By GREG MENGELT

Corydon’s girls’ basketball team is 6-0 for the first time since 2002 … and the Panthers definitely didn’t do it by scheduling feeble opponents early in the season.

After wins over New Washington and a big Mid-Southern Conference victory over Brownstown last week, the Panthers went 4-0 this week to earn this week’s Hoosier Hills Hoops Team of the Week honor.

“Our girls did a great job this week taking one game at a time and getting better each time they stepped on the court,” Corydon second-year coach Josh Conrad said.

The Panthers averaged better than 58 points per game and held three of their four opponents to 34 points or fewer last week. After winning at Perry Central 74-26 on Tuesday, Corydon knocked off Southridge 48-28 on Friday to start the Battle at the First Capitol. In Saturday’s final rounds, the Panthers beat Greenwood Christian 67-51 then handed Class A No. 2 Lanesville its first defeat of the year, 44-34.

“Four wins in a week is a great, but seeing the girls improve defensively and gain confidence in each other was a big takeaway,” Conrad said.

Corydon shot 46 percent from the floor and averaged fewer than 15 turnovers per game during the four-game stretch. The Panthers were also plus-10 on the boards for the week.

Corydon hosts Paoli (1-2) on Tuesday before going to Silver Creek to face the defending Class 3A state champion Dragons next Monday.

“We have a difficult stretch of games coming up but plan to continue to improve and play our best basketball in February,” Conrad said.

By GREG MENGELT

The defending Class 3A state champions are 2-0 on the season and host rival Charlestown (3-1) in a big Mid-Southern Conference contest Wednesday.

Another MSC rival, Salem, fell two spots to No. 19 following its 61-37 loss at Jennings County (4-0) on Thursday.

Lanesville (4-1) received votes in the poll after finishing runner-up to host Corydon Central (6-0) at the Battle of the First Capitol over the weekend. The Eagles defeated Evansville Reitz and New Albany before dropping its first game of the season to the Panthers.

Bedford North Lawrence (3-0) is ranked fifth in the IBCA poll. The Stars had a pair of blowout wins over Bloomington North and Mitchell last week. Hoosier Hills Conference rival Columbus East is 18th after going 1-1 in the Columbus East Classic on Saturday.

After its 24-point win over No. 19 Salem and its first 4-0 start since 2015, Jennings County also received votes in the poll.

INDIANA BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank, School (1st place votes) Record

1. Crown Point (18) 2-0, 2. South Bend Washington (1) 4-0, 3. Noblesville 3-0, 4. North Central 3-0, 5. Bedford North Lawrence 3-0, 6. Homestead 3-0, 7. Franklin 5-0, 8. Fishers 4-0, 9. East Central 2-0, 10. Penn 3-1, 11. Zionsville 3-1, 12. Carmel 1-1, 13. Mishawaka Marian 3-1, 14. Silver Creek 2-0, 15. Westfield 3-1, 16. Lawrence North 3-2, 17. Hamilton Southeastern 3-2, 18. Columbus East 3-1, 19. Salem 2-1, 20. Warsaw 3-0.

Others receiving votes: Andrean (1-1), Angola (1-2), Ben Davis (2-2), Benton Central (2-0), Brownsburg (2-3), Columbia City (3-0), Eastern Hancock (3-1), Fort Wayne Carroll (1-2), Fort Wayne Northrop (2-0), Fort Wayne Snider (1-1), Garrett (2-1), Huntington North (1-0), Jac-Cen-Del (3-0), Jennings County (4-0), Lake Central (2-1), Lanesville (4-1), Linton-Stockton (2-1), Merrillville (1-1), Mt. Vernon-Fortville (2-1), Northridge (2-1), Northwestern (4-1), Norwell (3-1), Pioneer (2-0), Tipton (2-0), Triton Central (3-0), Twin Lakes (4-0), Waldron (4-0).

By GREG MENGELT

TERRE HAUTE — Division I Indiana State led throughout and pulled away late for a 90-49 victory over visiting Hanover in an exhibition game Sunday at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute.

Former New Albany star Isaac Hibbard scored six points for Hanover, which struggled offensively throughout the contest. The Panthers made just 18 of its 67 shot attempts and turned the ball over 11 times. The Hanover senior also had four rebounds and an assist in the defeat.

Christian Academy graduate Noah Williams scored two points in 14 minutes off the Hanover bench. Williams, also a senior, had an impact on the defensive end with a pair of steals and a blocked shot.

The Panthers were led by 10 points from sophomore forward Matt Munoz. Cooper Neese pace three Sycamores in double figures with 20 points. Indiana State shot 55.7 percent from the field (34 of 61) and made 15 of its 33 3-point attempts.

Hanover (2-0) returns home Wednesday when it hosts Spalding at 7 p.m.

By GREG MENGELT

The Hoosier Hills Hoops Girls’ Power Poll is a weekly feature each Sunday, ranking the top girls’ teams in Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott and Washington counties.

1. Silver Creek. Defending state champions. Undefeated. No more explanation needed for why the Dragons take the No. 1 spot.

2. Salem. The Lions took a tough loss at Jennings County but that’s going to happen to most teams that travel to North Vernon (or host the Panthers, for that matter).

3. Charlestown. Incredible weekend for the Pirates with wins over Floyd Central and North Harrison. Next up: No. 1 Silver Creek on Wednesday.

4. Corydon. The Panthers are the unexpected team high in this poll. They are 6-0 after beating Southridge, Greenwood Christian and Lanesville to take the Battle at the First Capital tournament.

5. Jeffersonville. After winning six games a year ago, Missy Voyles has the Red Devils at 4-0 early this season.

6. Lanesville. After a 4-0 start, including a win over New Albany on Saturday, Lanesville took its first defeat, 44-34 at Corydon Central. No shame in that.

7. New Albany. New Albany won just six games last year but already has four wins this year (against one loss).

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By GREG MENGELT

CLEVELAND — Romeo Langford scored five points and his Boston Celtics held huge leads throughout the night at Cleveland, but the Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 53-37 in the second half to complete a 91-89 comeback victory.

The Celtics led 59-42 with 8:48 left in the third quarter following a Robert Williams dunk. The Cavs outscored Boston 20-15 the rest of the third period then used a 29-15 fourth quarter advantage to improve to 9-5 on the season.

Boston (6-7) had its modest 2-game winning streak snapped.

Langford went 2 -or-5 from the floor and had a regular season career-best six rebounds. The former New Albany and Indiana University star also had six boards in a playoff game against the Nets last May.

After going scoreless in the first period, Langford converted a 3-point play to put the Celtics in front 25-15. His other basket came in the third quarter and gave Boston a 65-51 advantage with 5:15 left in the penultimate period.

Dennis Schroder followed Friday’s 39-point performance with 28 more Saturday to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum had 21 for Boston, which got just 15 points off of its bench.

Darius Garland led the Cavs with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds. Rookie Evan Mobley had 19 points and nine rebounds in the win.

The Celtics will stay in Cleveland and play the Cavaliers again Monday night. That game can be seen locally on Bally Sports Ohio.

By GREG MENGELT

Leading 29-26 at the half, the Racers shot 66.7 percent (16 of 24) in the second half to pull away. Junior guard Tevin Brown was the main culprit for Murray, putting up 27 points and 6 boards in the win. Brown was one of four Racers in double figures.

Murray scored the first 9 points of the second half and started the stanza on a 15-3 run.

Junior guard Garrett Tipton scored 15 to pace Bellarmine off the bench. Senior guard C.J. Fleming added 10 for the Knights, who shot just 42 percent from the floor, 35 percent from deep and 58.8 percent at the free throw line.

Providence graduate Juston Betz — a senior — scored eight points and grabbed three boards in 32 minutes off the Bellarmine bench.

The 0-2 Knights now head West for a big road trip. It starts Wednesday at 10 p.m. at Saint Mary’s (2-0). Then they face No. 1 Gonzaga (2-0) on Friday and No. 2 UCLA (2-0) a week from Monday. The game at UCLA can be seen on ESPN Plus.