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.”

By GREG MENGELT

For the second time this season, Eastern junior Jacob Cherry is the Hoosier Hills Hoops Player of the Week.

Cherry finished with 39 points, 19 rebounds and eighth blocked shots as the Musketeers beat Evansville Day 78-53 and Mount Vernon (Posey) 74-59 in two games last Tuesday. His performances helped the Muisketeers improved to 9-1 with their seventh and eighth consecutive wins.

Cherry finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in the win over Day before a 14-point, 7-rebound, 4-block outing against Mount Vernon. Cherry was 17 for 22 from the field on the day.

“Jacob is very active around the rim and he scores the ball and rebounds effectively,” Eastern coach Chandler Prible said. “His game has grown tremendously because of his work ethic.”

Cherry and the Musketeers host 5-5 Silver Creek in a big Mid-Southern Conference showdown Friday before going to Austin on Saturday for another MSC contest.

WEEK’S TOP PERFORMERS
• Dakota Capps, Clarksville: Capps scored 33 points in two games at the Silver Creek Holiday Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team.
• Jake Helton, Charlestown: Helton scored 37 points as the Pirates went 1-1 at the Silver Creek Holiday Tournament. Helton was named to the All-Tournament team.
• Anthony Martin, Corydon Central: Martin averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.7 assists as the Panthers won the Perry-Spencer Holiday Tournament last week.
• Joshua Renfro, Christian Academy: The freshman averaged 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist as the Warriors went 1-2 at the Baird Winter Classic at Southridge.

By GREG MENGELT

Corydon Central junior Ava Weber scored 67 points in a 3-game tournament at Vincennes Rivet and went over the career 1,000-point mark last week.

Weber opened the week with a 20-point, 6-rebound, 5-steal performance in the Panthers’ 59-51 loss to Tecumseh. She then had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals as the 14-2 Panthers bounced back to beat Japer 56-34. In the final game of the tournament, Weber contributed 26 points, 3 boards and 3 assists to a 57-40 victory over MSC-rival Eastern, which the Panthers also play Tuesday on the road.

Weber now stands at 1,023 points for her career with a season and a month left.

WEEK’S TOP PERFORMERS
• Callie Jo Celichowski, Floyd Central: Celichowski averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds in two assists as the Highlanders beat Crawford County 49-28 and lost to Lanesville 49-32.
• Keegan Kaiser, Floyd Central: Kaiser averaged 17 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists for the Highlanders, who went 1-1 on the week.
• Leah Stevens, Christian Academy: Stevens averaged 15 points per game and was named to the All-Tournament team at the Ray Zellar Christmas Classic in Louisville.
• Kynidi Mason-Striverson, Silver Creek: It’s a shame only one person can be the Player of the Week because Mason-Striverson deserved the honor, too. She finished with 49 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists as the Dragons won the Vincennes McDonald’s Holiday Tournament last week.
• Hannah Stutsman, Scottsburg: The Warriorette junior scored 41 points in Scottsburg’s 3-game run at the Donna Cheatham Classic. She had 14 points against East Central, 16 against Bloomington South and 11 against Chatard as the Warriorettes went 1-2 on the week. Stutsman also had 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in the 3-game tourney.

By GREG MENGELT

Senior Brady Dunn had a huge week at the Baird Winter Classic at Southridge. He averaged 21 points and 10 boards in three games.

His biggest performance — in a 74-72 loss to Evansville Christian — Dunn put up 31 points to go along with 13 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Dunn went 9 for 11 from the free throw line and made four of his six 3-point attempts in the loss.

Dunn and the 5-5 Warriors go to New Washington on Tuesday to face the 2-7 Mustangs.

WEEK’S TOP PERFORMANCES
• Hayden Cutter, Scottsburg: The Scottsburg senior had 26 points to lead the Warriors to a 70-65 win over Silver Creek in the Jefferson County Invitational.
• Tyler Fessel, Corydon Central: Fessel finished with 15 points, 5 steals, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the Panthers’ 65-57 win over Heritage Hills in the championship game of the Perry-Spencer Invitational.
• Branden Northern, Silver Creek: Northern had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Dragons defeated Providence 51-39 to win the Silver Creek Holiday Tournament for the fifth year in a row. Northern was named MVP of the tourney.
• Jayden Thompson, New Albany: Thompson hit three first-period 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in the Bulldogs’ 57-47 win over Seymour last Tuesday.
• Ladarius Wallace, Rock Creek: Wallace had 13 points in the Lions’ 62-54 loss to Paoli in the Daviess County Classic last Wednesday afternoon.
• Caleb Washington, Floyd Central: Washington scored 13 points to pace the Highlanders in a 56-55 win over Avon last Wednesday at the Paul Loggan Memorial Invitational.
• Grant Williams, Providence: Williams had a team-high 18 points in the Pioneers’ 55-49 win over Charlestown in the semifinals of the Silver Creek Holiday Tournament.

By GREG MENGELT

West Washington senior guard Madison Brown had probably the best game of her career last Wednesday in a 56-15 victory over Cannelton.

Brown had her first-ever double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Seven of the rebounds came on the offensive glass. She also finished with 7 assists and 6 steals and was 7 for 10 from the floor.

“Madison is a player that continues to be a leader on the floor and consistently balances out the box score,” West Washington head coach Matthew Myers said.

Brown is averaging 11 points, 7 rebound and 3 assists per game this season for the 10-4 Senators, who host Class A No. 8 Trinity Lutheran (10-5) on Thursday.

WEEK’S TOP SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES
• Kennedy Coleman, Charlestown: Coleman had a game-high 20 points as the Pirates defeated Chatard 63-41 in the Donna Cheatham Classic at Scottsburg last Tuesday.
Caitlyn Cook, Borden: The Braves senior had 11 points, 4 rebounds and an assist in Borden’s 59-37 loss to Austin last Tuesday.
• Hadley Crosier, Lanesville: The freshman had 22 points, 7 deflections, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals as Lanesville knocked off Floyd Central 49-31. Crosier 6 for 9 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and made all eight of her free throw attempts.
• Kaidin James, New Washington: James had a team-best 21 points in the Mustangs’ 44-41 victory over Hauser on Thursday.

By GREG MENGELT

It hasn’t exactly been the start to the season that Silver Creek expected through the first month-plus.

The two-time defending state champion Dragons, who would’ve been one of the favorites to win three straight had Covid not forced the postponement of the 2019 state tournament, were 4-5 heading into their traditional holiday tournament.

Silver Creek, which finished seventh by going 1-2 at the Jefferson County Invitational the prior week, thumped Clarksville in the semifinal before Saturday’s big 51-39 win over Providence in the championship game.

The victory over the Pioneers gives the Dragons their fifth straight Silver Creek Holiday Tournament championship and the honor of Hoosier Hills Hoops Win of the Week.

“It was a great win for our team in terms of beating a quality opponent,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “Our Holiday Tournament has a lot of meaning to our community.”

The Dragons trailed 23-19 early in the third period but outscored Providence 15-8 the remainder of the third period and 17-8 in the fourth.

“I thought our guys fought hard and a lot of it came down to some made and missed shots. Luckily we were on the winning side of it,” Hoffman said. “I was really proud of how our guys played the last 3 minutes of the game, where we were able to make some winning plays in the guts of the game.”

Brandon Northern scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds despite getting the bulk of the Pioneer defense’s attention. Zac Stricker, Trey Schoen and Walker Hoffman combined for 28 points in the victory.

“Northern garnered a lot of Providence’s attention on our offensive end, either being double teamed or junk defense,” Hoffman said. “ This created some scoring opportunities for others.”