Tuesday's Top Tips: Results

As posted yesterday, there were some games of interest both for general Indiana high school basketball fans, and die hard IU fans. Derek Elston had a chance to score is 1,000th point of his high school career last night. Did he do it? And some other top ranked teams were in action. How did they fare? Let's take a look!

Elwood at Tipton: The #2 ranked team in 2A, the Tipton Blue Devils, once again dominated the competition, beating an outmatched Elwood team 71-33. IU recruit Derek Elston had a chance to do something very special last evening: score his 1,000th career point. He needed 18 points to do so, and he got exactly that, much to the delight of his teammates, coaches, and Blue Devil fans. His 18 came on 7-9 from the field, going 3 for 5 from three point range. Elston also added eight rebounds, four blocks, and four assists in limited time, sitting much of the second half. Congratulations to Derek! Hoosier fans have a lot to look forward to in this Mr. Basketball candidate. Tipton moves to 4-0 on the year. They play Rensselaer Central (3-0) on Friday, finally facing a quality opponent.

Fort Wayne Blackhawk at Eastside: Blackhawk, the #3 ranked team in 1A, rolled over Eastside 56-35. Michigan State recruit, shooting guard Russell Byrd, paced the Braves with 25 points with some hot outside shooting, also using his size (6'7") to take smaller defenders in the post. Blackhawk moves to 3-0 on the season, and they take on Woodlan (1-4) on Saturday.

Norwell at Ft. Wayne Bishop Dwenger: Finally playing their first game, the #3 ranked team in 3A, Dwenger dismantled Norwell 63-46. Jordan Didier led the Saints with 17 points and seven boards. Dwenger plays Concordia (1-3) on Friday at the Coliseum. No stats were available for 6'8" sophomore stud Tony Springmann. Anyone care to enlighten me on this? Is he injured?

Heritage Christian at Columbus East: While trying to prepare for a postseason run, the 2A #7 ranked Eagles from Heritage have dialed up a tough regular season schedule with several 3A and 4A opponents. They travelled to Columbus East yesterday to face a hot squad, fresh off an overtime loss at the hands of 4A #6 ranked Franklin Central. I had the pleasure of seeing this one in person. The Eagles were down eight right before halftime, but snatched momentum as senior guard David Reynolds (14.5 ppg) drilled a 3/4 court shot to cut it to five. Heritage came out with more energy and determination in the second half, playing an amazing switching man-to-man defense that limited the Olympians (1-4) to six points in the third quarter. Heritage went on to win a closely contested game, pulling away at the end for a 63-55 victory. Senior 6'5" guard Tommy Eggleston led the Eagles with 21 points on 5-8 from three point range, while adding six rebounds. Reynolds added 12 points and senior forward Cory Mayes had ten, including a fast break lay-in that sealed the victory. Eggleston seems to be playing himself into a D1 offer, averaging 17 ppg so far this year for the Eagles (2-0). Freshman sensation Joel Smith had an excellent all around game, as the 6'6" freshman ran the point against an athletic 1-3-1 zone defense, handling the pressure applied by IU football recruit Duwyce Wilson. His scoring was a pedestrian five points, but he didn't have to score, distributing to hot shooters and protecting the ball. It is easy to see why many analysts have him as a top five player in his class in Indiana. Heritage travels to face off with Bishop Chatard (1-0) this Friday.

Also, in IU related news, Bobby Capobianco, a 6'8" power forward who signed with the Hoosiers, made his return to the court last night, coming off a foot injury. He scored 13 points in his season debut in a limited role while getting back in condition.