Wednesday’s Daily Dive: Brownsburg’s Rough Half, Newman’s Case, Warren Central’s 100
We had a half slate full of games last night but some really interesting results. We take a look at Brownsburg’s sloppy start, Brandon Newman’s case for Mr. Basketball, and Warren Central dropping 100 points. That and more.
Brownsburg’s Rough Half
In their home opener last night Brownsburg took on a feisty North Central group that gave them all they could handle in the first half before Brownsburg took command in the second half and pulled away. Turnover after turnover and sloppy play after sloppy play kind of set the tone of the first half. North Central’s ball pressure seemed to cause some issues. Brownsburg’s depth at guard might have been shown a bit.
Luke Lacey and Cameron Alford were much better in the second half and seemed to put things away but behind those two, there aren’t many options right now. Their wings and posts are actually quite deep and impactful and you saw that as senior Ryan Wiggins and junior Malek Edmonds each had 15 points.
The biggest development on the night was that of sophomore wing Pierce Thomas who had a new look jumper. Still a work-in-progress but looked more repeatable and helped him to be productive. He finished the night with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. If he can be that level of producer, this team has quite a bit better shot to hit their ceiling.
Newman’s Case For Mr. Basketball
Just like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Armaan Franklin the previous nights, Valparaiso’s Brandon Newman stated his case for Mr. Basketball and was the best performer in his first game of the three. In a 76-27 win over Hobart, Newman put up 36 points and 15 rebounds.
The 6’3 scoring guard committed to Purdue was as impressive as you would have hoped for. He had 33 of his 36 points after the third quarter. For Newman and Valparaiso more so than the other two top contenders for Mr. Basketball, they have a schedule that mixes in a lot of easy games with some marquee matchups. Their local schedule isn’t too difficult opposed to Center Grove or Cathedral but they do come down to Indianapolis to play Zionsville and the Noblesville Holiday Tournament opening up with Warren Central. His path to production is the easiest right now.
Warren Central’s 100
In the biggest lopsided win of the year, Warren Central beat Arsenal Tech 100-28. Tech isn’t a great team this year but to not only hold a team to 28 points but then to score 100 is crazy.
The interesting thing will be when this team faces a true test because for head coach Criss Byers, this group is different than any other he has had. The last two years he’s had tough, smaller but physical guards that could really shoot the ball and pressure constantly. This group isn’t quite like that, more built around attacking and athleticism.
The key from the stat sheet last night, though, was the production from Jakobie Robinson and Jesse Bingham. Those two were my keys to this Warren Central team finding their way back to Banker’s Life. Their size is an asset but without production they weren’t going to hit their ceiling. Well, Robinson had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists while Bingham had 17 points and 3 rebounds. Again, ready to see what they do against a really good team and how it works. Keep your eye on December 7th against Cathedral.
Emptying The Notebook:
- Crawford County knocked off Forest Park last night in a close game, 43-41. Crawford County is usually solid but this could be a big season for Forest Park and not likely the start they were looking for.
- Frankton kicked it into high gear last night and showed their high-powered offense as they beat Taylor 96-37. Behind 24 points for Kayden Key, Frankton hit 10 three-pointers in the win. Not likely to keep up this level of scoring but should be one of the better offenses in the state.
- Lafayette Jeff took on Indianapolis Metro and showed their new look team with Braxton Barnhizer, a transfer from Alabama, putting up 24 points in the victory. His older brother Brooks put up 15 points and 15 rebounds. Noah Jordan scored 19 points for Metropolitan.
- Morristown defeated Triton Central in a big win. Logan Laster finished with 8 points but it was enough to give him 1,000 points for his career.
- Fort Wayne Northrop beat up on DeKalb 72-44. Northrop got 18 points from Qualen Pettus and 12 points, 12 rebounds from transfer Sydney Curry. This team, if they can gel, could fight to be the best team in the Fort Wayne area.
- Park Tudor got a win over University, 51-47. Both teams should be very good this year. Park Tudor has better talent but is a very young team. A win over a quality University group is a great start.
- Plainfield beat Hendricks County rival Avon last night, 53-36. Sophomore guard Aidan Booher scored 18 points in the win. The 6’2 scoring guard is a sneaky good prospect from the west side of town.
- Scottsburg might have found their next best talent in freshman Hayden Cutter who helped himself to 24 points in a 80-76 win over Austin.