Friday’s Daily Dive: 2A Sectional Recap

The 2A Sectionals are underway and there were a lot of storylines from Friday’s semifinal matchups. Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the top highlights from Friday’s night of hoops.  South Decatur Survives South Ripley in a Thriller In what was expected to be one of the highest-scoring games of the night, both of these teams came out in a slump. In the first 5 minutes of the game, the two teams combined to be 2-16 from the floor. However, in the final 27 minutes of the game, we got what we expected. Cody Samples of South Ripley scored 26 points, and he had to sit for 5 minutes in the first half after picking up a taunting technical, his third foul, for showing a three on his hand after hitting a triple (a horrible call). South Decatur had a career night from Evan Wullenweber who scored 19 and shot 5-6 from deep. Lane Lauderbaugh Lane Lauderbaugh 6'7" | SF South Decatur | 2021 State IN also added 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals in the win. South Decatur will take on Triton Central in the Sectional finals. Churubusco Takes Down Central Noble #15 Busco took down #3 Central Noble in a game that was played within one possession until the final minute. The largest lead of the game was 3 until Busco pulled away late. Both of these teams were hitting shots and playing physically on both ends of the floor. I don’t have the final stats for this game, but I know that Jackson Paul Jackson Paul 6'0" | PG Churubusco | 2021 State IN and Connor Essegian Connor Essegian 6'4" | SG Central Noble | 2022 State IN were playing extremely physically and getting to the bucket on the offensive end. Busco will take on Eastside in the Sectional title game. #2 Shenandoah Rolls Over #10 Northeastern In one of the more anticipated games of the night, Shenandoah came out and did not give the Knights the slightest vision of hope as the Raiders dominated for a 69-38 victory on their home floor. It was a tight game after the first quarter, but Shenandoah more than doubled up the Knights in the final three-quarters of the game. The Raiders were getting open shots and knocking them down, and their 2-3 defense was causing major problems for Northeastern who just weren’t able to create shots. Shenandoah was led by Andrew Bennett Andrew Bennett 6'2" | SG Shenandoah | 2021 State IN with 24, Kaden McCollough Kaden McCollough 5'11" | PG Shenandoah | 2021 State IN with 16, Michael Howard Michael Howard 6'4" | SF Shenandoah | 2021 State IN with 11, and Kameron Graddy Kameron Graddy 6'6" | PF Shenandoah | 2021 State IN with 10. Northeastern was led by Raedhyn Foust Raedhyn Foust 6'8" | PF Northeastern | 2022 State IN with 12 and Kolden Vanlandigham Kolden Vanlandigham 6'1" | PG Northeastern | 2021 State IN with 11.  Quick Hitters: Brit Harris has career night with 34 points on 5 triples. He also added 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals in the 35 point win for Marquette Catholic over Whiting. Koron Davis Koron Davis 6'5" | SF Bowman Academy | 2021 State IN dominates for the second straight game as he totals 29 points and 14 rebounds in Bowman Academy’s narrow win over Illiana Christian. Will Shank Will Shank 6'3" | SG Fort Wayne Canterbury | 2021 State IN scored 19 and added 5 steals in Fort Wayne Canterbury’s win over Adams Central. Luke Brown Luke Brown 6'1" | PG Blackford | 2021 State IN had another stat-stuffing night with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Landon Grimes also added 15 points and 12 boards to lead Blackford to a 69-50 win over Tipton. Ayden Brobston Ayden Brobston 6'6" | PF Frankton | 2021 State IN added a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards in Frankton’s 7 point win over Alexandria-Monroe. Eastern Hancock had 5 players in double figures in their 28 point victory over Union County. Jacob Spaulding, Cameron Wise, Landon O’Neal, Drew White, and Cole Rainbolt all were in double figures for the Royals. Parke Heritage’s trio of seniors, Christian Johnson Christian Johnson 6'1" | SG Parke Heritage | 2023 State IN ,  Connor Davis Connor Davis 6'4" | PF Parke Heritage | 2021 State IN , and Riley Ferguson, combined for 48 points as the Wolves rolled to a 66-38 win over Southmont. David Steele led Triton Central with 17, and Aiden Lindsey added 11 points and 11 boards to lead the Tigers to a 62-60 victory over Milan. Southwestern (Hanover) rolled to a 30 point win over Switzerland County thanks to 21 points from Matthew Williams Matthew Williams 6'5" | PF Southwestern-Hanover | 2021 State IN and 16 from Parker Davis. Also, Foster Mefford Foster Mefford 5'11" | PG Southwestern (Hanover) | 2021 State IN added 14/5/6, and Austin Kramer added 14 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals.