By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The second semi-final at Saturday’s Class 4A Logansport boys basketball regional will feature two teams that are almost mirror images of each other.
No. 10-ranked Carmel and Homestead will tip off at noon, following the first (10 a.m.) semi-final between No. 7 Zionsville and Fort Wayne North Side. The semi-final winners return to the Berry Bowl at 8 p.m. for the regional championship.
The Greyhounds and the Spartans will come into the semi-final with the same record, 18-7. Both teams have won once when they have played each other before in the Marion regional: Carmel beat Homestead in the 2012 championship, then the Spartans came back to beat the ‘Hounds for the title in 2015.
The starting line-up is where the “almost” comes in. Both teams have two 6-footers, and another player stands 5-foot-11. But while Homestead’s other two starters top out at 6-foot-5, Carmel has two players that have stood out, literally and figuratively.
Butler-bound junior John Michael Mulloy played like a bulldog in the Noblesville sectional championship game. To help get the Greyhounds past Fishers, Mulloy scored 26 points, including 11 in the third quarter, using his 6-foot-10 frame to his full advantage under the basket.
Mulloy is averaging 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season. Meanwhile, 6-foot-6 senior Andrew Owens is chipping in 11.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest, second in the Carmel column in both statistics.
The Spartans have three players scoring in double figures, all of them seniors. Onye Ezeakudo, one of the 6-footers, is pouring in 13.3 points and collecting 5.3 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-5 Sam Buck adds 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. Grant Raber, at 5-foot-11, is averaging 10.5 points per game. Homestead also starts a freshman, 6-foot-5 Luke Goode, who has made 46 3-pointers this season. That puts him second behind Buck, who has 55 triples for the year.
The Spartans won the Huntington North sectional, over Columbia City 60-41, Fort Wayne South Side 65-63 and Huntington North 40-39. This was after they started the season 5-6.
“Homestead is playing their best basketball of the year right now….winning 13 of their last 14 with wins over Fort Wayne North and Fort Wayne Carroll (earlier in the year),” said ‘Hounds coach Ryan Osborn. “They have been playing five guys that can shoot the ball and can be very tough to defend. They get after it defensively, they’re disciplined and they’re hard-nosed.”
Other top scorers for Carmel include junior Luke Heady with 8.8 points per game and senior Cole Jenkins at 8.0 points. Jenkins is also dishing out 3.1 assists per game. Senior Eddie Gill, who made a rebound dunk to help Carmel clinch the championship, is the fifth probable starter for the Greyhounds.
Carmel and Homestead did not play each other during the regular season, but did play two common opponents. Both teams beat Warsaw, with the Spartans winning 56-38 on Dec. 1, and the Greyhounds winning 53-44 on Feb. 17.
Both teams also played Carroll. Homestead played the Chargers twice and split those games, winning 40-38 on Dec. 27 in the quarter-finals of the Summit Conference tournament, then falling 55-45 on Feb. 16 in the regular-season Summit Conference game. Carmel beat Carroll 53-42 on Feb. 10.
The ‘Hounds-Spartans game will follow an intriguing matchup between Fort Wayne North, last year’s 4A state runner-up, and Zionsville, which won its first sectional championship since 1995. That would turn out to be the first of a handful of big victories for a man named Brad Stevens.
This year’s Eagles team has had many big wins – in fact, at 22-3, Zionsville has the best record of the four regional qualifiers. The Eagles won the Lafayette Jefferson sectional by first getting past Logansport in overtime, 52-43, then sailing past Harrison 79-59 and McCutcheon 60-50 in the final.
North Side is 20-5. The Legends eased through the East Noble sectional, beating DeKalb 61-30 in the semi-finals and taking care of Carroll 57-44 in the championship. The teams did not meet in the regular season, although the Eagles played Carmel on Nov. 21 in both teams’ season opener. Zionsville won 68-62.
The Eagles are led by junior Isaiah Thompson, a Purdue recruit who is averaging 23.0 points per game and has made 86 3-pointers. Junior Nathan Childress, at 6-foot-6, is near a double-double with 12.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest. Senior Riley Bertram adds 10.1 points per game.
North Side also has three double-digit scorers: Junior Keion Brooks, at 6-foot-9, is also close to double-double territory at 23.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Senior Austin Boucher contributes 15.5 points and junior Lucas Kroft adds 12.6 points.
“The other side of the bracket features two of the best teams in the state winning 20+ games each,” said Osborn. “Both have marquee players in Keion Brooks and Isaiah Thompson that can be a difficult matchup for anyone. I don’t think there is a more balanced 4A regional in the state. I expect all three games to be very good.”
LOADED AT MARTINSVILLE
If the Logansport regional is balanced, then how would one describe the Class 1A Martinsville regional?
You want to describe it, Brandon Lafferman?
“Our regional is absolutely loaded this year in Martinsville, and hands down the toughest 1A regional in the state,” said the University coach.
The Trailblazers are part of the reason why the regional is loaded. University is ranked No. 2 in 1A and is coming off its first sectional championship in five years. The ‘Blazers will play No. 4 Morristown in the day’s second semi-final, which starts at noon and follows a 10 a.m. clash between No. 7-ranked, defending 1A state champion Tindley and Bloomfield.
Morristown won the Southwestern Shelby sectional by overwhelming Waldron 68-35, holding off No. 9 Hauser 69-63, then sailing past Oldenburg Academy 61-40 in the championship game. The Yellow Jackets have three players averaging in double figures.
Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets is senior Hayden Langkabel, who is averaging 26.0 points per game. He is joined in double figures by senior Eli Streeval’s 15.5 points and junior Logan Laster’s 12.3 points. Langkabel is also the leading rebounder with 5.7 boards per contest. Laster hands out 4.5 assists per game.
“At 24-2, Morristown is a great team, led by three guards who are all very good ball players,” said Lafferman. “They are well coached, play good team basketball, and can really score. They looked really good in their sectional wins, especially taking down Hauser, another top level 1A team along the way.”
Senior David Howard leads the University scoring at 14.1 points per game, while senior Josh Watson adds 9.9 points. Howard is the top rebounder with 5.4 boards per game. Another senior, Zach Hodgin, hands out 5.1 assists per game, in addition to grabbing 4.6 rebounds.
The Trailblazers and the Yellow Jackets have played a common opponent: Greenwood Christian. Morristown defeated the Cougars 79-71 on Feb. 1. University beat Greenwood Christian both times the two teams played each other: 64-46 in the championship game of the Pioneer Conference on Feb. 10, then 44-40 on Feb. 22.
Tindley comes into its semi-final with an 18-7 record, while Bloomfield is 16-9. The Tigers beat Central Christian 52-45 and Indianapolis Lighthouse South 68-61 to win the Indianapolis Lutheran sectional.
Bloomfield came out of the White River Valley sectional, taking care of Clay City 64-31 and Shakamak 49-35 in the final. The Cardinals were the 1A state runners-up two years ago.
Tindley knows how to score, as it has five players averaging in double figures. In order: Senior Eric Hunter is at 19.9 points per game, sophomore Sincere McMahon scores 17.4 points, senior KJ Coleman adds 17.3 points, senior Joe Johnson contributes 16.9 points and senior Keith Malone adds 11.5 points. Hunter is the leading rebounder at 7.7 boards per game, with Malone grabbing 5.0 per game. (Bloomfield stats are not available).
Lafferman pointed out that three of the teams are ranked in the top five in the Sagarin 1A ratings. Tindley is ranked second, University third and Morristown fifth.
“I expect both morning games to be tough ones, and the championship should be a great game no matter who wins in the morning,” said Lafferman. “We are really excited to have a shot at coming out of this gauntlet and moving on in the tournament.”
Carmel’s Luke Heady is averaging 8.8 points per game for the Greyhounds this season. Carmel will play Homestead in the second semi-final of the Logansport regional at noon on Saturday. (Kent Graham)