The semi state round of the IHSAA boys basketball state tournament is this Saturday. The semi state round, for the second straight season, will consist of two games. Teams will need to win both in the morning or early afternoon, as well as a night game, to reach the state finals.
Northeast Indiana has two teams left participating in the tournament with the Homestead Spartans in Class 4A and the Manchester Squires in Class 2A.
Here is a breakdown of each of their semi state brackets.
CLASS 4A AT ELKHART (NORTH SIDE GYM)
10 am ET | G1: South Bend Riley (22-4) vs. Fishers (28-0)
12 pm ET | G2: Homestead (22-5) vs. Crown Point (22-2)
8 pm ET | Championship: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
HOW DOES HOMESTEAD WIN?
Homestead needs to channel their Sectional title win over Wayne at noon on Saturday. Crown Point has been among the best teams in Class 4A all season long and they are that because of their overwhelming athleticism. Homestead was able to control the tempo in much of the game opposite Wayne and that allowed them to get off good shots and keep their offense well timed. Crown Point is going to really try and speed the Spartans up which means the likes of Mack Welker, Jake Coolman, Aidan Good and Josh Rodgers are going to need to be at the top of their game to dictate pace.
Wayne is the only like opponent that both teams did not beat in the regular season as Crown Point beat the Generals by 1 and Homestead fell to them by three in the regular season.
Welker has really exploded throughout his sophomore season and has been really good down the stretch and into the postseason. This is the chance for Welker to have a massive breakout moment on a big state stage that will have him on the top of people’s minds going forward. Welker’s ability to play mature beyond his years as a sophomore has been important this postseason but will be extra crucial on Saturday.
ABOUT CROWN POINT
Crown Point lost back-to-back games to start February, but those are the only blemishes on their schedule as they win by almost 18 points per game on average. Like Homestead, Crown Point is led by a veteran coach in Clint Swan, who is in his 19th year with the school and 28th overall; the two coaches of this game have 867 career wins between them.
On the court, the Bulldogs are led by a quarter of juniors, including Dikembe Shaw and Kingston Rhodes. Shaw is a D1 prospect who has been a tough matchup for everyone all season. His 22 point effort in January against LaPorte showcased his full body of work. Mason Darrell and Bryce Peters are two other juniors who have helped lead the Bulldogs, and their fifth starter is senior Quinn Begley, who averages 7.5 points and five rebounds per game. Kolby Henderlong is the other senior for Crown Point. Crown Point won their first Regional title since 1998 last Saturday.
THE OTHER GAME
Riley has had a really stellar season, including topping Warsaw in overtime last weekend to advance to this game. In that double overtime win, Tyrese Jones had 45 points for South Bend Riley, five points shy of Eric Ford’s single-game program record of 50. Jones also added 10 rebounds and four steals. On the other side of the game is high scoring and unbeaten Fishers, who averages 72.9 points per game. They have a very balanced scoring front, led by sophomore Jason Gardner’s 14.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. Justin Kirby (12.6), Cooper Zachary (11.4) and Jonanthony Hall (10.2) join Gardner in double digit scoring per game with two other players averaging over five points per contest.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTIONS
Homestead has been playing really good basketball and the fact that they, in ways, dominated Wayne just two weeks ago keep them right in the thick of things. That said, Crown Point is incredibly dangerous and while this game could be close, if the Bulldogs get rolling, they could run away. Bounce thinks that Crown Point edges Homestead out in the morning, but loses to Fishers in the night game.
CLASS 2A AT MICHIGAN CITY
10 am CT | G1: Gary 21st Century (20-6) vs. Wapahani (26-1)
12 pm CT | G2: Manchester (23-2) vs. Jimtown (16-10)
7:30 pm CT | Championship: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
HOW DOES MANCHESTER WIN?
Feed the beast. That beast being Gavin Betten. The senior Indiana All-Star candidate has been sensational, with one of the state’s best scoring outputs at 26.1 points per game. Not once has Betten been a single digit scorer this season; in fact he has scored lower than the 20s just three times, while having four games at 30 or more points including 40 points in Manchester’s Sectional title win over Oak Hill, on 16-of-19 shooting. Betten shoots 65 percent from the field, including 71 percent from inside the arc; he also averages 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 steals and three blocks per game.
Next to Betten, Ethan Hendrix has had a great senior season as well. Hendrix averages 17.9 points per game, which is a massive number for a number two scorer. He also directly follows Betten at 3.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game. With all of the work that Betten and Hendrix do, it is important to talk about how Manchester will need to rely on others as well. Six different players have appeared in every game for the Squires with two others appearing in 23 and 22 of the 25 total games, so Manchester does have depth despite being top heavy in ways. Junior Aaron Reid is averaging 1.7 steals per contest, while senior Tallon Torpy gives Manchester 9.4 points and 1.9 steals per game of the team’s 67.2 points and 12.1 steals per contest.
ABOUT JIMTOWN
Jimtown’s offense is predicated on controlling the tempo of the game. They don’t score a ton, they aren’t wildly flashy, but they are a pretty consistent group. They have only gotten into the 70s scoring once this season and six times in the 60s, though two of those games over 60 points came during the Sectional round. They are a team who shoots 50 percent inside the arc and are much more comfortable getting at the rim than living on the three point shot. Senior Branden King leads the way with 17.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and at 6-foot-7, he has had a distinct advantage over a lot of Jimtown’s opponents, with eight double doubles on the season. King had a 27 point, 15 rebound game in a win over Bremen.
Dylan Fey, a 6-foot-4 senior, adds to why Jimtown can be a matchup issue. Fey averages 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Junior guard Will Spurgeon leads Jimtown defensively with two steals per game of the team’s 8.2 steal per game average. Spurgeon has six games with four or more steals, including five each against John Glenn and Argos.
THE OTHER GAME
This is a really intriguing one with Gary 21st Century as a bit of an overwhelming favorite with the experts, but keep in mind just how well Wapahani can shoot the ball. And while Wapahani may not be considered as good as last season’s state finals team, they are still very good. Wapahani shoots 47 percent from long range but its not like they are just shooting a few here and there; the Raiders average 24 three point attempts per game. Senior Nate Luce is 112-of-242 from three point range this season and has only shot 45 two pointers. Junior Camden Bell has hit 62 three pointers at a 51 percent success rate while, as a team, Wapahani is 307-of-652 as a team from long range, which is a tremendous equalizer.
Gary 21st Century has shot just 100 more threes than Wapahani has made this year, but they can get downhill and work around the rim very well. The Cougars are heavily reliant on junior Terrence Hayes and senior Lemetrius Williams. Williams ia heavy presence inside at 6-foot-4, averaging 14.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game, shooting 56 percent inside the arc. Hayes is the one who edges out Williams in all statistical categories other than rebounding, leading 21st Century with 20.7 points per game to go with 7.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per contest.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTIONS
Give me Manchester in the morning game. Why? Because as good and as big as Branden King is, Gavin Betten is just as big and better overall. Manchester also has more top end depth than Jimtown in my humble opinion. The other game is going to be a dogfight, but Wapahani’s edge in three point shooting is so significant than unless they go broke, it is hard to think they won’t be able to get by Gary 21st Century and return to a semi state title game. At night, fresh legs could be a big difference and with Wapahani using more perimeter work and playing in the early game, they could have an advantage. But they also don’t have a Betten or even an Ethan Hendrix, who are so diversified in what they do it can counteract a big shooting spree better than Gary 21st Century. Give me the Squires to have another big day and make a state finals appearance for the first time ever.
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