SULLIVAN —
Sullivan sophomore Brooks Weszely stepped into the starting lineup for the first time, replacing injured senior Kaleb Pirtle, and he did exactly what the Golden Arrows needed him to do.
Pirtle, Sullivan’s second-leading scorer and most accurate 3-point shooter, will miss three to four weeks with a dislocated knee cap. Weszely, meanwhile, poured in a career-high 25 points, making a 10-0 run on his own in the first two minutes of action to put the Arrows up 10-0.
Northview, which could have given itself a shot down the road at a share of the Western Indiana Conference title with a win, bounced back from its 18-4 deficit to pull within 26-21 halfway through the second quarter on a Dillon Reynolds 3-pointer, but Sullivan eventually pulled away for a 74-51 victory, moving the No. 9 Golden Arrows to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in the WIC.
The Class 2A No. 9-ranked Sullivan girls won the first half of the WIC high school basketball doubleheader 43-26 behind 27 points from Indiana State recruit Rhagen Smith. The Golden Arrows are now 5-0 in the WIC with just one game remaining in the regular season.
Weszely knocked down two of his five 3-pointers on the game-opening run, and the 5-foot-10 guard converted layups on a pair of steals in that opening two minutes.
“To fill his shoes is a big big deal, he’s a real good shooter,” Weszely said of Pirtle. “I knew I had to step in and make some points. I knew I had to shoot more shots than usual.”
The hard-nosed defender helped Sullivan guards Gavan Marx and Caleb Turner limit Damon Hyatt and Dillon Reynolds to a combined 10 points. Weszely also played a part in Sullivan’s strong ball control as the Golden Arrows had just three turnovers.
“Intensity for defense, try to get in the passing lanes and make some things happen. I’m going to try to get used to the starting lineup, which I’m excited about,” Weszely said.
Northview’s Craig Peters had a career-high 16 points for the Knights, leading the team with strong drives to the basket. Northview shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half, but Sullivan shot 14 of 24 in the opening half and 5 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc.
ISU men’s recruit Rhett Smith added 19 points and two blocked shots for the Arrows, using his mid-range jump shot to attack the Northview zone defense to get most of his points.
James Lisman added 14 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting for Sullivan.
"They're a really good team. Tonight, we did a decent job on Rhett. They knocked the bottoms out of the basket," Maesch said. "They didn't make those shots against Vincennes. Tonight they shot it well at home. When you're looking to take away a Division I basketball player, and other guys are knocking the bottoms out of it, it's hard to defend. It wears on ya."
Sullivan coach Jeff Moore was pleased with the all-around play of his team without a key starter.
"[Smith] stepped out and hit some big shots. He played well like he always does. The bench played well. Everyone did their job," Moore said.
As for Weszely, he wasn't surprised by the output that the sophomore produced on 8-of-9 shooting from the field.
"He can shoot it, handles it. He defends hard. Tonight, he looked like a junior or senior. There's been times he's looked like a sophomore," Moore said. "I knew he'd do well tonight, I had a lot of confidence in him."
The winless Northview girls played well to start the evening, leading Sullivan in the second quarter even without freshman Mikayla Rowan, who was cleared Friday to get back on the court after battling a hip injury for more than a month. She could play in the Knights' game Tuesday at Plainfield, coach Scott Buell said.
Cassie Weddle led Northview with 10 points.
BOYS
NORTHVIEW (51) — Hyatt 1-5 1-2 3, Reynolds 3-11 0-0 7, Peters 7-14 0-1 16, Ninesling 4-5 0-0 8, Pestoff 1-1 0-0 2, Mace 4-5 0-0 8, Kimball 1-1 2-2 4, Talbot 1-1 0-0 2, Ball 0-4 1-2 1, Ellis 0-1 0-0 0, Hakman 0-0 0-0 0, Clark 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 FG, 4-7 FT, 51 TP.
SULLIVAN (74) — Marx 0-2 0-0 0, Weszely 8-9 4-5 25, Turner 3-5 1-1 7, Lisman 4-7 2-2 14, Smith 9-16 1-2 19, Bement 2-2 0-0 4, Ellett 0-2 1-3 1, Kinnaman 1-1 0-0 2, Pirtle 0-1 0-0 0, Gregory 0-0 2-2 2, Willis 0-0 0-0 0, Hutchcraft 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-43 FG, 11-16 FT, 74 TP.
Northview 12 15 16 8 — 51
Sullivan 20 17 18 19 — 74
3-point shooting — Nview 3-11 (Peters 2-6, Reynolds 1-1, Hyatt 0-2, Clark 0-1, Ellis 0-1), Sullivan 9-17 (Weszely 5-6, Marx 0-1, Turner 0-2, Lisman 4-6, Smith 0-2). Rebounds — N 31 (Peters 7, Mace 5, Talbot 5), S 18 (Lisman 4, Smith 3). Steals — N 2 (Peters, Ninesling), S 10 (Weszely 4, Marx 3, Lisman 1, Ellett 1, Willis 1). Assists — N 7 (Peters 3, Hyatt 2), S 12 (Marx 3, Weszely 2, Smith 2, Turner 2, Lisman 2, Bement). Turnovers — N 11, S 3. Blocks — N 0, S 2 (Smith 2). Total fouls — N 17, S 10.
Next — Sullivan (15-2, 3-0 WIC) plays Friday at Owen Valley. Northview is now 5-10 and 2-2 respectively.
GIRLS
NORTHVIEW (26) — Buell 0 0-0 0, Halfhill 1 0-0 2, Fagg 0 0-0 0, Timberman 3 0-0 6, Kumpf 1 0-0 2, Weddle 4 1-2 10, Hughes 2 0-0 4, Girton 1 0-0 2, Barrett 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 FG, 1-2 FT, 26 TP.
SULLIVAN (43) — Jones 5 0-3 10, Gilham 0 0-0 0, Chapman 0 0-0 0, Wilkes 0 0-0 0, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Whitlock 0 0-0 0, Walters 1 0-0 2, Smith 10 7-9 27, Harrison 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 FG, 9-14 FT, 43 TP.
Northview 8 4 11 3 — 26
Sullivan 6 10 14 13 — 43
3-point goals — Weddle. Total fouls — N 10, S 8.
Next — Sullivan (17-3, 5-0 WIC) plays Friday at Owen Valley. Northview (0-17) plays Tuesday at Plainfield.
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