Tuesday’s Daily Dive: Alexandria’s Big Week, Chesterton’s Strong Start, Memorial’s Revenge
We are sitting just two weeks out from Christmas and even though this is a light week in terms of games, there is a number of things to watch including Alexandria’s big three-game week, Chesterton’s strong start, and Evansville Memorial’s…
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Continue ReadingWe are sitting just two weeks out from Christmas and even though this is a light week in terms of games, there is a number of things to watch including Alexandria’s big three-game week, Chesterton’s strong start, and Evansville Memorial’s revenge as well as other notes. Here you go.
Alexandria Enters Into Big Week With Win
Alexandria knocked off Taylor last night, 56-44, and now moves to 6-1 this year. For them in 2A, this week is big as they could be 8-1 if they get past Eastbrook and Wapahani. A win over Eastbrook should be easy but a win over Wapahani will another big one for them.
They are a team that is close to jumping into the Top 10 and with a nearly two week break after this Saturday, would do them wonders to go into Christmas with a full head of steam. The last time they had more than 14 wins in a season was 2009-10 and they haven’t won a Sectional game since 2014-15. This year, they are right there with Tipton as the best team in the Sectional and could finally break through.
Chesterton’s Strong Start
Now sitting at 5-0, Chesterton looks like they are right where they need to be. Returning one of the top players in 2020 in Jake Wadding, they have a ton of momentum and got another big win over East Chicago Central last evening.
In the win, Jake Wadding finished with 27 points. He’s been pretty consistent through the first five games. The 6’5 wing is doing his job leading this team as possibly one of the best teams in the northern part of the state with key wins over Gary 21st and Lowell already. Look at December 27th and 28th as the days when we find out just how good this team is. They are set to play Lawrence Central to open up the Noblesville Holiday Tournament and could also meet up with New Albany and Andrean.
Evansville Memorial’s Revenge
After eight straight losses to Evansville Bosse, last night Evansville Memorial got some revenge knocking off the Bulldogs 57-45. March 9th, 2015 was their last win and they typically play each other up to three times a year. Bosse has been the team that has knocked Memorial out of Sectionals, each of the last three years.
With Bosse reloading a bit this year and Memorial built around their upperclassmen, this could be a season very similar to 2014-15 where Memorial went 18-7 and made it all the way to Regional Finals and beat Bosse in the Sectional Championship. That season was the freshman season for a majority of what would make up Bosse’s core including Mekhi Lairy for the next four years but they were only able to go 10-14. This year’s Bosse team won’t do that poorly but might have trouble against those high-end teams in the state that they kind of owned the last few seasons.
But, this is the first of what could be three meetings between the two teams. Lets check in around the first week of January for the SIAC and see how that goes. Should know plenty more about teams by then.
Quick Hitters:
- One of the more interesting starts to look at is that of Pendleton Heights. Now 2-5, they started off 2-1 with wins over Westfield and Lapel. Their next four games weren’t easy but still going 0-4 is tough. And things don’t get any easier with Lawrence Central and Hamilton Southeastern up next.
- Jimtown is now 3-1 after a huge win over NorthWood. This is a great start for Matt Schauss and the Jimmies. It’s been since 2014-15 since they were over .500 in a season and they are trending that way with wins already over South Bend Washington and NorthWood. Look for the Fairfield game this weekend to be a tough one, though.
- Lawrence North gets back on track with back-to-back wins over Brownsburg and Indianapolis Manual. They are 3-2 now and get a few easier games coming up and need to get a win over two as the back half of their schedule is really difficult to navigate.
- In a season where the expectations were not nearly as high as they had been the last few years, Merrillville has come out and gone 4-1 with wins over Andrean and Griffin in the last few days. They have a loss to South Bend Riley but still have some key games, most notably the next this weekend against Fort Wayne Snider. This team will need some marquee wins and it starts Saturday.
- Mishawaka Marian knocked off Culver Academies last night in the biggest game in the state. It was a huge win for Marian that could see this matchup arise again in Sectionals. Marian is now 4-0 and could be rising up the rankings soon.
- Portage beat up on Lowell last night, a team that is off to a rough start. But for Portage, they are now 4-2 and have been solid to start. Their two losses are to undefeated teams in Munster and Elkhart Memorial. This is a key win and could get another one or two when they head to the Bob Wettig Tournament this Christmas Break.
- Now 6-0, South Bend Riley is off to a fantastic start as they beat Concord last night. They have had some solid games in each of their six wins. No huge teams but no slouches either. They actually don’t have many big, big games except Penn and Cathedral later this season. They could be a weird case later in the year if they keep beating solid but not great teams.