CHURUBUSCO – If you want to feel alive at an Indiana high school basketball game, find a way to put yourself back in Churubusco’s gym on Friday night. We can get cliche and cheesy right? It was the kind of night that makes hoops in this state what it is. Two rivals clashed for the second time this season, conference title implications and thousands of fans packed in like sardines.
Then, on the first possession of the game, Landen Jordan turned a Hunter Perlich miss into a putback dunk and that place was officially alive.
The buzz never died down as Churubusco controlled a vast majority of the contest to outlast Central Noble 70-61 and knock the Cougars down a rung in NECC hierarchy.
“We have been through a lot of battles,” a water bottle soaked Chris Paul, Churubusco’s coach, said post game. “We have played nine road games, a really tough schedule, we had a really tough one Tuesday night and to bounce back and compete against a pretty good Central Noble team. I’m just super, super proud of them, the progress we are making and the way we competed.”
Credit to Busco’s defense for the pressure they put on the Cougars, even partially zoned. Central Noble had to fight for everything early and late. Busco opened up with a 2-2 zone with a roving defender draped all over Connor Essesgian. Whether it was Gage Kelly or Luke McClure drawing the assignment, it was a glimpse into how big Churubusco’s depth played into this win.
Essegian and Saywer Yoder were hooking up smoothly on the break early. Their second connection of the game gave the Cougars a 6-5 lead at the five minute mark of the first. Yoder drained a three a couple of minutes later to put the Cougars up 11-10 and they would increase their lead to three points before Churubusco ended the first on a 5-0 run. That was one of the most impressive statuses for the Eagles on the night. Each of the first three quarters ended with a scoring play that send the teams to their huddles with loads of Churubusco momentum. To end the first, it was Noah Wolfe getting an open putback basket at the buzzer.
Churubusco amped up their defensive pressure in the second with more traps and more steals leading to transition scores. The Eagles jumped up 19-13 just a minute into the second quarter on a Wolfe to McClure hook up off a steal. But the Cougars still had plenty of fight left and surged back into a 24-21 lead despite turnover issues. That was until Kelly nailed a deep three with 3:45 left. As much as Jackson Paul and Jordan are deeply heralded in this lineup, it was a big night for their teammates, especially Kelly and Perlich, who finished with team high 15 and 16 points respectively and three triples each.
“We have guards that get after it and we try to get into passing lanes, we like to get up and down the floor,” Chris Paul said. “Even though we missed some layups and they shot the ball well from three in the first half, we were able to get 10 turnovers.”
Churubusco extended their lead at halftime to 37-33 with another clutch closing play, this one from Kelly who successfully cashed in on an and-one opportunity.
And Kelly did it again to open the second half. He hit two threes within the first minute and 15 seconds of the half, letting out a primal scream when he dropped the second over the smothering defense of Myles Smith; that three extended the Busco lead to 43-35 and Central Noble never really threatened strongly again. A lot of things stood out on this night in Turtle Town, but probably none more so than the effort, enthusiasm and will that Kelly pushed out on both ends of the floor. It fired everyone up and the top six Eagles all responded in big ways with big plays; four of whom ended in double figure scoring with Wolfe just a basket from joining them with his eight points.
“Thats huge for us. They [Central Noble] do pack the paint to try and keep Jackson out and they double teamed Landen so we need people to step up and knock shots down and they did tonight,” Chris Paul said. “If we continue to do that, we will be tough to beat. The message is, enjoy 48 hours and then get back to work on Monday.”
Churubusco closed the third quarter with a pair of Wolfe free throws with 0.1 seconds on the clock. Wolfe got there by creating contact as he put back up a shot off an offensive rebound. It wasn’t pretty, but it was more momentum and and a nine point lead heading into the final quarter.
The teams traded barbs near the midway point of the fourth. With 6:25 left, one of many Jordan rebound and put back baskets extended the lead to 13 points. Jordan finished the game with 13 points and 18 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.
Essegian drew back with a triple a minute later that led to a timeout and Chris Paul reminding his team in the huddle that this game was far from over. They responded in the form of Kelly. After Yoder missed a wide open point blank layup, it was Kelly that then scored in transition, drawing a foul in the process. After the free throw, it was a 62-49 Eagle lead that easily could have been 59-51 had Yoder converted his lay in.
Yoder finished 24 points while Essegian had 20. Jackson Paul was Churubusco’s fourth double digit scorer with Kelly, Perlich and Jordan; Paul finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
That was about the final nail in the coffin, as they say. And now Churubusco kind of controls their own fate in the NECC after going 2-1 in the regular season against the other top teams. More so, it is a huge bounce back for them after blowing a 10 point lead Tuesday against Snider. The Eagles clearly got their psyche right after that loss in preparation for Friday. Chris Paul says they had a 40-50 minute meeting on Wednesday after the Snider loss, watched film and talked about holding each other accountable.
“All of the sudden we went out and practiced the last two days harder than I have ever seen us practice,” Paul said. “I feel like it carried out there onto the floor. And obviously, 2,000 people helped but I just felt like there was a difference with us being physical and aggressive. I just though we were different tonight.”
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