By KENZIE WINSTEAD
Content Editor
At Crawford County, the two solid favorites drew on opposite sides of the bracket and it’s hard to draw much of a difference between host Crawford County (18-4) and rival Paoli (18-3).
However, the favorites could clear the muddled picture because they face each other in a regular-season finale Friday night.
For Paoli, its signature win came early in December, when the Rams hammered Christian Academy 65-40. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, went to Salem and whipped the Lions 45-30 on Jan. 5.
The Rams will open up against Henryville, who eliminated Paoli 73-60 in last year’s sectional. Henryville is led by one of the most diverse athletes in Southern Indiana, Kade Badger, who also plays tennis and soccer, is averaging 24 points a game.
In the bottom half of the bracket, town rivals Clarksville (6-14) and Providence (7-15) meet in the first round. Both are in the midst of retooling situations. However, both have had some highlights.
Clarksville suffered through a 10-game losing streak during the season but recently handled Class 3A foe North Harrison, 73-65.
The hard-luck Pioneers are riding a nine-game losing streak of the own, including overtime losses in their last three outings — Class 4A New Albany, Class 3A North Harrison and Class 3A Brownstown. Providence, however, seems to be turning the corner, considering it played toe to toe with New Albany, before losing 58-56 in overtime.
“We’ve played some really good basketball and played with a lot of fight,” said Providence coach Sean Smith. “We’re right there in these game. It just comes down to a play here or there . . . We’re starting to turn the corner a little bit. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Both Providence and Clarksville are young. Providence has one senior; Clarksville has just one player who played any minutes in last year’s sectional.
“Our kids are excited,” said Clarksville coach Brian McEwen.
The Generals are led by sophomore Dae’von Fugua (19 ppg), who also plays football and is one of the most athletic basketball players in Southern Indiana.
On Jan. 4, Providence edged Clarksville 54-48.
KENZIE’S FAVORITES: Paoli and Crawford County.
KENZIE’S DARKHORSE: Austin. The defending champions have one of the top offensive players in Southern Indiana in Drew Buhr, who is averaging 27.7 points.
CRAWFORD COUNTY SECTIONAL
Gym capacity: 4,000
Defending champion: Austin.
Tuesday: Eastern Pekin (1-21) vs. Crawford County (18-4), 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Clarksville (6-14) vs. Providence (7-15), 6 p.m.; Henryville (9-13) vs. Paoli (18-3), 7:30 p.m.;
Friday: Eastern-Crawford winner vs. Austin (9-12), 6 p.m.; Clarksville-Providence winner vs. Henryville-Paoli winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: final.
