Friday's Top Ten: Recaps!

There were many great games last night, but only ten were picked for P-Hoops Top Ten for Friday, February 20th. Let's take a look at the Top Ten, which include several top ranked teams, players, and some surprising upsets.

1. Warsaw 59 - Bishop Luers 54 - In front of their home crowd, Warsaw (17-1) handed the Knights their fourth loss of the year in a true Indiana barn-burner. Before the watchful eyes of Purdue head coach Matt Painter (pictured), sophomore point guard Nic Moore scored 25 points, including shooting 13 for 16 from the line. As a team, Warsaw was lights out from the charity stripe, going 18 for 21 for the game. The star for Luers (16-4), junior Deshaun Thomas, scored 21 points, well below his gaudy average, and pulled down 21 rebounds. Ryne Robinson chipped in 15 points in the win.

2. Barr-Reeve 61 - Vincennes Rivet 52 - The Vikings (16-3), the number six team in 1A, secured the Blue Chip Conference title last night with a big win over Rivet (15-4), the number four team in 1A. Rivet led by as much as 11, at 28-17 in the second quarter, but B-R used a 10-0 run to close the half and never looked back. Christian Duncheon and Ethan Knepp both scored 16 points in the win, and Tyler Vieke had 14 for the losing side.

3. Tipton 60 - Frankfort 47 - On senior night, one of the greatest Tipton Blue Devils of all time stole the show. IU recruit Derek Elston scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and blocked three shots for the Blue Devils (18-2). Elston sat a large part of the third quarter after picking up a technical foul call, apparently for talking to an official about a non-call. The stud for the Hot Dogs (13-6), Stevie Loveless, was held in check by Elston most of the night. He finished with 15 points on 4 of 15 shooting, scoring his final seven points on free throws. He also grabbed 13 boards. Greg Dickey had 11 points and five boards for Tipton, and senior Jake Hoffman added 12 points. The Blue Devils owned the boards, by a margin of 26 to 17.

4. Jac-Cen-Del 74 - Switzerland County 68 - Jac-Cen-Del (17-2) won on the road against a bigger school to grab their tenth consecutive win. They are the number two team in 1A for a reason, and proved it against the Pacers (16-4). Switzerland County got their second loss in the last nine games; the other loss was to 2A powerhouse Lawrenceburg by twenty points.

5. Merrillville 53 - Valparaiso 42 - The Pirates (13-5) aren't going to sneak up on anyone anymore after their recent stretch of five wins in six games, including a big win over Munster. Merrillville's defense forced the Vikings (15-3) into 21 turnovers. The sophomores led the way for the winners, as Brandon Clark had 16 points and Jeremiah Jones finished with 15 of his own. Jerrick Suter led Valpo with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Hayden Humes added ten.

6. Ritter 65 - Covenant Christian 59 - The Raiders (14-4) got a huge win as they head closer to Sectionals, winning over a team with a big-time D1 talent. Justin Reed led Ritter with 20 points, and Erick Gray and Tyrone Walker had 4 each. Butler-bound 6'10 center Andrew Smith finished with 26 points in the loss.

7. Pike 60 - Franklin Central 49 - The Red Devils (11-6) got a big upset win over the Flashes (16-5). Junior wing Khristian Smith led Pike with 19 points, and super-soph Marquis Teague had 18 points and five assists. Pike's defense forced 19 turnovers against the Flashes, who were led by Purdue-bound forward Patrick Bade with 28 points on 10 of 14 shooting.

8. Muncie South 87 - Howe 71 - Playing without 6'9 star junior Jordan Manuel, the Hornets (13-6) lost for the first time in five games, as they could not keep pace on the road against South (12-6). A 24-10 run in the second quarter spelled defeat for Howe, who got 17 and 15 points respectively from Andre Hampton and PJ Boutte. The Wolfe brothers, Rondell and Jamal combined for sixty points, with 26 and 24 respectively.

9. Snider 67 - Homestead 54 - The Panthers (19-1) got 25 points from Jon Sims and 18 points from Reggie Hearn in a scrappy win over Homestead (12-7). The losing side got 12 points apiece from Drew Sery and Chris Ray.

10. Carmel 71 - Terre Haute North 67 (2OT) - A three pointer by John Michael Polley sent the game to a second overtime, propelling the Greyhounds (13-5) to a big win over the Patriots (8-12). Morgan Newton led Carmel with 31 points, and 6'10 freshman AJ Hammons contributed a pair of buckets. North was led by Zach Harrison with 19 points, while 6'8 sophomore Justin Gant chipped in with 17 points.

Another great night of hoops in the Hoosier state! Next week is it before Sectional play, so check back to see who's playing meaningful games before the postseason. Many teams will be trying to keep it going, while others will try to regroup before they play for their postseason lives!