By GREG MENGELT

After suffering its second loss of the season Tuesday at Columbus East, Silver Creek dropped four spots to No. 12 in the latest single-class Indiana Basketball Association poll, which was released Sunday.

The Mid-Southern Conference champion Dragons finished the regular season 20-2 and face Scottsburg (11-11) in Wednesday’s sectional opener at North Harrison. East (17-3) is one of the teams that slid past the Dragons in the poll. The Olympians, who earlier beat No. 4 Bedford North Lawrence (20-2), are No. 11.

Lanesville (22-1), which has won 18 games in a row, was one of 40 teams to receive at least one vote from the coaches this week.

Homestead (21-1) remains No. 1 and received 18 of the 20 first-place votes. Franklin (22-1) is No. 2 and got the other two top votes. No. 3 is South Bend Washington (20-3), followed by BNL (20-2), Crown Point (19-3), Noblesville (18-4), Westfield (18-4), Fishers (18-4), Fort Wayne Snider (17-3) and North Central *18-6) in the top 10.

Regionally, East Central (19-4) is No. 17 and Castle (17-4), Columbus North (14-8), Evansville North (18-3) and Washington (20-3) fell under the category of “others receiving votes.”

INDIANA BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank, School (1st place votes) Record
1. Homestead (18) 21-1, 2. Franklin (2) 22-1, 3. South Bend Washington 20-3, 4. Bedford North Lawrence 20-2, 5. Crown Point 19-3, 6. Noblesville 18-4, 7. Westfield 18-4, 8. Fishers 18-4, 9. Fort Wayne Snider 17-3, 10. North Central 18-6, 11. Columbus East 17-3, 12. Silver Creek 20-2, 13. Lake Central 20-3, 14. Benton Central 23-1, 15. Garrett 23-1, 16. Zionsville 16-6, 17. East Central 19-4, 18. Carmel 15-7, 19, Columbia City 19-2, 20. Mishawaka Marian 18-5.
Others receiving votes: Andrean 17-6, Ben Davis 12-9, Brownsburg 13-10, Castle 17-4, Columbus North 14-8, Evansville North 18-3, Fairfield 19-3, Hamilton Southeastern 14-7, Jay County 20-3, Lafayette Central Catholic 19-4, Lanesville 22-1, Northridge 19-5, Penn 16-6, South Central (Union Mills) 23-0, Tipton 19-4, Valparaiso 18-4, Waldron 20-1, Warren Central 16-6, Washington 20-3, Winchester 20-1.

NOTE: Records as of Sunday.

By GREG MENGELT

1. Floyd Central (12-2, Last week: 1). Six straight double-digit wins over six good teams. This week: At Bedford North Lawrence (Thursday).

2. North Harrison (11-3, 2). The Cougars have won three in a row … all away from home. This week: At Charlestown (Thursday).

3. Eastern (13-2, 3). The Musketeers are known for their offensive firepower, but they held Charelstown and Paoli to 69 points in their last two games. This week: At Henryville (Thursday).

4. Corydon Central (11-6, 6). We famously predicted the Panthers would get hot in the second half of the season, but we didn’t expect this. This week: At Austin (Thursday), at Paoli (Saturday).

5. New Albany (8-6, 4). The Bulldogs have a 4-game winning streak snapped by a vastly improved Jasper team. This week: At Jennings County (Thursday), hosts Columbus East (Saturday).

6. Rock Creek (7-6, 8). The record says differently, but the Lions have been really good this season. This week: XX.

7. Silver Creek (6-8, 5). The Dragons added another scorer this week, so the past 14 games don’t matter much. This week: At Madison (Tuesday), hosts Salem (Thursday), hosts Milan (Saturday).

8. Scottsburg (9-6, 7). The Warriors have had two weeks off, but they’ll get a couple road tests this week. This week: At Bloomington South (Thursday), at Rock Creek (Saturday).

9. Providence (12-4, 9). The Pioneers have been quite good this season, but it has to be concerning that they almost went 0-2 against a pair of Class A teams. This week: At South Central (Thursday).

10. Borden (11-5, 10). The Braves have put themselves in position to be called a serious contender in March’s sectional. This week: At Springs Valley (Saturday).

11. Jeffersonville (3-8, 11). Injuries, illnesses, weather delays, Covid delays. What a frustrating year so far for Jeff. This week: At Rock Creek (Thursday).

12. Christian Academy (6-10, 12). Every team they played is good, but the current 5-game wining streak isn’t ideal in the middle of the season. This week: At Shawe (Thursday), at Evansville Christian (Saturday).

13. South Central (5-9, 15): The Rebels seem close to turning a corner. Beating Clarksville was a good start. This week: At Crothersville (Wednesday), hosts Providence (Thursday).

14. Charlestown (5-11, NR). The Pirates return to the top 15 with a double-overtime win at Lanesville. This week: At Brownstown Central (Monday), .

15. New Washington (4-10, NR). New Wash enters the top 15 with a win over Bloomington Lighthouse on Saturday. This week: At Medora (Thursday).

NOTE: The Hoosier Hills Hoops Power Poll is not only based upon which teams beat which teams but is a combination of play on the floor, how teams match up with their current class and what expectations are for a team’s postseason run.

By GREG MENGELT

1. Silver Creek (21-2, Last Week: No. 1). The Dragons lost their second game of the season last week. It may be awhile before they take their third. First sectional game: vs. Scottsburg (Wednesday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional).

2. Corydon Central (19-2, 2). The Panthers far exceeded any expectations they might have had coming into the season. First sectional game: vs. Charlestown (Tuesday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional

3. Lanesville (22-1, 3). The regular season was a breeze. Now the real season begins for the Eagles. First sectional game: vs. Rock Creek (Tuesday, Class A New Washington Sectional).

4. Charlestown (17-5, 4). The Pirates closed the regular season on a 7-game winning streak, their longest streak since 2015-16. First sectional game: vs. Corydon Central (Tuesday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional).

5. Salem (11-9, 5). Four of the top five teams in this Power Poll are in the sectional at North Harrison. Quite a field. First sectional game: vs. Charlestown or Corydon Central (Friday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional).

6. Jeffersonville (9-7, 8). A frustrating up-and-down regular season ended with a 3-game winning streak. First sectional game: vs. Bedford North Lawrence (Tuesday, Class 4A Jeffersonville Sectional).

7. Scottsburg (11-11, 6). The Warriorettes got a much-needed win over Madison on Saturday. First sectional game: vs. Silver Creek (Wednesday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional).

8. Floyd Central (9-13, 9). The Highlanders are one of the area’s hottest teams heading into the postseason. First sectional game: vs. BNL or Jeffersonville (Tuesday, Class 4A Jeffersonville Sectional).

9. Eastern (12-11, 7). This is the time of year the Musketeers usually start playing their best basketball. First sectional game: vs. Henryville (Tuesday, Class 2A Crawford County Sectional).

10. New Washington (13-9, 10). The Mustangs will enter the postseason having won eight of their last nine games. First sectional game: vs. South Central or Christian Academy (Tuesday, Class A New Washington Sectional).

11. West Washington (13-7, 11). Big road win at Borden to close the regular season. First sectional game: vs. Edinburgh (Tuesday, Class A West Washington Sectional).

12. Austin (8-11, 12). Despite a couple of delays in the season, Austin was quite good in the second half, going 6-3 down the stretch. First sectional game: vs. Clarksville (Tuesday, Class 2A Crawford County Sectional).

13. North Harrison (9-12, 13). All six teams in the North Harrison Sectional made the top 15. First sectional game: vs. Madison (Wednesday, Class 3A North Harrison Sectional).

14. Rock Creek (9-8, 14). Cancelations kept the Lions from reaching double digit wins, but the future is bright at Rock. Creek under Sara Nord. First sectional game: vs. Lanesville (Tuesday, Class A New Washington Sectional).

15. Borden (12-10, 15). The Braves have won at least nine games in the past four years under Matt Vick. First sectional game: vs. Lanesville or Rock Creek (Friday, Class A New Washington Sectional).

NOTE: The Hoosier Hills Hoops Power Poll is not only based upon which teams beat which teams but is a combination of play on the floor, how teams match up with their current class and what expectations are for a team’s postseason run.

By GREG MENGELT

Jefferson, a former New Albany standout, was 8 for 11 from the field, 7 for 9 from behind the 3-points line and 8 of 9 at the free throw line to tie a career high with 31 points. Jefferson also had three rebounds, an assist and a steal as the Blue Raiders improved to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in Conference USA. Middle Tenneessee has won five games in a row and now sits atop the East Division, a half-game ahead of Florida Atlantic.

After trailing 16-14 early, Middle Tennessee took a 17-16 lead on lead after a 3-points by sophomore guard Camryn Weston. Thanks to Jefferson, the Raiders (14-6, 5-2 Conference USA) never trailed again.

HIs 3 with 4:49 left in the first half put Middle Tennessee ahead 32-23. With 25 seconds left, Jefferson gave the Raiders a 42-34 lead on another 3-pointer.

Western Kentucky (10-11, 2-6), which lost its fifth straight game Saturday, cut the deficit to 42-37 by halftime, but Jefferson knocked down another 3 to give the Raiders their largest lead at 48-37. Jefferson then hit back-to-back 3s to give Middle Tennessee a 14-point edge.

Western Kentucky got within seven before Jefferson hit another 3-points with 7:33 that pushed the lead back to 10 at 70-60. The closest the Hilltoppers got the rest of the way with 79-74.

Senior guard Donovan Sims added 22 points for the Blue Raiders, who go to UAB (17-4, 7-1) for a big Conference USA showdown next Saturday at 4 p.m.The Blazers suffered their first conference loss Saturday, 84-81 at Marshall. The Middle Tennessee-UAB clash can be seen on ESPN Plus.

Sophomore guard Dayton McKnight (Shelbyville, Ky./Collins) had 24 points to pace the Hilltoppers.

By GREG MENGELT

NEW ORLEANS — The Celtics won for the third time in the last four games to go back above .500 on the season, but former New Albany and Indiana University star Romeo Langford continues to see his playing time diminished.

The third-year veteran was scoreless — and stat-less — in Boston’s 107-97 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (18-31) on Saturday evening at the TD Garden.

Boston, which improves to 26-25 with the win, got 38 points from Jayson Tatum and 31 from Jaylen Brown in the win. The Pelicans leading scorer was Jose Alvarado with 19 points off the bench.

Langford and the Celtics host Miami (32-17) at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The contest between Boston and the East-leading Heat can be seen on NBA TV.

By GREG MENGELT

The Knights, who led 31-30 at halftime, took the lead for good on senior guard CJ Fleming’s 3-points with 8:53 remaining. Senior guard Dylan Penn then scored six straight Bellarmine points to put the Knights ahead 55-49 with 5:20 remaining.

Fleming, who led Bellarmine with 23 points, hit another big 3 and two free throws down the stretch to help the Knights win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Penn had another big game with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Former Providence star Juston Betz, who is also a senior, was scoreless but was a major factor in the victory. He led the Knights with 10 assists and with nine rebounds. He also had two steals for Bellarmine (13-9, 7-1 A-Sun), which is a game behind Jacksonville State in the A-Sun West standings.

The Knights have another big A-Sun contest Thursday against defending league champion Liberty. The Flames 14-7 and suffered their first conference loss of the season Saturday, 77-67 to Jacksonville State.

Senior guard Tavian Dunn-Martin led the Eagles with 24 points and three assists. FGCU is now 13-9 overall and 3-5 in league play.