Update on Sectional Games from Wednesday

The P-Hoops Elite Eight lived up to the hype last night. Several great games were played, including a double-overtime thriller, a comeback win by one of the state's best teams, and a few close ones. Let's look at the eight best from Wednesday the 4th!

Sectional 1: East Chicago Central 62 - Lake Central 52 - The Cardinals (14-7) had the home court advantage and used it to stop the red-hot Indians (15-6), who had won thirteen games in their last fourteen tries. It was a 27-26 game at half, with East Chicago leading, but Lonzyo Holcomb's eight third quarter points sparked the Cardinals, and they never looked back. Bryce Walker led East Chicago with 24 points and three steals, while Michael Harris added 15 points, and Holcomb finished with 14 of his own. Eric Summers and Zak Felton both scored 15 points for the Indians, and Summers also contributed eight rebounds. The Cardinals move on to face Gary West (15-5) in the Sectional Semifinals on Friday night.

Sectional 2: Valparasio 53 - Chesterton 49 (2OT) - The Vikings (18-3) were in control in the second overtime at 49-44, but a three pointer by Adam White helped the Trojans (11-10) cut the lead to two with a minute to play. After a miss by Chesterton sophomore Mitch McGary, Valpo's Hayden Humes, a Toledo recruit, calmly knocked in two free throws, and the Vikings never looked back. Valparaiso was six for eight on free throws in the final overtime session, icing the game at the line. Humes led the winners with 19 points and seven boards, and Jerrick Suiter added 14 points. McGary and Tommy Peller both had 14 points for the Trojans, and McGary contributed 12 rebounds as well. Valparaiso moves on to face Merrillville (16-5) in the Semis.

Sectional 10: Lawrence North 86 - Broad Ripple 47 - The Wildcats (22-2) were held relatively in check during the first quarter, leading the Rockets (11-11) by only three. But a dominating second quarter put the game away for good as LN led 42-20 going into the break. The Wildcats had multiple double-digit scorers, led by 6'9 senior Jeff Robinson, a Purdue recruit, who had his high game of the season with 22 points, including 18 in the second half. Sophomore Michael Chandler, a 6'10 Louisville commit, scored 15 points and grabbed six boards. Juniors Justin Martin and Dominique Ferguson added 13 and 10 points respectively. Senior Howard Stevenson led the Rockets with 18 points, and freshman Ron Patterson added ten. IU coach Tom Crean was on hand to watch Patterson before he made his way to another Sectional game, which we'll get to in a minute. The Wildcats move on to face Warren Central (10-13) in the next round.

Sectional 12: Pike 50 - Brownsburg 48 - The defending State Champs bowed out early, but not without a fight. The Red Devils (12-8) seemed to have the game in hand leading 20-7 in the first half and holding the Bulldogs (11-9) scoreless for over seven minutes. Pike led 46-38 with under two minutes to play, but a scoring barrage by Brownsburg pulled them into a tie with ten seconds to play. At that point, Pike soph Marquis Teague took the game into his hands, driving the lane and finding teammate Justin Strickland open under the hoop for a lay-in with two seconds to play, pulling out a huge win. Teague, being watched closely by IU head coach Tom Crean, scored 19 points despite missing seven of his first nine shots. Junior Khristian Smith added 13 points for Pike. Brownsburg was led by Kurtis Runyon, who had 16 points in defeat. Pike advances to face Decatur Central (18-3), who squeaked by Tech last night as well.

Sectional 23: Dwenger 52 - New Haven 33 - With the game led by Dwenger 36-33 after three quarters, all onlookers expected a hard fought fourth quarter where the decision would come down to the wire. However, the Saints (17-4) shut out New Haven (10-11) in the final frame, outscoring them 16-0 in the fourth. Landon Feitcher led a balanced Dwenger scoring attack with 13 points, and Paul Jones led New Haven with 13 points as well. Dwenger moves on and will see Heritage (14-8) in the Semifinals.

Sectional 40: Tipton 48 - Oak Hill 44 - The Golden Eagles (17-4) were utterly dominant throughout the first three and a half quarters, leading the 2A number one ranked Blue Devils (21-2) by as many as ten points, and were up 38-30 with under six minutes to play. Then, the wheels came off. From that point, Tipton went on a 15-0 run led by IU signee Derek Elston and sophomore point guard Greg Dickey. Elston scored nine of his game high 19 points in the fourth, and Dickey had some big buckets, including a deep three, and propelled Tipton to the win. Oak Hill hurt themselves with poor free throw shooting, going seven for seventeen from the stripe. Besides scoring nineteen, Elston also had a game-high 14 rebounds and two blocks, plus one that was called a goaltending violation mistakenly. Dickey finished with 13 points, nine boards, and five assists. Eric Doyle led Oak Hill with 15 points. Tipton advances to face Eastern-Greentown (11-10).

Sectional 43: Park Tudor 46 - Heritage Christian 40 - P-Hoops predicted it correctly, in that records go out the window when these two meet. Park Tudor (7-13) came into this one losing seven of their final eight, but they always get up to face the Eagles (14-7), who looked lackluster in defeat. John Arak scored nine fourth quarter points, including some nice drives, on his way to a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Heritage, down by as many as ten, but the lead to two points in the fourth, but missed free throws and rushed shots down the stretch, spelling early defeat for the Eagles, who returned five seniors from a team that nearly beat Winchester in last year's Regionals. There is surely disappointment for those boys. New senior transfer Christian Newton led the Eagles with 14 points in the loss. The Panthers advance to face Cardinal Ritter (15-5) in the next round.

Sectional 59: Fall Creek Academy 52 - Lutheran 49 - The Engineers (11-11) won their first ever Sectional game over a worthy foe in the Saints (10-11). FCA's Eugene Comer nailed two game-clinching free throws with 22 seconds to play, sealing the win. The winners were led by Wynton Minnifield with 17 points, Chris Reid had 15 points, and Comer added 14 of his own. Lutheran got 13 points apiece from Andy Denecke and Jensen Nowakoski. Fall Creek advances to face Bethesda Christian (14-7).

Stay tuned for a loaded Friday night on Sectional Semifinals!