All three Vigo County boys high school basketball teams begin their state tournament journeys on the first night of action as a result of pairings drawn Sunday by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
Terre Haute North, a potential favorite in Class 4A’s Plainfield Sectional, could potentially play two teams the Patriots haven’t faced this season, including the home team in the March 2 opening game.
Terre Haute South, a darkhorse in the same tournament, plays the second game on March 2 but with the prospect of playing two teams the Braves have already beaten.
And in the Class 3A Owen Valley Sectional, West Vigo could use revenge for motivation. To reach the championship game of that wide-open tournament, the Vikings would have to beat two teams that beat them during the Western Indiana Conference season.
“It will be a challenge,” said coach Todd Woelfle of the Patriots, who would meet Martinsville in a semifinal game if they are able to beat Plainfield. “Long travel, a 6 o’clock game … it’s not an ideal situation.
“But you’re in the state tournament,” he continued. “It’s one and done; the best team that night for 32 minutes is all that matters. We have a mature basketball team, and I’m confident they’ll be ready.”
“It’s OK with us,” coach Mike Saylor of South said of the draw, which finds the Braves playing Mooresville first, the winner of that game to meet Northview. “You have to play every game in the sectional, so obviously you’d rather have the bye.
“In one way or another, you’re going to have to beat whoever perseveres [to win the championship],” Saylor concluded.
“It’s tough having to play on Tuesday, when everyone else has an extra day to prepare,” said coach Joe Boehler of West Vigo. The Vikings and Brown County, a 53-50 winner over West Vigo on Dec. 19, are the only game scheduled on the first night of a seven-team tournament. Edgewood, the only team in the field with a first-round bye, plays either the Vikings or the Eagles in the semifinals.
“Brown County beat us earlier by three points, so it should be an even match,” Boehler continued. “Anything could happen … for us, there’s no easy night at all.”
Rodney Idlewine would probably agree with that. His South Vermillion team will meet Sullivan for what figures to be the second time in five days and third time this season in perhaps the key game of the other half of the bracket.
“It’s a tough draw, obviously, for us,” he said Sunday.
In a pair of interesting Class A sectionals, Covington will play host North Vermillion and Attica will face Turkey Run on the opening night of an all-Wabash River Conference tournament. Rockville awaits either the Falcons or Trojans, Riverton Parke the Red Ramblers or Warriors in a field in which every team has beaten at least one of the others.
Unquestionably Union (Dugger) has the worst draw in the White River Valley Sectional. To reach the final game, the Bulldogs would have to beat two teams — Shakamak, then the host Wolverines — who have spent much of the season among the state’s top 10. North Central and Clay City are the other semifinal matchup in the five-team bracket.
Linton likewise has a long road in the Class 2A North Knox Sectional, needing to beat both the Knox County schools to face either Bloomfield or Eastern Greene in the championship game.
And coach Pat Rady of Cloverdale has two shots this week at his 700th victory, road games at Speedway and Eminence, before squaring off with Monrovia in a loaded eight-team field at South Putnam.
Indiana boys basketball sectionals
Class 4A
At Plainfield
March 2 — Terre Haute North vs. Plainfield, 6 p.m., followed by Mooresville vs. Terre Haute South
March 5 — Martinsville vs. winner game 1, 6 p.m., followed by Northview vs. winner game 2
Class 3A
At Owen Valley
March 2 — West Vigo vs. Brown County, 7 p.m.
March 3 — Greencastle vs. Owen Valley, 6 p.m., followed by Sullivan vs. South Vermillion
March 5 — Edgewood vs. winner game 1, 6 p.m., followed by winner game 2 vs. winner game 3
Class 2A
At North Knox
March 2 — North Knox vs. Linton, 7 p.m.
March 5 — Eastern Greene vs. Bloomfield, 6 p.m., followed by South Knox vs. winner game 1
At South Putnam
March 2 — Cloverdale vs. Monrovia, 6 p.m., followed by Tri-West vs. North Putnam
March 3 — Speedway vs. Cascade, 6 p.m., followed by Covenant Christian vs. South Putnam
March 5 — March 2 winners, 6 p.m., followed by March 3 winners
Class A
At North Vermillion
March 2 — North Vermillion vs. Covington, 6 p.m., followed by Attica vs. Turkey Run
March 5 — Rockville vs. winner game 1, 6 p.m., followed by Riverton Parke vs. winner game 2
At White River Valley
March 2 — Union vs. Shakamak, 7 p.m.
March 5 — Clay City vs. North Central, 6 p.m., followed by White River Valley vs. winner game 1
All championship games March 6
High School
Vigo boys teams draw early sectional assignments
All 3 county teams tip off tournament play on March 2
- 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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