EVANSVILLE — A homecoming miracle was the last thing fans at Evansville Central were thinking about for more than three quarters of high school basketball Saturday night.
The only suspense appeared to involve whether John Michael Jarvis of visiting Terre Haute South would outscore the host Bears all by himself, a prospect still in the balance when he hit a pair of free throws for his 14th and 15th points that gave the Braves a 36-16 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Then the wheels threatened to come off for South, the Braves finally hanging on for a 46-39 win.
“We lacked a little poise — offensively and defensively — toward the end,” said coach Mike Saylor of South. “But I don’t want that to overshadow the very solid game we played for about 26 minutes.”
“Terre Haute South did whatever they wanted to do,” agreed coach Brent Chitty of Central.
After the Jarvis free throws, however, the Bears hit back-to-back 3-pointers. After another free throw by Jarvis, Central reserve Tyreece Strong scored six straight points and Alex Barker got a steal and added a free throw. Suddenly the lead was down to 37-29.
The Bears eventually got within 39-34 and had the ball, but Anthony McGill got a deflection that resulted in a steal for South and Ike Worrell, Jermaine Smith and Jarvis hit free throws.
“McGill had another real solid game,” Saylor said, “and Jarvis had a real good first half. [Jacob] Tanoos and Jarvis seemed to get a lot of rebounds.
“We knew we were in for a battle because Brent Chitty’s teams are always ready.”
The Braves did some of their best work on the defensive end. Evansville Central entered the fourth quarter shooting 22 percent from the field — and also 25 percent at the foul line.
“How many games have you seen teams win shooting free throws like that?” Chitty, whose team finished 7 for 20 at the line, asked afterward.
“You’ve got to hit free throws, block out and rebound. Teams that win are teams that hit free throws, block out, rebound and play good defense.”
Jarvis, held to one field goal Friday, got his first one Saturday just 12 seconds into the game, a layup on an alley-oop pass from McGill. He went on to score all 13 of his team’s points in the first quarter, his only miss a tip-in attempt near the end of the quarter.
Jarvis went two quarters without scoring, but his teammates began to step up. And Central cooperated by hitting just 1 of 13 shots in the second quarter and 2 of 7 in the third.
Jarvis led all scorers with 18 and also had nine rebounds, while McGill scored 11, Smith nine and Tanoos grabbed eight rebounds.
Sophomore Brienne Miles led Central with 12, Justin Ahlbrand had nine points and eight rebounds and Barker had nine rebounds.
“Terre Haute South has got a really nice team,” Chitty said. “The Jarvis kid — his attitude, his approach to the game — I think if I was a college coach I would have to get on him. I really like that kid; he sets the table for that team.”
High School
Jarvis lifts South at Evansville Central
- High School
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THN SECTIONAL: Braves to play Mooresville for sectional title tonight
Terre Haute South continued to show what’s new and Terre Haute North unfortunately reverted back to what’s old in Class 4A high school girls basketball sectional action Friday night at North.
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OWEN VALLEY SECTIONAL: Eagles bring Vikes down to earth
Baby steps. A baby takes that first step and grins, then attempts the second step and tumbles. The West Vigo High School girls took their first step with a victory Tuesday night in the Class 3A basketball sectional at Owen Valley.
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BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL: Sullivan jumps to early lead in sectional victory
Sullivan jumped out to a 9-0 lead and were never threatened in a dominant 48-25 win over Eastern Greene in a semifinal game of the Class 2A Bloomfield girls basketball sectional inside Glover Gymnasium on Friday.
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North Vermillion Sectional: Panthers, Falcons to meet for NV title
Outstanding defense and quality passing landed Riverton Parke in the championship game of the Class A North Vermillion Sectional. The Panthers will have to get through the host school tonight in order to secure the program’s first sectional crown since 1992.
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South swimmers don’t advance at Finals
Terre Haute South’s trip to the IHSAA girls swimming state finals at the Indiana University Natatorium was a short one Friday night.
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South runs into talented North Central team
Terre Haute South players and coaches knew when they got off the bus Saturday afternoon that they couldn’t run with the Class 4A No. 3-ranked Indianapolis North Central Panthers.
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BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Duncan’s OT free throws help Marshall down H-P
Jacob Duncan hit four free throws in overtime Friday night as visiting Marshall defeated Hutsonville-Palestine 51-49 in Little Illini Conference action.
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O'Leary pours in career-high 34 for Terre Haute North
Matt O’Leary poured in a career-high 34 points, 17 in each half, to lead Terre Haute North to a dominant 69-46 home victory over Center Grove in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference boys high school basketball Saturday afternoon.
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Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
Playing without their two leading scorers against a team that — most of the time — seemed more determined to win than they did, Terre Haute North's Patriots got a driving layup from Steven Davis with 2.8 seconds left in the second overtime to escape Bloomington North with a 54-52 win in high school basketball Thursday night.
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Sullivan stays on top of WIC for third straight year
Western Indiana Conference boys basketball teams have been trying to storm the Sullivan castle for three years now. The Golden Arrows have endured nearly every kind of strategy in the effort to breech their wall. West Vigo tried a few more on Thursday in a showdown for the WIC championship.
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South girls looking for solid performances at swimming state finals
One individual and one relay team, which includes that same individual, will represent Terre Haute South in the IHSAA girls swimming state finals today and possibly Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Cesinger, Jones each score 24 in Clay City win
Blake Cesinger and Brylan Jones poured in 24 points apiece to lead visiting Clay City over North Central 67-53 in SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference boys high school basketball Thursday night.
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Teutopolis knocks off record-setting Marshall girls in regional championship
Marshall jumped ahead 4-0 only to watch Teutopolis score the next 11 points Thursday in the championship game of the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
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Sullivan wins battle in low post
Sullivan dominated the low block at both ends of the court Wednesday to defeat South Knox 43-30.
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State wrestling berths won't come easily
If high school wrestlers thought regional competition was tough last weekend, they can expect the competition, as Keegan Michael Key used to say on MADtv, taken to “a whole notha level” on Saturday.
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South pulls upset
Plainfield’s 16-5 record made the Quakers the team to beat in the Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional.
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Vikings break long sectional drought
You’ll have to forgive West Vigo for celebrating just a wee bit prior to the postgame handshake with South Vermillion, but its first victory in a sectional game in 11 years was worthy of celebrating.
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PREP ROUNDUP: RP rolls past Attica
Riverton Parke jumped to a 20-point halftime lead and easily defeated Attica 59-34 in the Class A North Vermillion girls basketball sectional on Tuesday.
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They’re the pride of Marshall
With a 24-1 record, coach Kathy Miller’s Marshall team earned the top seed in the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
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Union season more fun with Talpas around
The Union boys basketball team has had its share of fun moments in the past, arguably the most fun being its Class A state runner-up in 2000.
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Injury bug follows girls into postseason
Who’s healthy is the question at least three of the four teams will be asking tonight when Class 4A girls high school basketball sectional play begins at Terre Haute North.
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Rockville needs late run to stop West Vigo
It was a game of fits and starts, but host Rockville finally overcame a stiff challenge from visiting West Vigo in a 53-46 victory in boys high basketball action on Saturday.
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Northview holds off Plainfield
Northview got its sixth victory in boys high school basketball action Saturday night, defeating Plainfield 59-56.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Cloverdale helps Rady to career win No. 714
Brandon Dorman and Joe Fidler combined for 37 points and six 3-pointers Saturday night as visiting Cloverdale defeated Turkey Run 63-45 in boys high school basketball.
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North seniors enjoy hot start
The appearance of balanced scoring in the Terre Haute North High School basketball lineup Saturday night was a little bit deceiving as the Patriots held on to defeat visiting Evansville Reitz 62-48 in North’s Senior Night contest.
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Ben Davis Giants top South Braves
Visiting Ben Davis nearly went to sleep on a sizeable lead against Terre Haute South in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school basketball Friday night.
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No. 3 Panthers too much for Patriots
After trailing by 15 at halftime, Terre Haute North’s boys basketball team got off to a nice start in the second half and cut its deficit to seven against Class 4A No. 3 Indianapolis North Central.
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Clay City gives Shakamak first SWIAC loss
Clay City shook up the top echelon of the SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference with a solid 52-41 victory Friday over visiting Shakamak in a boys high school basketball game at the Eel Dome.
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Regional wrestlers know importance of opening-round matches
Eight in each weight class. Four of those advance to the semistate. No byes.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Mahurin leads Rox to victory
Lane Mahurin tallied 10 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to help Rockville hold off Wabash River Conference foe Fountain Central 80-72 in boys high school basketball Friday night.
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