The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, Februar y 14, 2018 B- 3 Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School boys' basketball team quickly found itself in a hole that it could not climb out of during a 62-48 loss to visiting Heritage Hills on Saturday, Feb. 10. With the Chargers hold- ing a 4-2 lead – on a pair of baskets by seniors Bryant Nalley and Breyton Booker sandwiched around one by Heritage Hills sophomore Murray Becher – with 6:47 left in the first quarter, the Patriots scored 12 straight points to open up a 14-4 lead with 1:22 left in the period. During that stretch, Pike Central went 0 -for-9 from the field, including three misses from beyond the three-point arc. An exchange of baskets – by Nalley for the Chargers and by sophomore Simon Scherry for Heritage Hills – left the Patriots with a 16 -6 lead at the end of the open- ing quarter. "I can't use as an excuse that we had a game the night before or anything, because they did as well, a big one against Forest Park," said Chargers head coach Hunt- er Elliott, whose team had dropped a 54-52 overtime loss at Tell City on Friday, Feb. 9. "But I think the way we kind of lost the game at Tell City, that bothered some of the boys. I think we were kind of a little stagnant because of that." "But even in the first quar- ter, looking back, I think we were 3-for-14 in the first quarter, and we missed four lay-ups," Elliott continued. "If we finish those lay-ups – and that's not even consider- clock, Pike Central senior Breyton Booker emphatical- ly blocked a shot by Tecum- seh senior Carson White to preserve the Chargers' one-point, come-from-be- hind win. With the victory, Pike Central improved to 8 -7 overall and 3-0 in the Pock- et Athletic Conference. Te- cumseh slipped to 7-13 over- all and 1-6 in the PAC with the loss. "It was one of those games I don't think we deserved to win," said Chargers head coach Hunter Elliott, whose team made 13 of 34 field goal attempts – including just one of eight tries from be- yond the three-point line – and turned the ball over 17 times. "I thought we proba- bly got outplayed. We had a lot of unforced turnovers." "But, at the end of the day, the ball kind of bounced our way and we made some plays late and we got out of here with a victory," Elliott added. A fter Braves sopho- more Dustin DuPont hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:34 left in the first quarter, Pike Cen- tral senior Bryant Nalley scored six straight points – on back-to-back baskets and a pair of free throws – to give the Chargers a 13-7 lead at the end of the open- ing period. A fter Pike Central extend- ed its lead to 15 -7 on a lay- up by senior Kyson West- ern – off of an assist by Hen- son – back-to-back baskets by Tecumseh juniors Logan Arnold and Gavin Oxley cut the deficit to 15 -11 with 6:02 left in the second quarter. The Chargers would ex- tend their lead back to six points three times – at 17- 11, 19 -13 and 21-15 – be- fore the Braves scored sev- en straight points – on a three-pointer by Arnold and back-to-back baskets by Brucken and junior Josh Jagelewski – to take a 22-21 lead into halftime. Pike Central, which turned the ball over twice in its last three posses- sions of the first half, com- mitted turnovers on its first two possessions of the sec- ond half as Tecumseh – on back-to-back baskets by Brammeier – extended its lead to 26 -21 with 6:30 left in the third period. Following an exchange of baskets by Nalley and Braves junior Steven Mo- linet, a three-point play by Nalley and a basket by West- ern pulled the Chargers even at 28 -28 with 4:19 re- maining in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Molinet and Brucken – sand- wiched around another turn- over by Pike Central – would give Tecumseh a 32-28 lead with 3:02 left in the period. The Chargers would score five straight points – on two free throws and a basket by senior Tyler Tormohlen and one free throw by Booker – to surge ahead 33-32 ear- ly in the fourth quarter be- fore Tecumseh got back-to- back baskets by White and Molinet to take a 36 -33 lead with 5:33 remaining. A pair of free throws by Booker narrowed the defi- cit to 36 -35 with 4:50 left. A fter an exchange of tech- nical free throws – Molinet hit one of two tries for Te- cumseh and Nalley made one of two attempts for Pike Central – Brammeier re- bounded a missed shot by Molinet and scored to give the Braves a 39 -36 lead with 3:48 remaining. Tormohlen would subse- quently rebound a missed three-point shot by Nalley and score, narrowing Te- cumseh's lead to 39 -38 with 1:59 left. A missed shot by Mo- linet, followed by a turnover by Pike Central on a steal by Brucken, forced the Char- gers – still trailing by one – to send Brammeier to the free throw line with 23.9 sec- onds remaining. However, Tecumseh was called for a lane violation on Brammeier's first free throw attempt, setting the stage for Claridge's game-win- ning play. "What I had told them to run, we didn't run," Elliott said. "I was getting ready to call a timeout, and then they threw it. It wasn't a good pass. I think they were try- ing to throw it inside to Cam and it got tipped around and it landed in Claridge's hands. He stepped up and made a play there for us." Nalley led Pike Central with game-high totals in points (18) and assists (4) to go along with three steals. Tormohlen added six points while Booker, who also had three steals, tossed in five points. Claridge and West- ern netted four points each while Henson had three points. For the game, the Char- gers made 13 of 16 tries from the free throw line. "Defensively, I did not think we did a great job." Elliott said. "They'd go in stretches where they'd score three, four straight posses- sions, and it might even be where we'd get a stop and they'd outhustle us for the offensive rebound. It's a loose ball, and they end up with it. It's those plays, those little things, that we didn't make the play on to- night that we have to" "Offensively, we were stagnant," Elliott continued. "I thought we just forced the ball at times and dribbled off our foot and have unforced errors. And then, when we'd make a play, it just seemed like we wouldn't finish. It just kind of didn't bounce our way at times, and that's just kind of part of it." Brammeier paced Tecum- seh with 12 points, six re- bounds and two steals, while Molinet added nine points. Arnold tossed in five points while Brucken, who had a game-high four steals, net- ted four points. For the game, the Braves made 17 of 34 field goal at- tempts – a 50 percent aver- age – and hit three of five tries from the free throw line while turning the ball over 13 times. "I saw them play and I knew they were a solid ball- club," Elliott said. "They might not have the best re- cord in the conference, but they've played everybody close, a lot of them. I knew, coming down here, they were going to be scrappy and they were going to get after us, and we were going to have to be ready to go." "I'm very proud of making the plays down the stretch and winning an ugly game," Elliott added. "Sometimes that's what it takes. You're not always going to play perfect and, you know, we didn't tonight. But, down the stretch, we made the plays that mattered and we came out of here with a win." "Tecumseh played really hard tonight," Claridge said. "I've got to give them a lot of credit. We probably got outplayed, outworked. We didn't come ready to play to- night, and somehow we just came out with a win." • • • In the junior varsity con- test, sophomore Levi Lill- pop scored a game-high 14 points to lead Tecum- seh to a 54-40 victory over Pike Central. Junior Kinzer Flowers and sophomore Gage Green added 12 points and 11 points, respectively for the Braves. Sophomore Noah Whann led the Char- gers with nine points, while junior Judah Leathco and Andrew Kreig added eight points and seven points, re- spectively. CLARIDGE Continued from page 1 SPORTS BRIEFS Winslow Sports League hosting adult softball tournament The Winslow Sports League will be hosting its 1st Annual Spring Adult Softball Tournament on Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18. For more information, contact Josh at (812) 582- 3969. Petersburg Little League baseball/softball sign-up dates set Registration for the Pe- tersburg Little League baseball and softball leagues will be during the Petersburg Elemen- tary School's Spring Car- nival on Friday, March 9, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Registration can also be completed online at http://tshq.bluesombre- ro.com/petersburglittle- league, or by mailing the registration form – with checks made payable to Petersburg Little League – to P.O. Box 102, Peters- burg, IN 47567. The registration fee is $25 plus $10 per player for concession duty for all leagues. Maximum cost per family is $100 plus concession duty. Anyone who is unable to attend registration and do not have access to the In- ternet can contact one of the league's board mem- bers, or, if unsure who to contact, call Joey O'Brien at (812) 486 -7107. No player will be turned away due to financial in- ability to pay. Financial assistance is available. All forms will also be available at the Peters- burg Little League's Face- book page. Winslow Sports League holding conditioning, sign-ups Who is ready to play some ball? Join the Winslow Sports League Wednesdays this month for conditioning and sign- ups. Softball and T-ball sign- ups and conditioning will take place on Tuesdays at the Winslow Communi- ty Center from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All baseball condition- ing and sign-ups will take place on Wednesdays at the Old Petersburg Gym from 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Conditioning is for all ages who are playing t- ball, softball or baseball. You may also sign up during this time or mail your registration form in. Sign-ups will also take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Winslow Fire Depart- ment. For more information, email winslowsports@ hotmail.com, visit our Facebook page Winslow Sports League, or call 812-631-5648. HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS' BASKETBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L Gibson Southern ................................. 8 -0 ................ 19 -5 Heritage Hills .......................................7-1 .................17-4 Forest Park .......................................... 6 -2 ................ 15 -9 Pike Central ........................................ 4-4 ............... 11-11 Tell City ................................................ 4-4 ............... 11-13 Tecumseh ............................................ 4-4 ............... 11-12 North Posey ........................................ 2-6 ............... 11-14 Southridge ........................................... 1-7 .................3-18 South Spencer ..................................... 0 -8 .................2-21 STATE TOURNAMENT (All times Eastern) Results of February 10 Regional 8 (3A) At Charlestown Greensburg 74, Vincennes Lincoln 64 Evansville Memorial 42, Salem 35 Greensburg 50, Evansville Memorial 46 Regional 12 (Class 2A) At Paoli South Ripley 65, North Knox 40 Paoli 39, Evansville Mater Dei 32 Paoli 55, South Ripley 44 Regional 16 (Class 1A) At West Washington Vincennes Rivet 44, South Central (Elizabeth) 19 Trinity Lutheran 43, Northeast Dubois 41 Vincennes Rivet 52, Trinith Lutheran 36 SEMI-STATE Games of February 17 Class 3A At Logansport Northwestern (27-1) vs. Fairfield (24-2), 6 p.m. At Jeffersonville Danville (25 -4) vs. Greensburg (22-3), 3 p.m. Class 2A At Logansport Central Noble (21-5) vs. Frankton (23-5), 4 p.m. At Jefferonsville Winchester (25 -2) vs. Paoli (24-5), 1 p.m. Class 1A At Valparaiso Michigan City Marquette (25 -2) vs. Tri-Central (16 - 10), 1 p.m. At Jasper Indianapolis Tindley (25 -3) vs. Vincennes Rivet (25 - 2), 4 p.m. Pike Central High School junior Andrew Krieg (34) has hit shot blocked by Tecumseh junior Andrew Teddleton (right) during junior varsity boys' basketball action on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Krieg scored seven points in a 54-40 loss to the host Braves. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Kyson Western (14) drives toward the basket during varsity boys' basketball action at Tecumseh on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Western scored four points in a 40-39 win over the Braves. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Cameron Hen- son (left) applies defensive pressure on Tecum- seh senior Tanner Brammeier (30) during varsity boys' basketball action on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Hen- son scored three points in a 40-39 win over the host Braves. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Cameron Hen- son (left) applies defensive pressure on Tecum- seh senior Tanner Brammeier (30) during varsity boys' basketball action on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Hen- son scored three points in a 40-39 win over the host Braves. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Kaleb Clar- idge (13) dribbles while looking to pass the ball during varsity boys' basketball action against vis- iting Heritage Hills on Saturday, Feb. 10. Clar- idge scored two points in a 62-48 loss to the Pa- triots. Ed Cahill photo See CHARGERS on pg 5 Heritage Hills deals Chargers 62-48 loss