Welcome to Marc Davidson Court
The basketball court at Blackhawk Christian will now forever include the name Marc Davidson. And it should.
While the lettering has been down for a while now, Tuesday night was the official dedication of the court prior to the Braves always fun annual meeting with North Side. The dedication took place between the JV and varsity games with Lisa Davidson and her children in attendance to see the honor bestowed, as was Marc’s father. It was a special moment and a well deserved one for all Marc Davidson continues to mean to his family, players and the Fort Wayne basketball community.
And then when the game started, almost by fate, it was Jimmy Davidson who scored the first varsity boys basketball points on Marc Davidson court.
The night was special at a time where Blackhawk had again more to think about than just basketball. Kudos to the Blackhawk Christian community for all they are doing to keep Marc’s memory at the forefront.
And on the court, it was a special night for the Braves too as they churned out a tough 72-61 victory over North Side. The Braves held control for much of the game, answering North Side surges with their own counterpunches. Some big second quarter three pointers from Issac Smith – three of them to be exact – was a huge early difference maker with North Side actually winning the second half by a single point.
In the end, despite Brauntae Johnson‘s 21 points for North Side, it was three Braves in double figures; led by the unmatched nightmare of a matchup that is the work of sophomore Kellen Pickett and his 24 points that were the difference maker. Pickett was tough to work around inside, but also nailed three triples himself in the game.
This is the fifth season in a row Blackhawk Christian has opened with a win over North Side and the first career varsity coaching win for Matt Roth. The Braves have won 6 of the last 10 against the Legends.
The Northrop/Carroll Saga’s First Chapter
I have been hoodwinked. Bamboozled even.
The possible game of the year in the SAC on the girls side was a 29 point game?!
This is far from over between Northrop and Carroll as there is a chance we see them go to war again in the postseason. And of course, we on Twitter know how rowdy their Barstool accounts have been this week with each other.
But in the actual first round of this saga this season, Northrop left zero doubt on who is the best team right now. Not just of the two, but the area. Who beats the Bruins when they are running on full cylinders like they were on Wednesday night? They beat Carroll from pillar to post, exposing a little bit of a depth issue for the Chargers while flexing their own ability to go deep and proving that the Bruins are far more substance than hype.
Northrop scored 48 points on Wednesday…in the first half. Carroll scored 52…in the entire game. That is just wild.
That 48-27 halftime lead just said everything that needed to be said and if a Jackson was involved in the shot then it was probably going in with Saniya Jackson‘s 17 leading the way for Northrop. I really wanted to have more to say out of this game, that was always the plan. But what do you say when its not even a game between arguably the two best teams in the SAC. Sure, Snider and Homestead want in on that conversation now more than ever. But Carroll had hammered a Huntington North team that had beaten the Panthers and Spartans so its fair to say that Carroll was #2.
Maybe they still are. But if Carroll is still #2 in the SAC, then the gap to reach #1 has to feel a bit insurmountable today.
The win gave Northrop their first 5-0 start since 2017.
The freshmen Bulldogs
While New Haven fell to Wayne on the girls side on Tuesday, freshman A’lanah Webb had another solid performance, leading all New Haven scorers with 17 points.
On the same night, in a win over Northrop boys, Bulldog freshman Korbyn Hammel scored 11 including a nice fast break dunk. Hammel scored just five against Blackhawk Christian later in the week but was still an important force in that game. Barnes hit a first quarter buzzer beater to tie the game against the Braves at 17.
These are just small early career examples, but it shows that there could be a bright future for both sides of New Haven basketball and it is certainly worth keeping an eye on this season and beyond.
Told you about Wayne
A quick note here about the Generals on both sides of the ball. On Tuesday, the Wayne girls beat New Haven 73-35. It wasn’t just any game because I am pretty sure someone said after the lopsided loss to Homestead to start the season 0-3 that you shouldn’t worry about Wayne.
After that loss, they rallied off five straight wins through Tuesday’s game against New Haven and it marks the second straight season that Wayne has won five straight games. The last time the Generals did that in back to back seasons? 2001-02 and 2002-03. On Tuesday, it was Aniah Hill who flirted with a QUADRUPLE DOUBLE scoring 25 points with 11 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals while Sydney Gorman continued the three point shooting domination with six made threes and 18 points. Gorman has asserted herself into the “best shooter” conversation locally and Hill is just a beast, what else is there to say?
Gorman’s night against New Haven marked her third straight game with six or more three point makes.
With a win Friday over Concordia, the Wayne girls have now won 6 straight.
The Wayne boys opened their season Wednesday with a win over Leo and let me tell you, it was something to behold. The Generals’ pace is something that is going to give everyone fits all season long. They looked well composed in a half court offense, worked the ball down to HJ Dillard well and moved without the ball. In that setting they will be just fine. But in transition? Look out. They make plays defensively and if they can strip the ball away or get a defensive rebound, the Generals are out running and they are super quick. This is a team that we knew could be good and if first impressions are everything, consider me on board.
A big first half highlight was seeing Jevon Lewis rise up to emphatically block a shot in front of his own bench in the corner with 2:48 left in the first. The reaction from the Wayne team tells you a lot about how this team will function off energetic moments this season.
The Generals shot 65.4 percent in the first half against Leo and the balanced effort gave them the ability to flex their depth a bit. Lewis led the way with 15 points as one four Generals in double figure scoring. Another important piece was the 10 points from Preston Comer, who hit two of the team’s three triples in the game. If Comer can hit from the outside with any consistency, he provides a pretty big matchup problem for most teams who are expecting to guard him in the post. All eight Generals who saw time scored against Leo.
Wayne also registered 11 steals in the game Wednesday while forcing 16 Leo turnovers. Lewis had four steals while Monte Smith registered five. I knew Wayne would be good when I ranked them this preseason but first impressions leave me believing they may be even better.
On Saturday, Wayne came back from down 14 at the half to beat Culver behind 20 points from Monte Smith.
Other Girls Hoops Notes
Columbia City led Bishop Dwenger 37-0 after the first quarter Tuesday night. The Eagles would go on to win 75-19 behind 21 points each from Kyndra Sheets and Addison Baxter. The team also registered 21 steals….Continue to keep an eye on Ava McGrade, who is filling it up for Lakewood Park including 19 points and 6 steals in Tuesday’s win over Prairie Heights….Adams Central‘s Athena Schwartz set the program’s single game steals record Tuesday with 13 against Churubusco….Fremont is starting to pick up a little steam, holding Heritage to just 16 points on Wednesday. The Eagles were led by 16 points and 7 rebounds from Natalie Gochenour….Hope Bortner hit seven three pointers Thursday to tie a Westview girls hoops record in a win over West Noble….Homestead‘s Ali Stephens scored a career high 27 points in Friday’s win over Carroll….Manchester‘s Brookelyn Buzzard scored a career high 28 on Saturday night in a win over Northfield….Central Noble girls improved to 10-0 Friday behind Madi Vice….Jay County‘s Renna Schwieterman scored 23 Saturday to pass Rain Hinton of Woodlan in all-time ACAC scoring and is now 3 points away from being in the top 10.
Other Boys Hoops Notes
Seth Coffing got his first win as the Bishop Luers varsity coach Tuesday as the Knights put 4 players in double figures, led by sophomore Demarcus Barr‘s 16 points, and held off Canterbury and 20 points from Devon Lewis for the win….Brock Schott scored 8 points in Leo’s win Friday against Heritage, but highlighted by his halftime buzzer beating fadeaway shot….New Haven‘s Darrion Brooks scored 24 in a win over Northrop and topped it on Friday with a 28 point game in a loss to Blackhawk Christian….Jay County overcame an 18-3 deficit Friday to beat Woodlan 56-51, led by Blake Bogenschutz‘s 18 points and 17 from Josh Dowlen.
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