The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 7, 2018 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 Eighth grader Emma McKinney won two individ- ual events as the Pike Cen- tral Middle School girls' swimming team placed sec- ond in a three-team meet at Southridge on Thursday, March 1. McKinney placed first in diving with a three-dive score of 78.35 points, and placed first in the 50 -yard breaststroke with a time of 42.56 seconds. McKinney also teamed up with eighth graders Jaize Mills and Madison Ri- ley and seventh grader Jil- lian Bailey to place second in the 200 -yard medley re- lay with a season-best time By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School boys' basketball team saw its bid for a third consecutive sectional ti- tle come to a disappointing end with a 42-33 loss to Sullivan in the open- ing round of the Class 3A Southridge Sectional at Huntingburg Memorial Gym on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Trailing 30 -28 at the end of three quarters, Sullivan was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line – and 16 -for-16 for the game – while outscoring the Chargers 14-3 during the final period. During the fourth quarter, Kevin Figg made all 10 of his free throw attempts, including six in a row to erase a 31-30 deficit, as the Golden Arrows improved to 18 -6. Figg, a 6 -foot-2 sophomore for- ward, entered the game having made 46 of 70 free throw attempts – a 65.7 percent average – for the sea- son. As a team, Sullivan ended the regular season shooting 62.4 per- cent from the charity stripe. "On paper and all I had seen, they didn't shoot free throws real well," Pike Central head coach Hunter El- liott said. "But, you know, they hit them when they counted." "It's one of those things where the statistics kind of didn't play out there," Elliott added, "and it kind of just ended up in their favor." The Chargers opened the game by scoring six consecutive points – on a free throw by senior Kaleb Claridge, a basket by senior Breyton Booker and a three-pointer by senior Bryant Nalley – before Sullivan senior Tyler Drake scored to pull the Golden Ar- rows to within 6 -2 with 4:13 left in the first quarter. Following an exchange of baskets that left Pike Central holding an 8 - 4 lead at the end of the opening pe- riod, back-to-back baskets by Figg and Tyler Drake pulled Sullivan in- to an 8 -8 tie with 6:06 remaining in the second quarter. A fter senior Tyler Tormohlen scored on a lay-in to give the Char- gers a 10 -8 lead, Sullivan scored nine straight points – seven by se- nior Samuel Steimel and two by Figg – to take a 17-10 advantage with 2:05 left in the first half. Back-to-back baskets by Book- er and senior Cameron Henson trimmed the deficit to 17-14 before Steimel hit a three-pointer with one second remaining to give the Golden Arrows a 20 -14 halftime lead. "In the first quarter, I thought we came out and we were getting the looks we were wanting to get and kind of missed a few opportunities to extend that lead," Elliott said. "In the second quarter, they started hit- ting some shots and we didn't fin- ish some shots, and that kind of led them to having that lead at halftime." Sullivan opened the second half with a three-pointer by sophomore Jackson Shake – off an assist by Figg after Figg rebounded a missed shot by Steimel – to take its biggest lead of the game at 23-14. However, Nalley would answer by scoring 10 straight points – on three consecutive baskets, a three-point play and a free throw – to give the Chargers a 24-23 lead with 3:08 left in the third period. A fter junior Benjamin Pirtle scored to give Sullivan a 25 -24 lead, two free throws and a basket by Nal- ley spurred the Chargers to a 28 -25 lead with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter. The Golden Arrows pulled even on a three-pointer by Tyler Drake be- fore a lay-up by senior Kyson West- Seventh grader Isaac Bur- dette and sixth grader Gra- ham Mullins won one indi- vidual event each to lead the Pike Central Middle School boys' swimming team to a first-place finish in a three- team meet hosted by South- ridge on Thursday, March 1. Burdette placed first in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 36.09 seconds, while Mullins placed first in the 200 -yard freestyle with a time of 2:22.11. Burdette and Mullins al- so teamed up with sev- enth grader Michael Bur- khart and eighth grader Al- ex Edrington to place first in the 200 -yard medley re- lay with a season-best time of 2:32.41. In addition, Burdette teamed up with Michael Bur- khart, Edrington and sev- enth grader Draven Readle to place first in the 400 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 5:46.57, while Mullins teamed up with Edrington, Readle and sixth grader Wy- att Luff to place second in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a season-best time of 2:16.90. Placing second in indi- vidual events for the Char- PCMS boys' swim team takes first in three-team meet at Southridge Nalley named to PAC All- Conference team CHARGERS FALL 42-33 IN OPENING ROUND OF SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT Pike Central Mid- dle School sixth grad- er Graham Mull- ins swims the back- stroke leg of the boys' 200-yard medley re- lay during a three- team meet hosted by Southridge on Thurs- day, March 1. Mullins teamed up with eighth grader Alex Edrington and seventh graders Isaac Burdette and Michael Burkhart to place first with a time of 2:32.41. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School seventh grader Jil- lian Bailey swims the butterfly leg of the girls' 200-yard medley relay during a three-team meet hosted by Southridge on Thursday, March 1. Bai- ley teamed up with eighth graders Emma McKin- ney, Jaize Mills and Madison Riley to place sec- ond with a time of 2:33.18. Ed Cahill photo Above: Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Blaine Pitcher (right) goes head-to- head with a Washington wrestler during a bout of 125-pounders during the Titan Du- als at Gibson Southern High School on Sat- urday, March 3. The Chargers placed third in the eight-team tournament. Ed Cahill photo Right: Pike Central Middle School seventh grader Cole Parks (top) looks at the referee while trying to pin a Gibson Southern wrestler during a bout of 110-pounders during the Ti- tan Duals at Gibson Southern High School on Saturday, March 3. The Chargers placed third in the eight-team tournament. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Kyson Western (14) dribbles the ball up the floor during the open- ing round of the boys' basketball sectional against Sullivan at the Huntingburg Memorial Gym on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Western scored four points in a 42-33 loss to the Golden Arrows. Ed Cahill photo Booker receives honorable mention By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central High School senior Bryant Nalley has been named to the Pock- et Athletic Conference's All-Conference boys' bas- ketball team by the league's coaches. In addition, Chargers se- nior Breyton Booker re- ceived honorable mention. "Both players had tremen- dous years and helped to car- ry us to third place in a very tough, competitive confer- ence," said Chargers head coach Hunter Elliott. Nalley, a 6 -foot-5 for- ward, received All-Confer- ence honors for the second straight season after receiv- ing honorable mention ac- colades following his fresh- man year. This season, Nalley av- eraged 19.1 points, 6.4 re- bounds and 2.6 assists during 23 games. In eight contests against PAC foes, Nalley averaged 16.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Nalley ended his high school career with 1,260 points – the second-most in school history – and 492 re- bounds. "Bryant was the leading scorer in the conference and top three in just about every statistical category," Elliott said. "He had a tremendous year and was very consistent and dominant all year." Booker, a 6 -foot-2 guard, averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists during 22 regular-season games. In seven contests against PAC foes, Booker averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 re- bounds and 1.6 assists. "Breyton had a great year as well, having several big scoring games, and was a consistent second scorer to Bryant all year," Elliott said. "Breyton did a lot of little things that often go unno- ticed by many fans as well as being a key player on both ends of the floor. Both play- ers are more deserving of this honor and have bright futures ahead of them." Also named to the PAC's All-Conference team were Braeden Beard of Tell City; Josiah Ricketts and Jacob Sanford of North Posey; Sam Englert and Daniel Lusk of Forest Park; Murry Becher, Simon Scherry and Blake Sisley of Heritage Hills; Col- See FIRST on pg 5 See SECOND on pg 4 See THIRD on pg 3 See PAC on pg 3 See FALL on pg 2 WE ARE PROFFESIONAL GRADE uebelhorgm.com 1-800-937-8721 Jasper, IN The Pike Central Mid- dle School wrestling team placed third out of eight teams in the Ti- tan Duals held on Satur- day, March 3, at Gibson Southern High School. The Chargers went 2-1 in pool play, defeat- ing Washington 78 -12 and South Spencer 71-13 while dropping a 59 -39 loss to North Posey. In the championship round, Pike Central de- feated Gibson Southern 78 -24. Three Charger wres- tlers – Jon Cannon at 150 pounds, Gunnar Early at 195 pounds and Wyatt Frasure at 140 pounds – went undefeated on the day. "We looked really solid as a team," Pike Central head coach Ryan McCain said. "We started off a little cold against North Posey and came up short. I believe we could get McKinney wins two events as PCMS girls' swim team takes second in three-team meet PCMS wrestlers place third in Titan Duals