By GREG MENGELT

Silver Creek continued its dominance in its first season ever as defending state champions.

The Dragons went to an invitational at Vincennes and clobbered Franklin Central 61-44 before knocking off the host Alices 65-45 to win the title.

Senior Kynidi Mason-Striverson scored 49 points in the tournament and closed with a 29-point, 8-rebound performance against the Alices. The Dragons were 11 for 22 from behind the 3-point arc, including Mason-Striverson’s 6 of 10 outing, in the championship game.

“We are excited to be 15-1 with some big wins over great teams,” Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen said. “Against (Vincennes), I thought we were as good as we have been on defense. We are playing great team ball and just sitting down and defending.

The Dragons, who are 15-1 and ranked third in the latest Class 3A ICGSA poll, have six regular-season games left, including a home game against Mid-Southern Conference and sectional-rival Salem on Saturday.

“Our goal is to keep getting better every game and be playing our best come February,” Schoen said. “I feel our schedule prepares us for tough road games and tough situational games. Lots of good teams out there though.”