By GREG MENGELT

In the morning session of Saturday’s regional at Charlestown, Silver Creek senior Kynidi Mason-Striverson carried the Dragons to a 48-44 victory over Rushville.

Saturday evening was a little different. After Mason-Striverson scored half of the Dragons’ points in the semifinal, a balanced Silver Creek team captured consecutive regional titles for the first time in program history with a 53-39 victory over Gibson Southern (19-8).

Senior Lacey Tingle led the Dragons with 16 points. She also has team bests of seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior Emme Rooney a big early 3-pointer with her team down three and added 11 points. Senior Sydney Sierota had a poor day shooting — in both games — but contributed in other ways.

“I thought Lacey Tingle came through with some big and-1 buckets. I thought Sydney did a really good job of attacking the rim. I thought Reese Decker came in and was phenomenal off the bench. She came ready to play,” Silver Creek head coach Scott Schoen said. “I had a feeling they were going to double Kynidi and try to take her away. She scored 24 of our 48 points in the first game, but the team that we have here, we have multiple kids who can score. We did a really nice job of sharing the ball and we did a really good job of finishing.”

Mason-Striverson, who didn’t score for the first 9 minutes of the contest, finished with 14 and made two big 3s as the Dragons took control in the second period.

Silver Creek will face Chatard (18-10) in this Saturday’s Class 3A Jeffersonville Semistate with a spot in the state championship game on the line. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 3 p.m. The 3A game will follow the Class A semistate between Waldron (24-1) and Tecumseh (18-8), which eliminated Lanesville for the second straight season on Saturday at West Washington.

By GREG MENGELT

It would’ve been hard to be much better than Lacey Tingle was in Saturday’s Class 3A Charlestown Regional championship.

The senior, who helped Silver Creek to its first ever state championship last year, propelled the Dragons into this Saturday’s semistate with a standout performance in Creek’s 53-39 win over Gibson Southern at the Charlestown Sports Arena.

Tingle went 7 for 12 from the field and led Silver Creek with 16 points. She also had seven rebounds, a pair of steals and a pair of blocked shots. Her defense helped the Dragons hold the Trojans to 27 points below their season average.

Tingle and the Dragons will face Indianapolis Chatard (18-10) in this Saturday’s Jeffersonville Semistate. The winner advances to next Saturday’s state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indy.

By GREG MENGELT

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Former North Harrison star Langdon Hatton scored seven points Monday evening — his most since he put up eight in a loss to Towson on Jan. 17 — but it wasn’t enough as his William & Mary Tribe dropped an 80-73 decision at UNC-Wilmington at Trusk Coliseum.

Hatton, a freshman, played 20 minutes off the bench and went 5 for 6 from the free throw line. He also had three rebounds, including two on the offensive end.

William & Mary (5-22, 4-10 CAA), which was led by 13 points apiece from sophomore Ben Wight and senior Brandon Carroll, has lost five straight and seven of its last eight.

Wilmington guards Jaylen Sims (26) and Shykeim Phillips (24) combined for 50 points on a combined 15 for 26 from the field. Phillips, who was 9 for 9 at the foul line, also had seven rebounds and three assists. Sims, who was perfect in seven attempts at the charity stripe, finished with six rebounds and a team-best four assists. The Seahawks are now 18-7 overall and 12-2 in the Colonial, a game and a half head of second-place Towson (19-7, 10-3).

William & Mary goes to Charleston (13-10, 5-6) for a 7 p.m. tip Tuesday.

By GREG MENGELT

Floyd Central, which didn’t enter the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association top 20 until four weeks ago, continued its precipitous rise in the poll when it was released Sunday.

The Highlanders, who were No. 9 last week and No. 12 the week before, moved up three spots again to No. 6 after beating Silver Creek 75-47 and Madison 67-28 last week to improve to 16-2. Floyd Central, which hosts Brownstown Central (16-3) and Bloomington North (15-3) this week, has won 11 games in a row.

Unbeaten Chesterton (20-0) remains No. 1 and received all 20 first-place votes this week. The Trojans are followed by Fishers (18-2), Carmel (16-4), Homestead (17-5) and Cathedral (16-5), which the Highlanders beat 48-46 nine days ago. After Floyd, Valparaiso (18-3), Ben Davis (15-6), Mt. Vernon (16-2) and North Central 15-5) round out the top 10.

Floyd Central is the only local team to received votes. Regionally, Bloomington North, Bloomington South (14-6), Columbus North (15-5), Jasper (16-3) and Sullivan (12-6) received at least one vote in the poll.

INDIANA BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank, School (1st place votes) Record
1. Chesterton (20) 20-0, 2. Fishers 18-2, 3. Carmel 16-4, 4. Homestead 17-5, 5. Cathedral 16-5, 6. Floyd Central 16-2, 7. Valparaiso 18-3, 8. Ben Davis 15-6, 9. Mt. Vernon (Fortville) 16-2, 10. North Central 15-5, 11. Indianapolis Tech 16-4, 12. Penn 16-2, 13. Pike 13-5, 14. Zionsville 12-5, 15t. Lawrence North 12-5, 15t. Westfield 15-6, 17. Mishawaka Marian 16-3, 18. NorthWood 19-1, 19. Brownsburg 14-7, 20. Anderson 16-4.
Others receiving votes: Bloomfield 16-3, Bloomington North 15-3, Bloomington South 14-6, Brebeuf 12-6, Central Noble 20-1, Columbus North 15-5, Crispus Attucks 11-9, Fort Wayne Blackhawk 15-3, Gary 21st Century 15-3, Glenn 18-1, Jasper 16-3, Lafayette Jefferson 16-4, Lawrence Central 16-12, Leo 13-3, Monroe Central 17-0, Sullivan 18-1, Warren Central 12-6.

NOTE: Records as of Sunday.

By GREG MENGELT

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Josh Jefferson scored a career-high 30 points and Middle Tennessee earned a 78-63 Conference USA victory over Charlotte on Sunday at the Murphy Center.

Jefferson, who helped lead New Albany to the 2016 state championship and came into the contest as the Blue Raiders leading scorer at 14 points per game, needed just 13 shots to get 30 points. He was 9 for 13 from the field, 4 for 7 from deep and made eight of his nine free throw attempts as Middle Tennessee won its third straight game and earned its eighth win in its last nine games.

Jefferson also had five rebounds and an assist in his 25 minutes on on the floor. Sophomore Tyler Millin added 11 points and junior Deandre Dishman had 12 for the Raiders, who improve to 17-7 overall and 8-3 in Conference USA. They’re currently a half-game ahead of Florida Atlantic atop the East Division.

Charlotte junior guard Jahmir Young — Conference USA’s third-leading scorer at 19.5 points per game — scored 26 to pace the 49ers.

Middle Tennessee will look for its fourth straight win Thursday when it goes to Florida International (14-11, 4-8) for a 7 p.m. start. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.

By GREG MENGELT

NORTH MANCHESTER — Hanover pulled away from host Manchester late for a 70-58 victory and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship Saturday.

The Panthers (18-3, 14-2) have a 4-game lead over Anderson atop the HCAC standings with two regular-season games left to play. Hanover has won three straight and 11 of its last 12 games.

The Panthers had a balanced offensive attack Saturday. Junior forwards Ty Houston (Union, Ky./Cooper) and Jack Wininger (Elnore/North Daviess) both had double-doubles. Houston had game highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds while Wininger finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the Panther bench.

Former New Albany standout Isaac Hibbard had another strong all-around game with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. The senior was 6 for 12 from the field. Former Christian Academy star Noah Williams (Jeffersonville) scored three points and had a rebound and an assist in 20 minutes.

Manchester (8-14, 7-8), which has lost three games in a row, had shot 39 percent (22 of 56) and had just five assists in the loss. Sophomore wing Brandon Christlieb (Ashley/Prairie Hts.) and freshman guard Ty Lynas (Crawfordsville) combined for 31 points.

The Panthers host Transylvania (Ky.) on Senior Day Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers (13-8, 8-6) have won five of their last six games.