garrett Elliott hit one of two technical free throws, then Toopes hit a three-pointer, extending the Chargers' lead to 24-14 with 4:31 remaining in the second quarter. The Blackhawks, however, rallied with a vengeance, outscoring Pike Central 10-2 to close to within 26-24 at halftime. Following an exchange of baskets at the start of the second half, Springs Valley reclaimed the lead, at 29-28, on a three-point play by Crew with 6:08 remaining in the third period. After Toopes hit one of two free throw attempts to tie the game at 29-29 with 4:47 See blackhawks on B-4 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Senior guard Emily Howes scored a season-high 31 points as the Pike Central High School girls' basketball team rallied from a 15-point secondhalf deficit to post a 72-66 overtime victory over visiting South Spencer. Trailing 51-36 with 1:35 left in the third period, the Lady Chargers outscored the Lady Rebels 23-8 – with 12 of their points coming following turnovers by South Spencer to tie the game at 59-59 at the end of regulation. Pike Central subsequently scored the first five points of the four-minute overtime period on baskets by freshman guard/forward Jolene Whitehead and Howes and a free throw by sophomore guard Alyx Abbott. The Lady Chargers then hit eight of 10 free throw attempts in the final 1:15 to clinch their second straight win. Pike Central head coach Randy Graham, who had called a timeout with 2:13 left in the third quarter when his team trailed 49-34, credited the defense for the come-frombehind win. "Foul trouble hurt us and kind of affected some things we wanted to do," said Graham, whose team improved to 2-9 overall and 1-3 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. "We wanted to get out and pressure a little more and I think the kids were See OT Win on B-5 Princeton holds off Chargers for 67-61 victory By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Senior guard/forward Tyler Holder scored a game-high 23 points and senior center Kinzer Havill added 21 as the Princeton High School boys' basketball team held off visiting Pike Central for a 67-61 win on Saturday, Jan. 4. "They're a nice team; they really are," said Chargers' head coach John Mokris of the Tigers, who improved to 7-2. "They're a seniororiented team. I'm playing two freshmen and a sophomore and we competed with a senior-oriented team. I mean, those guys are well-coached." The Chargers, who fell to 2-3 with the loss, trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening period Pike Central High School freshman Gabe Elliott (23) goes up for a shot during game action on Saturday, Jan. 4, at Princeton. Ed Cahill photo. before rallying to take a one-point lead midway through the second quarter. Pike Central turned the ball over on its first two possessions, which Princeton converted into a threepointer by senior guard Kreig McRoberts and a putback by senior guard Colton Wilder to take a 5-0 lead. After the Chargers scored on a layup by freshman guard Colton White, Holder tapped in a rebound of his own missed shot to give the Tigers a 7-2 lead with 6:08 left in the first period. Following a turnover by Pike Central, Havill – fouled after grabbing the Tigers' fifth offensive rebound of the game – hit two free throws to extend Princeton's lead to 9-2. Back-to-back baskets by Wilder and McRoberts, the second coming after the Chargers' fourth turnover of the game, forced Mokris to call a 30-second timeout with 4:39 left in the first quarter and his team trailing 13-2. "I knew what was going to happen early; I really thought that they were going to jump on us," Mokris said. "I thought that we could match their speed, but our kids did not believe that they could. So I called a timeout, settled them down, changed the offense a little bit, trying to slow them down, trying to slow us down." Pike Central responded, outscoring the Tigers 12-4, on two baskets each from Colton White and senior Kegan Aldridge and one basket each from junior Tyler Toopes and freshman Gabe Elliott, to pull to within 17-14 late in the first period. A free throw by Havill extended Princeton's lead to 18-14. Then, following Pike Central's fifth turnover of the game, Havill scored off an assist from senior guard Michael Kermode to give the Tigers' a 2014 advantage at the end of the first quarter. However, the Chargers scored the first six points of the second period on a three-point play by Gabe Elliott and a three-pointer by Colton White to tie the game at 20-20 with 6:32 left in the first half. After Princeton responded with back-to-back baskets by Holder to surge ahead 24-20, the two teams exchanged baskets until, with the Tigers leading 28-24, Pike Central scored five straight points, on a basket by senior center Bailey White and a three-pointer by Gabe Elliott, to take a 29-28 lead with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter. Following a swap of baskets by Havill and Aldridge, the Tigers scored four straight points, on two free throws each by Holder and Havill, to take a 34-31 lead with 34.3 seconds left in the first half. However, Gabe Elliott buried a three-pointer from well beyond the three-point line at the buzzer to send the game into halftime tied at 34-34. Pike Central drew first blood in the second half on a layup by Aldridge, off an assist from Toopes, with seven minutes left in the third period. After a basket by Havill tied the game at 36-36, Toopes hit a short jumper to give the Chargers a 3836 lead with 6:24 remaining in the third quarter. Princeton then rattled off eight straight points on back-to-back three-pointers by Wilder and Holder and a two-point basket by Holder to take a 44-38 lead with 4:21 left in the third period. Trailing 48-42, the Chargers battled back, scoring six straight See Princeton on B-4 Pike Central High School senior Kegan Aldridge (12) goes in for a lay-up past Princeton senior Kinzer Havill (right) during game action on Saturday, Jan. 4. Ed Cahill photo.