By GREG MENGELT

The game was tied at 9-apiece early before the Colonels (13-17, 5-11 Atlantic Sun) went on a 17-7 run and led the rest of the way. Eastern Kentucky took a 39-22 lead into halftime. The closest the Knights to the rest of the afternoon was 14 points.

The Knights (17-13, 11-5) shot just 42.6 percent from the floor (23 of 54) in the loss. Junior guard Garrett Tipton (Columbus, Ohio) had a team-high 14 points off the Bellarmine bench.

Former Providence star Juston Betz finished with four points, nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shots. Like the rest of the team, the senior struggled shooting, going 2 for 7 overall and 0 for 3 from behind he 3-point stripe.

Junior guard Jomanu Brown had a game-high 22 points for the Colonels, who had lost five of their last six games heading into Saturday’s win. Four different Eastern Kentucky players scored at least eight points and the Colonel bench outscored Bellarmine’s 44-18.

Bellarmine will host its quarterfinal game of the Atlantic Sun Tournament next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall. The Knights will face either Florida Gulf Coast (20-10) or North Alabama (9-20) for a spot in the semifinals.

By GREG MENGELT

Hibbard went 7 for 8 from the field and 9 for 9 at the free throw line as the Panthers dominated the Pioneers for their sixth win in their last seven games. The senior guard also had three rebounds and two assists.

Hanover (21-4) will host 6-seed Franklin (13-14) in Saturday’s HCAC championship game. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at John Collier Arena. The Panthers beat rival Franklin 81-57 on Jan. 12 and 92-67 on Feb. 9. The Grizzlies have won four of their last five games, including a 73-54 win over Rose-Hulman in Friday’s other semifinal.

Friday’s win was the rubber match between Hanover and Transy. The Pioneers beat the Panthers 86-81 10 days ago, but Hanover was in control all evening Friday. It led 43-34 at the half and led by as many as 17 at 70-53.

Junior forward Ty Houston (Union, Ky./Cooper) with 18 points and eight rebounds and sophomore guard Max Greenamoyer (Zionsville/University) added 17 point for the Panthers, who shot 57 percent from the field (30 for 53) out-rebounded Transylvania 37-24.

Transylvania (16-9) was led by sophomore Jaylen Green (Lexington/Douglass) with 15 points and freshman guard Colby Napier (Hindman, Ky./Knott Co.) added 14. The Pioneers, who were 27 for 58 (38.7 percent) in the loss, entered the contest on a 5-game winning streak.

By GREG MENGELT

Langford, a former Mr. Basketball from New Albany, appeared on Friday’s injury list with a groin injury and didn’t dress.

His Spurs won for the fourth time in five games behind four stellar performances. Former Kentucky star Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 32 points, point guard Dejounte Murray had 31 points and 14 assists and center Jacob Poeltl nearly had a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Lonnie Walker IV scored 23 of the Spurs’ 42 bench points.

Washington’s Kyle Kuzma had a game-high 36 points to go along with eight boards and seven assists. The 27-32 Wizards, who have lost 11 of their last 15 games, are currently a game behind Atlanta for the final playoff play-in spot.

The Spurs, who are now 24-36, are within a game of the playoffs. They trail Portland by a game for the final spot and go to Miami on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. The Heat are currently tied with Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

By GREG MENGELT

Winners of the 59 of its last 66 games, Creek isn’t often an underdog. It certainly looks like that’s the case Saturday when the fourth-ranked Dragons (26-2) take on top-ranked South Bend Washington (26-3) at 6 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Dragons beat Washington 54-48 in what many considered a small upset a year ago.

“They want their crown, but they have to go through us,” Silver Creek veteran coach Scott Schoen said. “We worked hard to get that state championship (last year), but we’re relaxed. We have nothing more to prove. We can go up there relaxed. The pressure really is on them. They’re the favorites and they’re a very good basketball team. It will be a great game. We’re going to have to play well, but we feel like they’re going to have to play well, too.”

The Sagarin Ratings, which predicts the favorites based on a computer algorithm, predicts the Panthers will beat Silver Creek by 14 points. Based on Washington’s experience and size, the Dragons will have to be at their best to compete with what many believe is the state’s best overall team.

“I look at it that both teams are really good and it’s going to be a war either way,” said Silver Creek senior point guard Kynidi Mason-Striverson, who was named the Mid-Southern Conference Player of the Year on Thursday. “I think both teams are going to be prepared and we both want the same thing, so it’s going to come down to who finishes strong, who’s the toughest team, things like that.”

Both teams have won one state championship. The Panthers have been to state six times and won it in 2007. Before last year, Silver Creek had never won a regional championship, but the only players in Saturday’s title game with championship experience will be wearing orange and blue.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Schoen said. “I feel very good about going up there. We’re 26-2 and have played really good basketball teams. We played the best teams around. Our schedule speaks for itself and we’ve been competitive with those schools.”

While Silver Creek lost six of its top players from last year’s squad, Washington returns most of its arsenal, including senior forward Mila Reynolds — a Maryland signee — junior guard Rashunda Jones and junior guard Amiyah Reynolds. The trio averages 43 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists per game.

Reynolds is 6-foot-3 and isn’t even the tallest Reynolds on the roster. The Panthers also feature a pair of talented freshmen, including 6-4 Kira Reynolds, who is averaging 10 points and 9.5 rebounds in her first varsity season.

“Obviously, their size is a big obstacle,” senior guard Sydney Sierota said. They’re a good team. They’re very talented, they’re long, they’re quick, they play very fast. We just have to be a little sharper, a little quicker to compete with a team like that.”

Senior Emme Rooney said she’s been keeping up with the Panthers all year.

“They’re a great basketball,” she said. “We’re going to play our game and we’re going to trust in concepts that we’ve built the last four years and play as tough as we can.”

“The state championship is ours, but we know we’re going to have to work really hard to retain the championship,” senior Meredith Wilkinson said.

Schoen says his team is going to have to play particularly well to take back-to-back state championships, but he knows his team, which has won six straight games and 14 of its last 15, has the ability to do it.

“We’re going to have to shoot the ball well, we’re going to have to not turn the ball over and we’re going to have to rebound,” Schoen said. “But those are things that we’ve been stressing since Day 1. It’s not like we’re going in with an elaborate gameplan. I feel confident in these kids that they’re going to perform.”

Tingle believes the state championship is going to come down to which team executes best with the game of the line Saturday.

“As a team, we’re ready,” senior Lacey Tingle said. “We are the defending champs, so I guess you could say they have to go through us this year. But they are a good team, so really it’s going to be two good teams going at each other. I think it’s going to come down just a couple possessions.”

Saturday is the final game for five Silver Creek seniors — Mason-Striverson, Sierota, Rooney, Wilkinson and Tingle.

Mason-Striverson, an Evansville signee, leads the Dragons at 18.2 points, seven rebounds and four assists per contest.

“I’m excited to play with these girls one last time on the biggest stage of our lives,” she said. “That’s really all I’m thinking about, honestly.”

CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY
SILVER CREEK VS. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
• Time: 6 p.m. (gates open at 5 p.m.)
• Television: All four state championship games will air live on Bally Sports Indiana. For viewers outside of the Bally Sports Indiana coverage area, a live stream will be available at IHSAAtv.org. Brodcasters: Mark Jaynes (play by play), Jane Schott (color), Allison Hayes (sideline reporter).
• Tickets: $15 per person. All tickets are reserved seating for one session only (two games, morning session or evening session). All tickets are digital only through your mobile phone and may be purchased via Ticketmaster.com. Purchased tickets will be sent as mobile tickets to the purchaser’s smart phone and that verification should be shown at the admission gate. Participating schools will also have digital tickets to sell in their own sections during the week of the state finals.
• Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (125 S. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis). Parking: There are multiple parking options throughout the downtown area that are within walking distance of the Fieldhouse. The Virginia Avenue Garage, which charges a fee and is located directly to the east of the venue, connects to the Fieldhouse from the third floor of the garage via a walkway over Delaware Street. The entrance to the Virginia Avenue Garage is located off of Maryland Street.
• Records:
Silver Creek 26-2. The Dragons have won six consecutive games and 14 of their last 15.
South Bend Washington 26-3. The Panthers have won six games in a row and 16 of their last 17.
• Coaches:
Silver Creek — Scott Schoen (181-110 in 12th season at Creek)
Washington — Steve Reynolds (118-81 in eighth season at Washington)
• Rankings:
Silver Creek — No. 12 IBCA (single class); No. 4 AP (Class 3A).
Washington — No. 3 IBCA (single class); No. 1 AP (Class 3A).
• Computer-based Sagarin Ratings:
Silver Creek — No. 17, No. 3 Class 3A
Washington — No. 2, No. 1 Class 3A
• Most recent game:
Silver Creek — Defeated Bishop Chatard 64-54 (Feb. 19, Class 3A Jeffersonville Semistate)
Washington — Defeated Garrett 66-39 (Feb. 19, Class 3A LaPorte Semistate)
• State titles (most recent): Silver Creek 1 (2021); Washington 1 (2007).
• Regular-season result: Did not play.
• Last postseason matchup: Feb. 27, 2021 — Silver Creek 54, South Bend Washington 48 (Class 3A state championship)
• John Harrell prediction: Washington 58, Silver Creek 46.
• Sagarin projection: Washington by 14.
• Outlook: What an accomplishment it would be if the Dragons could find a way to upset Washington and win its second straight state championship. It’s going to take a mammoth effort. All indications are the Panthers are the team to beat.
• Greg’s pick: Washington 63, Silver Creek 50.

By GREG MENGELT

That team lost six of its top players. Yet, this week the 26-2 and fourth-ranked Dragons are preparing to return to Indianapolis to defend its state title when they face No. 1 South Bend Washington (26-3). Silver Creek beat the Panthers 54-48 in last year’s championship game.

“It says that we’ve had really good players in the program,” 12th-year Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen said. “We have players who are able to play, but they’ve been behind really good basketball players. You’re seeing that with Lacey Tingle and Meredith Wilkinson, Hallie Foley, Reese Decker. Sydney Sierota has gotten more minutes and what you’re seeing with Syd, what you saw in half a game (last year), you’re now seeing in 32 minutes.”

Last year, the Dragons were expected to make a run to the state championship, and after winning their first six postseason games by an average of almost 15 points per game, it wasn’t a surprise they knocked off Washington on the biggest stage.

This year it hasn’t exactly been a surprise that Creek has won 26 games, another Mid-Southern Conference title and six straight tournament games, but it wasn’t expected.

Senior guard Emme Rooney explained that team chemistry has been a reason for the Dragons’ second straight trip to Indy.

“I think the team chemistry this year is a little different than that of last year,” said Rooney, who had 16 points in Creek’s 53-39 win over Bishop Chatard in the semistate at Jeffersonville last Saturday. “Last year we went into it as a business trip. This year, we’re all just here to have a good time and I think it shows with our team chemistry on the floor. We’re having a lot of fun winning games.”

While the players all agreed that the coaching staff is a big reason why Silver Creek has become a great “program,” Schoen redirected the praise to the players.

“We’re proud that we’re a player’s program,” he said. “Something could happen to me tonight and this program is going to go on. The kids are the ones who make up this program.”

Senior Lacey Tingle says, even if no one believes the Dragons can repeat as state championship, the team, the coaches, the Silver Creek student body, the parents and the town know they’re capable of celebrating another 3A state title Saturday.

“Knowing that this is our last game, for some of us our last game ever, it’s really kept us focused,” Tingle said. “Yes, we know they’re a very good team, but I think we’re mentally ready for it and our preparation is going to be what brings us through Saturday.”

Silver Creek will lose five more seniors from this year’s team. So can the Dragons return to glory for a third straight run in 2022-23?

“We’ve got really good players. The JV went 18-2,” Schoen said. “I’m blessed, and here’s why: I’ve had great senior leadership. Not just the last two years, but over the course of my 12 years here, I’ve had great senior leadership. The young kids, they’ve seen what it’s about. You don’t think they want to win, to get to Indy? We have a lot of good (young) players. They’re just playing behind really good players.”

By GREG MENGELT

Jefferson, a senior from New Albany, scored in double figures for the 10th straight time despite going 2 for 12 from the field. The Raiders’ leading scorer at 15 points per game finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and a couple fo steals.

Middle Tennessee (21-7, 12-3) clinched at least a share of the Conference USA West Division title. The Raiders lead Western Kentucky by three games atop the standings and face the Hilltoppers (17-11, 9-6) on Saturday with a chance to take the top seed in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament. Jefferson and the Raiders can be seen taking on Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. on ESPN Plus. It’s Middle Tennessee’s Senior Night.

On Thursday, the Blue Raiders trailed Marshall 27-24 at halftime before outscoring the Thundering Herd 50-38 in the second half. Sophomore guard Eli Lawrence led Middle Tennessee with 18 points, nine rebound and two steals and senior guard Donavan Sims went 11 for 11 at the free throw line and added 13 points.

Marshall junior guard Andrew Taylor led all scorers with 24 points, but the Raiders held Thundering Herd star Taevion Kinsey to just 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting. In fact, Kinsey, who averages 19 pointes per game, had more turnovers (5) than field goals (4).