The REPORTER
Today is regional day for Indiana high school boys basketball, with 16 gyms across the state hosting two games that will decide who wins championships – and who advances to semi-state.
Fishers will travel to the famous New Castle Fieldhouse, where the nation’s largest high school gym will host the No. 1-ranked Tigers and No. 4 Kokomo for the Class 4A Regional 3 championship. The game begins at 4 p.m.
Over at Greenfield-Central, Guerin Catholic will play Indianapolis Washington in the Class 3A Regional 13 championship. That game also tips off at 4 p.m. Both games are available to watch at ihsaatv.org
FISHERS REMATCH
The Tigers and the Wildkats played each other exactly three months prior to today’s regional game. That was Dec. 9 at the Forum Tipoff Classic at Southport. Fishers won that game 77-55 with a strong second half and an incredible amount of balance.
The loss to the Tigers was one of only three for Kokomo this season. The Wildcats also fell to Westfield on Nov. 25 and to Crispus Attucks in their first game at the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 30, which also took place at New Castle. But the Wildkats rebounded with an 87-58 win over Brownsburg in the third-place game later that night.
The victory was the beginning of a 16-game win streak for Kokomo, one which has carried the ‘Kats into the regional. Kokomo won its record 77th sectional title last week, beating Harrison 69-50 in the first round, host Lafayette Jefferson in the semifinals 65-52 and Marion in the championship game 79-54.
The Wildkats have several scoring threats, none more so than senior Flory Bidunga, a McDonalds All-American and Mr. Basketball candidate. The Kansas commit has been the face of Kokomo basketball over the past three years and is having a sensational senior year, averaging a double-double of 18.9 points and 13.1 rebounds. He also blocks 4.4 shots per game and hands out 3.3 assists per contest.
Bidunga is the main man, but the Wildkats are more than Flory. Senior Karson Rogers adds 18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and is one of the co-leaders in assists with 3.5 per contest. Junior Zion Bellamy also dished out 3.5 assists per game and is up there in scoring as well with 9.4 points.
Fishers is coming off its first sectional championship in school history – or its second, depending on how you look at it. The original Fishers won a sectional title in 1922; those Tigers also went on to win a regional title as well.
This year’s edition of Fishers is 25-1, with the Tigers’ only loss coming to Carmel, 54-46 on Jan. 27. Fishers reversed that result in the first round of the Noblesville sectional by beating the Greyhounds 54-41. The Tigers then beat rival Hamilton Southeastern 54-44 in the semifinals, then beat the No. 2-ranked host Millers 49-47 in an epic championship game.
Senior Keenan Garner, an All-Star candidate who is entertaining Division I offers, is leading the Tigers with 16.2 points, 8.3 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game, as well as 3.7 assists. Junior JonAnthony Hall, a three-sport star with multiple D-I football offers, adds 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Freshman Cooper Zachary leads the assists category with 3.0 per contest.
DROUGHT BREAKERS
Guerin Catholic will play a Washington team that broke a 29-year sectional drought at Beech Grove last week.
The Continentals last won a sectional trophy in 1995, right before the school closed for five years. Washington reopened in 2000 and began competing in basketball again during the 2004-05 season. The Continentals are 14-12, but put it all together for the sectional, beating Purdue Poly Englewood 63-50 in the first round and Christel House 67-48 in the championship.
Washington has balanced scoring, with five players averaging over nine points per game. Senior Dave Leye scores 11.7 per contest, followed by sophomore Roosevelt Franklin contributing 11.4 points.
Three more seniors provide points as well: Malique Starks (9.8), Jordan Stratton (9.7) and Clem Butler (9.1). Butler leads the rebounds with 7.9 per game, while Starks collects 6.0 per contest and also hands out 3.5 assists.
The Continentals and the Golden Eagles played each other back on Feb. 8, with GC winning 60-39.
Guerin Catholic won its second consecutive sectional title last week in a championship game no one will ever forget. The 3A No. 6 Golden Eagles beat No. 1 Brebeuf Jesuit 75-74 in double overtime with a final play that has gone viral: Ben Grissom scrambled to grab a loose ball and threw it overhead to Malcolm Houze who laid it in at the buzzer.
Guerin Catholic beat Herron 78-17 in the first round and Bishop Chatard 54-36 in the semifinals. Senior Robert Sorensen averages 16.7 points per game, one of three double-digit scorers. Junior Bryson Cardinal scores 13.1 points and leads the rebounds with 7.9, while senior Dylan Murans adds 10.0 points. Senior Jack Cherry leads the assists with 4.2 per game.