CLASS 4A
• Mack Welker was fantastic for Homestead as the Spartans added another Regional title to their resume with a win over Harrison. Welker went 6-6 in the first half with 14 points and Jake Coolman used a steal and a score at the buzzer of the first half to double up Harrison 30-15; Homestead had seven different first half scorers. The Spartans ultimately won 56-38 to win their second straight Regional title and the fifth for coach Chris Johnson.
The last time that Johnson and Homestead won back-to-back Regionals, they went on to win the Class 4A state title that second season in 2014-2015.
Welker didn’t finish perfect, but came close as he shot 10-of-11 from the field with 23 points and seven rebounds. Coolman continued to find himself involved in every way with a massive six steals to go with his seven points and five rebounds.
• Snider had to scratch and claw and fight to get to the Regional round. They overcame a 14 point deficit to North Side last Saturday in a Sectional title win against North Side and used overtime to do it. And yeah, they were given a “gift” this week by not having to figure out a dynamite Fishers team thanks to an upset win for Carmel.
But that still meant that Snider had to prepare for Carmel, which is never easy any year and a Carmel team that was clearly good enough to stop the Fishers train that most expected to make a strong run for the Class 4A state title. But on Saturday, things all came up Sniders way right down to a fast break dunk from Trell Hogue that sealed a Panthers 54-46 win, their 20th of the season.
The win gives Snider their first Regional since 2009, when the Panthers lost the state finals to Bloomington South.
Xavier Wilson‘s 18 points led the Panthers, who were tied with Carmel at 25 at halftime. Just two minutes into the third quarter, Snider had used a 7-0 run to take a lead that they never relented on, though Snider did use a 9-1 run late in the third to trail by just one, 38-37, after three. Hogue finished with 12 points for the Panthers.
CLASS 3A
• It has been 105 years since New Haven boys basketball started and they now have their first Regional title thanks to Saturday’s 64-49 win over West Lafayette. The loss was just the fifth of the season for the Red Devils.
The Bulldogs only have eight Sectional titles, with the first coming in 1992, and this year was the first since the Covid riddled postseason in 2020. That year, New Haven did have a shot to win a Regional even though it was a two-game event then. But there were no Regionals, so in ways this was a nice way to exorcise that demon even if it is a very different team and very different staff. It was also the first Regional crown for coach Brandon Appleton, who went to a two-game Regional final in 2019 with the Angola girls before falling to Marion. That team finished 21-7, nearly identical to Appleton’s record of 20-7 with this year’s Bulldog boys.
Tarvar Baskerville was his normal self as he scored 20 to lead New Haven in the win, but credit to the recent important play of Marquaylon Johnson, who added 14 points and has been solid this postseason. Shane Rogers-Smith added 12 points and Lavell Ledbetter had eight in the Regional win for New Haven.
•Blackhawk Christian battled through the Sectional round to capture their ninth straight title, but things took a turn Saturday against Delta, the same team who beat the Braves last season.
Briggs Pardon took a hard fall in the first round game of the Sectional round and had not played since so his availability to the general public was in doubt for the Regional game anyway. But when the game started on Saturday, sophomore Bryce Lacross – who had scored 40 in the Sectional semi final win – was also in street clothes. So the start of the Regional game was what could have been expected with Delta opening the game on a 7-0 run and winning 40-30.
The loss is a dissapointing one for Blackhawk Christian and nobody involved in the program, especially a senior group that includes Pardon and one of the area’s better breakout seniors in Jaeden O’Neal, want to talk though about how good this postseason experience is for the future. This is a sophomore loaded group that includes Lacross and Drake Sefton. But in both rounds of the postseason, Kyler Wood gained valuable experience and rose to the occassion, including 15 points in Saturday’s loss. Elliot Cummings too had some strong play Saturday.
The title is Delta’s fourth straight Regional.
• Could Hanover Central, who won the Sectional title 18-13, compete with the skill and athleticism of Columbia City? That was a massive question this week even if the Eagles also faced a pretty low scoring defensive battle themselves last week.
Quarter one said no to Hanover Central, who trailed Columbia City 20-2 after the first eight minutes of the Regional round. The Eagles grew their lead to 30-11 at halftime, never really looking back against a team who’s offense just wasn’t on par with Columbia City. Hanover Central did get up to 33 points, but fell 55-33. In all fairness, the Wildcats did average 14 more points per game than they scored on Saturday but were winless when giving up more than 40 points in a game this season.
Landon Richmond and Ian St. John each scored 15 to lead the Eagles, while Owen Marshall added 12, giving Columbia City their first regional title since 2011 as they improve to 23-4. Richmond added 12 rebounds in another double double performance and St. John was 5-of-9 from three point range.
CLASS 2A
• Down goes Gary 21st Century. Westview‘s win over the Cougars was one of the area’s bigger upsets despite Westview’s record and status as arguably the best team in Northeast Indiana. Gary 21st Century had won seven straight, including scoring 119 in the opening round of Sectional play. But Westview held the Cougars to double digits under their scoring average in the 63-59 win.
Austin Schlabach played one of the best games of his career, scoring a career high 33 points in the Warrior win. His free throws with 9.2 seconds left sealed the deal as Gary never got off a shot they wanted in the closing seconds.
Perhaps most impressive down the stretch of this game was the fact that Westview kept their composure under 10 seconds to play. There were multiple delays trying to get the basketball in, seemingly to get the leg of a Cougar player wrapped because of exposed blood. In tense moments where a delay in the contest would annoy most, the Warriors looked incredibly composed and once the ball was in play again, they just finished the job.
This is Westview’s first Regional title since 2018 as they improve to 25-1. Kaden Grau added 16 points.
• Bishop Luers‘ close was similar to Westview’s in that they needed clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the Regional title. The Knights got those from TJ English, who finished with 15 points overall. Ayle Taylor led Bishop Luers with 18 points.
The Knights built a 29-20 lead at the half and never relented as Bremen pushed back. Luers took the win 55-51.
With the win for Bishop Luers, the SAC became the only conference in the state to produce three Regional champions. This is Luers’ first Regional crown since 2017.
CLASS 1A
• Canterbury was against the ropes early against Tri-County and it looked like things were going to go bad for them before they rallied back to lose 44-43. Canterbury only scored 11 first half points but used a third quarter surge to close back in.
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