By GREG MENGELT
Two-time defending state champion Silver Creek blew out Salem for the second time in a week and the upstart Warriors won a rubber match over Madison 81-48 in the second contest on Everett S. Dean Court.
The Dragons (12-12) and Warriors (15-8) will meet in Friday’s second semifinal at Salem. The teams split two games during the season. Scottsburg won 70-65 at Madison in the Jefferson County Invitational and the Dragons later won on Scottsburg’s floor 46-44.
“It should be a fun game,” said second-year Scottsburg coach Eric Richardson, whose Warriors have already improved by nine wins over last season. “They are obviously the defending state champions. They’re going to be ready and we’re going to be ready too.”
In Friday’s first semifinal, Corydon Central (14-8) will face rival and 13-ranked North Harrison, which defeated Charlestown 55-41 in Tuesday’s only quarterfinal. The 17-3 Cougars beat Corydon 65-41 on Dec. 3. Corydon is the only team that hasn’t yet played in the sectional. The Panthers, who finished the regular season by going 8-2 in their final 10 games, drew a first-round bye.
“The gym’s going to be rocking from the first game and everybody’s going to stay and watch our game, so it’s going to be a great environment on Friday,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said.
SILVER CREEK-SALEM
Salem scored the first four points Wednesday. It was all downhill from there for the Lions.
The Dragons responded with nine straight points and never trailed again in the 76-34 victory. Creek beat the shorthanded Lions by a combined 186-69 in two games over the eight days.
Senior Branden Northern, who averaged 25.7 points a game during the regular season, scored the final four of the period and the the Dragons led 30-8 after one stop. Northern finished with nine points, three rebounds and game highs of five assists and five steals in less than 14 minutes Wednesday.
Madison transfer Kaden Oliver, who averaged 21.9 points per game in 12 games for the Cubs this season, checked in midway through the first period and had five points, two rebounds and an assist in his first 4 minutes as a Dragon. Oliver scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in just 14 minutes.
Oliver, a junior, became eligible to play this week after transferring to Silver Creek in February.
“We’ve had him in practice for five weeks and he’s gotten a lot of reps with those guys,” Hoffman said. “He had a really good scoring game. It didn’t look like he hadn’t played in a couple weeks. I thought he did great.”
Sophomore Nate Davidson led the Dragons with 13 points and six boards. Northern and seniors Trey Schoen and Zac Stricker all scored nine in the win.
Silver Creek led 52-12 at halftime and 66-22 at the end of the third period. The Dragons shot 62.2 percent in the first half and forced 15 Salem turnovers.
“We forced some turnovers and got out in transitions,” Hoffman said. “Other than the first two possession … we did a good job in the first quarter.”
The Dragons made 62 percent (30 for 52) of their shots for the contest.
Salem (5-16), which lost 11 of its final 12 regular-season games, was led by Cayden Colon’s 12 points. Grant Mahuron had eights points and a team-high five rebounds for the Lions. Both were playing their final games for the Lions.
SCOTTSBURG-MADISON
Reigning Hoosier Hills Hoops Boys’ Team of the Week Scottsburg continued its hot play by dominating a Madison team that had beaten the Warriors 77-75 in double overtime in late December.
Since then, the teams have gone in opposite directions. Scottsburg entered the contest having won five straight games, including a 52-50 upset of Jennings County last week, while the Cubs finished the season with 10 losses in their last 11 games.
The Warriors dominated the first quarter. They led 10-2 after Kody Clancy’s second 3-pointer and 17-4 following a Cutter fastbreak layup. After Madison closed the gap to 18-9 with a 5-0 run, the Warriors answered with eight consecutive points of their own. Cutter’s putback at the buzzer made it 28-9 after 8 minutes. Cutter scored eight of his 18 points points in the first stanza.
“We started getting a lot more ball movement the last six, seven, eight games,” Richardson said. “That really helps our offense get going. We’ve got a lot of guys who can knock it down.”
The pace slowed in the second, but the Warriors continued to extend their lead. Kyle McGinnis opened the period with his second 3-pointers. Jacob Martin’s third 3 of the quarter gave Scottsburg a 46-16 lead with 40 seconds to go before halftime. The Warriors held a 48-19 lead at halftime and 66-36 after three. Scottsburg led by as much as 81-41 with 3:03 left following McGinnis’s eighth 3-pointer of the contest and his third of the fourth quarter.
McGinnis was 8 for 14 from behind the 3-point arc and finished with a game-high 26 points. Scottsburg made 15 of its 35 3-point attempts (42.9 percent) for the contest.
Cutter added a game-high eight rebounds to his 18 points and Clancy scored 17 to go along with four assists.
The Warriors had 20 assists on 28 made baskets, led by Jack Miller’s eight.
“I felt like we got good ball movement and got good pressure on the basketball early,” Richardson said. “We forced them into some turnovers and got easy baskets.”
Jackson Falconberry scored 18 points in his final game for Madison, which finished its season 6-18. Falconberry went 6 for 7 from the field and made all five of his free throws. Freshman Quincey Reynolds scored three points and led the Cubs with eight rebounds, three assists two steals.
CLASS 3A SALEM SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
SILVER CREEK 76, SALEM 34
Salem 8 4 10 12—34
Silver Creek 30 22 14 10—76
Salem (5-17): Justin Stephenson 2-3 0-0 5, Dillon Whitfield 0-2 0-0 0, Hayden Baughman 1-8 0-0 2, Jaden Cheatwood 1-3 0-0 3, Kaleb Tucker 1-2 0-0 2, Kellen Humphrey 1-3 0-0 2, Noah Risen 1-3 0-0 2, Grant Mahuron 3-6 0-0 8, Cayden Colon 5-8 2-2 12, Holden Collins 0-4 0-0 0, Alex Wilcox 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 2-2 34.
Silver Creek (12-12): Hadyen Garten 0-3 2-2 2, Kaden Oliver 4-5 0-0 10, Omarie Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Henderson 3-4 2-2 10, Cooper Murley 3-4 0-0 6, Walker Hoffman 3-4 0-0 6, Trey Schoen 4-5 0-0 9, Cameron Wheeler 1-1 0-0 2, Branden Northern 4-11 1-1 9, Zac Stricker 4-6 0-2 9, Nate Davidson 5-6 1-2 13. Totals 31-50 6-9 76.
3-point field goals: Salem 4-17 (Mahuron 2-2, Stephenson 1-2, Cheatwood 1-2, Baughman 0-5, Tucker 0-1Colon 0-1, Collins 0-4); Silver Creek 8-21 (Oliver 2-3, Henderson 2-2, Davidson 2-3, Schoen 1-2, Stricker 1-2, Garten 0-3, Murley 0-1, Northern 0-4, Mattingly 0-1).
Rebounds: Salem 18 (Mahuron 5); Silver Creek 19 (Davidson 6).
Assists: Salem 6 (Mahuron 2); Silver Creek 13 (Northern 5).
Steals: Salem 3 (Colon 2); Silver Creek 10 (Northern 5).
Blocked shots: Salem 0; Silver Creek 1 (Hoffman).
Turnovers: Salem 19, Silver Creek 7.
Team fouls: Salem 10, Silver Creek 4.
Fouled out: None.
SCOTTSBURG 81, MADISON 48
Madison 9 10 17 12—48
Scottsburg 28 20 18 15—81
Madison (6-18): Jackson Falconberry 6-7 5-5 18, Henry Grote 4-10 1-3 11, Quincey Reynolds 1-7 0-0 3, Adam Traylor 3-6 0-0 7, Jackson Lynch 0-1 0- 0, Jackson Bear 0-0 0-0 0, Barron Welsh 0-2 2-2 2, Landon True 0-0 0-0 0, James Schafter 2-2 3-3 7, Mason Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-35 11-13 48.
Scottsburg (15-8): Hadyen Cutter 8-11 2-3 1, Jack Miller 1-4 2-2 4, Wyatt Zellers 1-5 0-1 3, Kody Clancy 5-11 4-4 17, Jacob Martin 3-6 0-0 9, Dare Bowles 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle McGinnis 9-17 0-1 26, Caden Richardson 1-2 2-3 4, Javis Roush 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Barbosa 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 10-14 81.
3-point field goals: Madison 5-12 (Grote 2-5, Falconberry 1-1, Reynolds 1-2, Traylor 1-3, Welsh 0-1); Scottsburg 15-35 (McGinnis 8-14, Clancy 3-8, Martin 3-5, Zellers 1-5, Richardson 0-1, Miller 0-1, Barbosa 0-1).
Rebounds: Madison 20 (Reynolds 8); Scottsburg 34 (Cutter 8).
Assists: Madison 6 (Reynolds 3); Scottsburg 20 (Miller 8).
Steals: Madison 7 (Falconberry 2, Grote 2, Reynolds 2); Scottsburg 12 (Richardson 5).
Blocked shots: Madison 0; Scottsburg 6 (Zellers 2, Martin 2).
Turnovers: Madison 17, Scottsburg 9.
Team fouls: Madison 16, Scottsburg 14.
Fouled out: None.
LOCAL SECTIONALS
CLASS 4A SEYMOUR SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
Jeffersonville 61, Bedford North Lawrence 48
Floyd Central 61, Jennings County 54 (2OT)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Seymour (15-6) vs. Jeffersonville (8-11), 6 p.m.
New Albany (11-11) vs. Floyd Central (18-4), 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A SALEM SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
North Harrison 55, Charlestown 41
Wednesday, March 2
Silver Creek 76, Salem 34
Scottsburg 81, Madison 48
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Corydon Central (14-7) vs. North Harrison (17-3), 6 p.m.
Silver Creek (12-12) vs. Scottsburg (15-8), 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
Switzerland County 52, Austin 50
Southwestern 45, Henryville 37
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Providence (14-6) vs. Switzerland County (11-13), 6 p.m.
Clarksville (6-14) vs. Southwestern (16-7), 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A TELL CITY SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
Paoli 42, Crawford County 36
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Eastern (17-5) vs. Perry Central (12-10), 5:30 p.m.
Tell City (2-21) vs. Paoli (14-9), 7:15 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
CLASS A BORDEN SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
Rock Creek 72, New Washington 44
Christian Academy 61, Lanesville 28
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Borden (14-7) vs. Rock Creek (14-8), 6 p.m.
South Central (8-15) vs. Christian Academy (11-13), 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
CLASS A EDINBURGH SECTIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 1
West Washington 53, Shawe Memorial 38
Edinburgh 57, Trinity Lutheran 38
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
Medora (4-19) vs. West Washington (10-13), 6 p.m.
Crothersville (3-19) vs. Edinburgh (20-3), 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
