What can you expect from the area Regionals that feature Class 3A and Class 4A teams? Saturday’s next round of postseason play is coming quick for five area teams in these classes.
Regional at Michigan City
Class 4A: Warsaw vs. Crown Point | 7 pm CT
The Favorite: Crown Point
Defense was a critical point of emphasis for the 19-win Bulldogs in their title win over Chesterton last week. It helped pushed Crown Point to their first Sectional title since 2016. Their four quick turnovers forced against Chesterton in that game helped them get out to a quick start that would be hard for most teams to battle back from.
Dikembe Shaw had nine and Jaden Skulfield eight for Crown Point in the title clinching win and the Bulldogs have shown an solid ability down the stretch of the season to feed the hot hand but also support that player’s efforts solidly as they have won 11 of their last 12 games.
Players you can’t miss: Jack Svetich (Crown Point) and Luke Bricker (Warsaw)
Svetich’s tear of a week helped Crown Point to that first Sectional title in almost a decade and he has to be #1 on the Tiger scouting report. Svetich torched host Chesterton in the championship game to the tune of 26 points and 7-of-9 shooting from three point range. He is a solid to exceptional shooter and proved last week that he has gotten hot at the right time and not just against Chesterton in that final as he also scored 20 points against Valpo.
Bricker has been the leading scorer for Warsaw in 14 games this season and has been in double figures for Warsaw seven of the last nine games. He has become a high volume scorer and really has become the different maker for Warsaw during their current stretch of wins that include a somewhat surprising Sectional title.
Don’t be surprised if: Warsaw slows it down and looks to the post
Winners of their 41st Sectional title last week, the Tigers are a team peaking at the right time and their ability to control tempo has been a major part of that. They are winning by just over eight points per game this season, but have been able to make teams play their way a lot.
During Warsaw’s seven-game winning streak, the Tigers have allowed 40+ points in a game only three times, and Penn (55 points/gm avg) and Concord (50 points/gm avg) combined to score only 69 points in the sectional against Warsaw’s defense.
While Bricker gets talked about a lot and rightfully so, Luke Yeager had a really strong Sectional week and gives a substantial size mismatch at 6-foot-7. He is shooting 66 percent from the field this season and could be a big catalyst for controlling the pace of a game.
Regional at Logansport
Class 4A: North Side vs. Wayne | 4 pm ET
The Favorite: Wayne
There is a lot on the line in this battle of Fort Wayne teams. Both need momentum going into semi state next week no matter who they draw opponent wise. And then, there is the bragging rights. Wayne beat North Side 66-42 on January and it helped them get to a SAC title, but the postseason is a whole different breed, isn’t it?
The Generals are defending Regional champions and are looking for just their third Regional title ever and first time back-to-back. With so much back from that team, the experience alone has been and should continue to be so helpful for the Generals. Jevon Lewis (19.6 points, 7.8 assists per game) is playing as good of basketball as anyone in the area right now and containing him will be problem A for North Side, a problem that gave the Legends 24 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals the first time around.
Beneficial for Wayne is that even if North can slow Lewis, there are so many more weapons for the Generals that would be option A on any other team. In the first game between the two teams, eight other Generals scored with Lewis’ lead followed by 14 points from Preston Comer and big rebounding games from HJ Dillard (13) and Ziare Sullivan (7).
Players you can’t miss: HJ Dillard (Wayne) and Jaxson Fugate (North Side)
Dillard is one of the few players in the area averaging a double double this season as he sits at 13 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. As Wayne’s game relies so much on working from the outside in, the play of Dillard is critical and many around the area have talked late this season about how important he would be to the postseason run. This game, he runs up against really good size and length for North Side so he will be expected to take a major and active role. Dillard has just one double double in his last five games, but in those games he has fallen short by just one point, one rebound or two rebounds.
Fugate has been on an up and down stretch lately scoring wise by standards he set earlier this season, but when he is up, he is really up. His 16.4 points per game leads the Legends and even when he isn’t scoring 20 points in a game, he is so valuable for his length and IQ that the Legends can’t really afford for him to be off the floor. He is shooting 63 percent inside the arc and averaging 1.7 blocks per game.
Don’t be surprised if: This is the best game all weekend, anywhere
Yes it was a 24 point game the first time out, but again the postseason is a different animal. North Side has been veering back heavily into playing well and they are going to put everything they have into this one against their city rival.
This game could be one sided again, sure. But there are so many signs pointing to this being the best Regional game featuring two area teams and could it be the best Regional title game in the North half of the state this weekend? Look for a lot of guys to step up and Bounce is looking a lot at what the likes of Jordan King of North Side and Kharrington Terry of Wayne can bring to the table in this big game.
Both of these groups are going to be hungry and they should be hungrier with the familiarity. That, at the very least, makes this the most intriguing of all Regional games featuring area teams.
Regional at Lapel
Class 3A; Delta vs. Concordia Lutheran | 4 pm ET
The Favorite: Delta
One of the favorites to win the whole think in Class 3A, Delta comes in on an eight game winning streak. Their one loss to a Class 3A game came to a Yorktown team that Delta more than made up for by dispatching the same team during the Sectional round. The Eagles can speed the game up well, scoring in the 70’s three times and averaging 55.1 points per game. They are pretty solid at controlling the chaos when things push in the frantic direction while Concordia has shown signs of struggle in similar situations.
Delta will lean heavily on D’Amare Hood and Jackson Wors offensively, but look for Jonny Manor and Kaiden Bond to potentially make a difference on the defensive end, where Delta is giving up just 41.2 points per game. In games where Concordia scores 42 or less points this season, they are 0-4.
Players you can’t miss: D’Amare Hood (Delta) and Ben Bentz (Concordia)
Hood’s defense is something to be on the lookout for as he is going to likely draw the Cole Hayworth assignment on defense. He is solid at ripping the ball away and getting into passing lanes and that is dangerous if indeed Delta can speed things up. He had six steals again Tipton and Pendleton Heights and averages nearly three per game on the season while also leading Delta in scoring.
Bentz plays at his best when he plays scrappy off ball. It almost is as if it gives him overwhelming confidence and freedom when he has the ball in his hands and that lets his shot fly better from deep. He didn’t take a two pointer in the Sectional title win over Leo, instead hitting two threes, but also getting to the line where he hit 4 of 6 free throws in the four point win. Bentz had nine defensive rebounds in the game and provides a gritty intensity for the Cadets.
Don’t be surprised if: Cole Hayworth takes over in his quest for 1,000 points
When Cole Hayworth has something big to play for, he can be at his best. He sits 12 points away from hitting 1,000 points for his career and that means that he is going to push forward fast and with enthusiasm. And once Hayworth gets going, it is hard to slow him down because he is such a threat at getting downhill.
Hayworth is arguably the best overall player in this game and he played some of his best basketball from his career during Sectional week, including a career high 39 points in the first round win over Garrett.
Very few guys can run the floor, play above the rim and also shoot the three as well as Hayworth can do of each of those things. If he takes over, Concordia could be the team in the upset win column but the end of the Saturday night.
Regional at Triton
Class 3A: Hammond Bishop Noll vs. Fairfield | 7 pm ET
The Favorite: Hammond Bishop Noll
If you are at Triton for the earlier in the day game of Westview’s, stick around to see their NECC foe in the night cap.
Noll is not an overwhelming favorite at 20-7 while Fairfield sits at 19-6, but a slight edge has to be given to the Warriors none the less. They are winners of 13 of their last 14 games with the lone loss coming to Class 4A’s 22-win East Chicago Central. Hammond Bishop Noll is 9-0 this season against Class 3A teams and four of their seven losses came to teams from outside the state of Indiana, which makes those losses hard to compare to the Falcons’ losses.
Caleb Parks, Jaedin Reyna and Amauri Moore make a really difficult to topple trio, averaging 37.7 points per game between the three of them, which is just four points shy of what Fairfield gives up on average. If these three can all hit their averages, it will make it very difficult for the normal Fairfield defense to hold off in a full game.
Those three will also need to control tempo, something that Fairfield has been able to do against like sped up offenses; Hammond Bishop Noll averages 62.8 points per game. Averaging 10.6 turnovers per game, the Warriors need to control the narrative quickly and attack the Fairfield defense.
Players you can’t miss: Caleb Parks (Hammond Bishop Noll) and Mitchell Miller (Fairfield)
Parks couldn’t possibly match the start to his season where he scored 34 points on 11 of 13 shooting against Munster on opening night, but the Warriors are 7-0 in games where he scores 20 or more points so that is already a mark that Hammond Bishop Noll will try to get their senior to. He is a 46 percent three point shooter, but isn’t one to settle as the 6-foot-3 combo guard shoots 62 percent from two point range and 81 percent from the foul line, where he has gotten to 89 times this season.
Miller was the go to guy in the middle of the season for the Falcons. And while he hasn’t been bad at all during the second half, it has been Carson Smith’s hot hand that Fairfield has been able to ride. But we all do remember Miller’s fantastic stretch in and around the NECC Tournament that helped propel the Falcons to their first title this season. He is a solid shooter and if he can get that base going early, then he has an ability to slip through defenses, get into the paint and make a team like Hammond Bishop Noll collapse, opening up the rest of the offense.
Don’t be surprised if: Fairfield becomes the favorite with a fast start
Several teams in the NECC were victims to early runs from the Falcons and could never fight their way back into it. Fairfield can succeed in a lot of different ways, but getting out front early and doing so big potentially would make them really hard to beat because of the way their team is able to control style and tempo. Playing with the lead could make Fairfield dangerous this weekend.
You can name almost the entire playable roster of players and they are a threat to get things going so it is possible that Fairfield can stretch out Hammond Bishop Noll’s defense pretty quickly. If someone like 6-foot-7 Noah Mast starts picking them apart from the outside, which he has every capability of doing, then the Warriors could have matchup nightmares. It only takes a couple of big shots from Mast or Tyson Frey to help spread the floor out in major ways for the Falcons.
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