HERE COME THE LEGENDS
North Side has had themselves a complicated last six months. Their coaching change was one of the last to take place when former coach Gary Andrews left to take over the Huntington North girls program. It led the Legends to hire former coach Shabaz Khaliq to come back and head up the program that he took to the state finals less than a decade ago. But even Khaliq’s hiring didn’t happen until the end of July, taking him out of critical June months.
The team is loaded with football guys, meaning there wasn’t much in the fall of top guys like Sebastian Moore, Omarion Waites or Maalik Moore. When the season started, December 2-December 19 had to have felt like an eternity. Despite keeping some big games close and key moments in all four of their opening contests, the record read 0-4 and that is never a place you want to be.
Then North Side got a little sunshine at the Bob Wettig Tournament, first topping KIPP Indy Legacy. That would be their first win, but they would drop back to back games after. On December 30, they topped NorthWood to end the tournament time and start a streak that would have them win 8 of their next 9 and are now winners of their last six games including a massive win two Fridays ago over Homestead, something that was a long time coming.
This week’s games were less challenging than the Spartans, but North Side thrived. On Wednesday, the Legends battled Leo early with a 23-21 advantage after one, but then outscored the Lions 39-22 in the middle quarters. For all of the credit North Side does get for its athleticism and defensive prowess in games, they went hot shooting the ball against Leo, hitting 10-of-15 from deep including 4-of-4 from Max Goheen and 3-of-4 from Andrew Upton. North Side shot 62.7 percent from the field in the game.
Goheen has been a steady scorer in the last few weeks and it has really enhanced the Legends. He and Sebastian Moore each scored 14 to lead North Side to the win over Leo, with Goheen also having eight of the team’s 20 assists.
After Friday’s win over Concordia, North Side now sits seventh in the SAC standings, but look deeper and you’d see that North is 3-4 possessions against Snider and South in losses away from being first or second in the SAC right now.
Moore leads North Side at 16.2 points per game, followed by Goheen’s 11.2 and 4.9 assists per contest.
THE NECC CHAMPS TIMES 3
Fremont‘s win over Garrett girls on Wednesday clinched them a share of the NECC title. It is the first ever conference regular season crown for the Eagles, who hit 22 wins in the game marking the most wins in program history. Grace Scharlach had 27 points in the Fremont title clinching win, while Mya Turner added 18.
The 27 point outing from Scharlach allowed her to set Fremont’s new single season girls basketball scoring mark with 485 points leaving the game. The mark was set in 1991 by Jamie LeRue.
Fairfield clinched their share of the NECC title on Friday night as Madison Jones scored 30 points in a win over West Noble. The scoring from Jones puts her at 999 career points.
On Thursday, Eastside did their part in a 53-30 win over Westview. Seven Blazers scored, led by 18 points from Taylor Mack.
This is the first 3-team share of the NECC title on the girls side ever.
FIRST GLANCE AT BOYS CONFERENCE RACES
Did the NE8 get clarity this past weekend or just more confusing? New Haven now sits alone at the top of the standings at 5-0 with two conference contests left.
On Saturday, New Haven outlasted Columbia City, 70-67, in overtime. Tarvar Baskerville had 22 points and four steals including the game clinching steal. Landon Richmond led the Eagles with 29 points, shooting 13 of 17 from the field, with 10 rebounds.
Also on Saturday, Zeke Penrod scored 25 as DeKalb upset co-NE8 leader Huntington North. Bowen Minehart added 14 points and eight rebounds for DeKalb while Caden Rice had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Titus Schultz scored 32 to lead the Vikings in the loss.
Columbia City, Norwell and DeKalb each have two NE8 losses and would need some help to split a title. Huntington North is 4-1 in the NE8 with their next conference game February 7 as they host New Haven in a game that likely determines the conference race.
In the SAC, South Side sits first at 6-1 with just two conference games remaining while Wayne is half a game back at 5-1. All of the two loss teams (Snider, Homestead, Carroll and Luers) are still in the hunt while technically so could be North Side (3-3). South has the hammer though with Luers and Wayne still on the schedule, they control their own fate.
Jay County‘s win over Bluffton last week gives both them and Heritage the lead in the ACAC at 4-0 each while Bluffton is 4-1 and still very much in the race. Jay County visits Heritage on February 13, but Heritage first has a meeting with Bluffton on February 7.
In the NECC, Westview sit unbeaten at 7-0 with a lot of basketball to play. Fairfield is 5-1 with their one conference loss coming to Westview. Angola, Prairie Heights and Lakeland each have two losses and right now three loss Central Noble isn’t out of the race officially. In the next two weeks, Westview can wrap up at least a share of the title, home against West Noble on February 5 and at Prairie Heights on February 13.
TRENDING UP AT NORWELL
For a team that wasn’t on the radar of many coming into this season, Norwell boys basketball has had quite the year.
The fact that they have done so on the hands of a pair of McBride brothers shouldn’t be much of a shock. On Saturday, Josh McBride had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the win over East Noble, while brother Nick McBride added 17 points and four assists. The duo has been unstoppable more often than not, always at the top of the Norwell stat sheet, even in losses. They are well known for scoring and especially shooting prowess, but the way the dup have gotten others involved with their passing has been impressive.
Those others have stepped up in major ways. On Saturday, Jack Richardson was third in scoring with seven while Noah Comer had six points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Norwell is doing things by committee and other players are stepping up nightly to fill in any gaps. It has become impressive work to watch.
This is a team also coming off a battle with New Haven the previous Saturday, falling by just seven points thanks in part to the McBride duo but also 11 points and six rebounds from Cooper Bunn. With the shakeup in the NE8 listed above, Norwell is 3-2 in conference and mathematically still in the hunt for the NE8 title.
On the girls side, there isn’t a trend up, but worth noting that Friday night Vanessa Rosswurm became the all-time leading scorer for Norwell girls basketball. The game clinched the NE8 as the Knights beat East Noble 66-35 behind Rosswurm’s 29 points. Norwell has won their 7th conference title in the last 10 years and clinched a fourth straight 20-win season.
Rosswurm’s scoring total moved to 1,651 passing 2024 Norwell grad Kennedy Fuelling. 5 of the top 10 scorers in Norwell history have now all come since 2018 with Rosswurm joining Fuelling and Makenzie Fuess (8th) from the 2024 class. 2021 grades Maiah Shelton (5th) and Kaylee Fuelling (6th) joining her in the past 8 seasons.
GIRLS QUICK HITS
Lakeland‘s Dulce Canedo scored 22 points Wednesday in a loss to Fremont….On Tuesday, Fort Wayne Hawks‘ Claire Boyle scored 28 points in a loss to Blackhawk Christian….Dessi Pope of Blackhawk Christian had a 19 points, 11 assist double double in the win over the Fort Wayne Hawks….Wednesday’s win over Bellmont was the 23rd for Warsaw this regular season, setting a new program record….Norwell hit 18 three pointers in Wednesday’s win over Bishop Dwenger led by seven from Macie Saalfrank….Bluffton‘s Khloe Dick had a 25 point/10 rebound game Wednesday in a win over Manchester….Bellmont‘s Marianne Bleke had a big week, scoring 24 points Wednesday in a loss to Warsaw and adding 18 on Friday in a win over Leo and 21 more Saturday in a win over Angola….With her 32 points Wednesday in a win over Bellmont, Warsaw‘s Joslyn Bricker became the 2nd ever Kosciusko County player to score 600 or more points in a season, joining Wawasee legend Shanna Zolman….On Friday, both Sarah DePew and Emma Coffman scored 29 points for Garrett with DePew adding 14 rebounds and Coffman 10 assists….Gabby Helsom‘s bucket with 20 seconds left in triple overtime Friday helped Homestead clinch the SAC with a win over Northrop….Alivia Bolinger set Concordia‘s single game scoring record Friday with 39 points in a win over North Side….Snider‘s Janaya Cooper had a 26 point/10 rebound double double Friday in a win over Carroll….New Haven didn’t take a shot until the 3:16 mark of Saturday’s loss to Columbia City.
BOYS QUICK HITS
DeKalb‘s Caden Rice had 17 points and 14 rebounds on Tuesday in a win over West Noble….Wayne outscored Bishop Luers 27-18 in the fourth quarter on Friday’s 77-69 win, let by LaShawn Green‘s 16 points and 18 from Tyree Eldridge….Westview coach Chandler Prible won his 100th career game on Friday night….Jack Van Order scored 20 points for Carroll Friday in a 69-63 upset of Snider….Whitko beat Peru, 87-82, in four overtimes on Saturday. It is the first ever 4OT win for Whitko and the second time they have played one (last in 2016)….Blackhawk Christian‘s Bryce Lacross scored 33 points Saturday in a win over Wayne….Cole Forthofer had a 15 point, 13 rebound game for Jay County Saturday in a win over Blackford; Gradin Swoveland scored a career high 26 points….Canterbury‘s Jack Landgraf hit five threes Saturday in a loss to Bethany Christian….In Friday’s win over Dwenger, South Side coach JJ Foster hit 150 wins as a boys head coach. He now has 206 career wins including time as a girls head coach….Leo‘s Jonah Lagrange had 16 points and 6 rebounds Saturday in a win over Bellmont; the Braves were paced by 23 points from Daniel Selking.
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