FRANKFORT —
Deep, physical Lafayette Central Catholic jumped on Rockville early in Class A Frankfort Regional high school basketball Saturday afternoon, and the Rox never really recovered.
The result was a 65-55 loss, Rockville’s first setback since the 2012 state championship game and leaving this year’s Rox three wins short of bettering that accomplishment.
Winning a state championship appeared to be a very reasonable goal for Rockville throughout most of the regular season, which included a beefed-up schedule, a Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic championship and a sweep of Vigo County opponents.
But the team’s depth and its regular rotation was compromised by an off-the-court event about a month ago, and the Rox took a further hit earlier in the week when a sinus infection blossomed into a Thursday night hospital stay and a 104-degree fever for forward Jordon McFall.
McFall played — “I can’t say enough about Jordon McFall,” coach Dave Mahurin said after the game. “He spent Thursday night in the hospital, but he gave us all he had” — and it’s a good thing, since the burly Knights seemed to substitute at every dead ball.
“The way I played was probably about 95 percent,” the teary-eyed McFall said after the game, “but I gave 120.”
Effort wasn’t really Rockville’s problem Saturday, and Josh Brown gave the team some effective minutes off the bench. But the Rox didn’t shoot well; for a while they didn’t rebound at all, partially because the Knights rarely missed shots themselves — and yet they might have overcome all of that were it not for Timmy Mills, who messed up the whole Rockville defensive strategy.
A 5-foot-11 senior who entered the game as the Knights’ third-leading scorer with a 10.1-point average, Mills got his average in the first quarter, hit 9 of his first 10 shots from the field including four 3-pointers, finished with a game-high 26 points and for good measure added eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.
“It was a good day for him to have [the day of his life],” Rockville’s Lane Mahurin said.
“He made some shots,” coach Mahurin added. “We tried to stop No. 32 [LCC’s leading scorer Andrew Hubertz, who didn’t score until the fourth quarter], but [Mills] really stepped up and made a bunch.”
He made four of them in a personal 8-0 run late in the first quarter that put the Knights ahead 14-7. Then it was Lane Mahurin’s turn as the Rockville star accounted for the next seven points — an assist on a Keiontre Wilkey layup, a banked-in jumper to beat the first-quarter buzzer and a 3-pointer less than a minute into the second quarter — as the Rox came back to tie.
That was the first of four ties in a second quarter that also included six lead changes, as LCC had no answer defensively for Lane Mahurin. On the other end, however, just about the only stops Rockville got were on turnovers by the Knights — including a pair of steals by Wilkey — as LCC shot a consistent 70 percent for the first half on its way to 62 percent for the game. A 3-pointer by Mills — of course — broke the last tie, giving the Knights a 28-25 lead 1:08 before halftime, and Jake Churchill thwarted Rockville’s last-shot strategy with a steal and layup.
Rockville increased its intensity in the third quarter and got within two points twice, 32-30 following a putback by Nick Waltz and a 3-pointer by Gary Ulrich and 34-32 when Lane Mahurin stole the ball and threw down a windmill dunk that electrified the Rockville crowd. LCC showed no signs of panic, however, and two more 3-pointers by Mills helped the Knights build their lead back to 44-36 and 47-39.
McFall hit his second straight 3-pointer to cut into that margin, and it was 48-43 at the third stop. Rockville had the ball most of the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, but without converting possession to points, and reserve Nick Thompson got free for a layup that had the Knights ahead 50-43.
But Ulrich hit a 3-pointer, Waltz ripped down a defensive rebound following a rare miss by Mills, and Lane Mahurin got a fast-break layup at the other end. Ulrich stole the ball, and Rockville had a chance to tie or take the lead.
Then, suddenly, Hubertz appeared. He stole the ball for a layup, his first two points of the game, then stole it again to set up a 3-pointer by Churchill. Now the Rox were seven points behind, and after a McFall 3-pointer the Knights scored twice in a row to go up by eight. There were no miracles to come for the Rox.
“[The Knights] have a good team; we knew coming in they were good,” coach Mahurin said. “We didn’t shoot very well, and we seemed to get flustered at times.
“But I’m really proud of these guys. [Winning] 25 in a row is hard to do,” Dave Mahurin added. “I’m incredibly proud of my seniors.”
“We came out and couldn’t buy a basket,” Lane Mahurin said. “We didn’t really know what to expect, and [the Knights] kind of got the better of us tonight.”
“We just couldn’t make shots,” McFall said. “We had the same shots we’ve been hitting all year, they just didn’t go down. [The Knights are] a great team, and great shooters.”
“It was their day,” added Ulrich. “We played hard, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Churchill added 18 points for the Knights, who earned the right to meet Liberty Christian in Saturday night’s regional championship. Liberty Christian was too quick for Union (Modoc) in a 70-56 win in Saturday’s first semifinal game.
Lane Mahurin ended his Rockville career with one of his better all-around performances: 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals while also guarding Hubertz (”Lane’s pretty good,” Dave Mahurin said after his younger son’s final high school game). McFall scored 14, Ulrich had 11, Waltz grabbed seven rebounds and Wilkey had six assists.
“It’s a sad day, but I’ve got a lot to be happy for,” said Ulrich. “I have no regrets coming to Rockville [after playing as a freshman at Terre Haute South]; I’ve had some of the best times of my life.”
“It was a fun run; I’m glad I got to do it,” added Lane Mahurin. “I’d have liked it to go on a little more.”
ROCKVILLE (55) — Mahurin 8-16 6-7 23, McFall 5-15 1-2 14, Waltz 2-5 0-0 4, Ulrich 4-13 0-0 11, K.Wilkey 1-4 0-1 2, J.Brown 0-2 1-4 1, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Weisheit 0-0 0-0 0, R.Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Thurman 0-0 0-0 0, Paddock 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 FG, 8-14 FT, 55 TP.
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC (65) — Hubertz 3-8 1-2 7, Cronk 1-1 0-1 2, Mills 9-13 4-4 26, Olinger 1-2 1-2 3, Churchill 7-11 3-4 18, Witteveen 1-1 0-0 2, Ulery 0-1 2-2 2, Anthrop 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 2-2 1-2 5, DeBoy 0-0 0-0 0, Thieme 0-0 0-0 0, Metzinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-39 FG, 12-18 FT, 65 TP.
Rockville 11 14 18 12 — 55
Lafayette Central Catholic 14 16 18 17 — 65
3-point shooting — Rockville 7-31 (Ulrich 3-11, McFall 3-13, Mahurin 1-3, Waltz 0-2, Wilkey 0-2), LCC 5-12 (Mills 4-5, Churchill 1-3, Hubertz 0-4). Total fouls — Rockville 18, LCC 15. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Rockville 12, LCC 11. Rebounds — Rockville 32 (Mahurin 8, Waltz 7, J.Brown 3, Ulrich 2, Wilkey 2, McFall, team 9), LCC 30 (Mills 8, Hubertz 6). Assists — Rockville 15 (Wilkey 6, Mahurin 4, McFall 2, Ulrich 2, Waltz), LCC 13 (Mills 5). Steals — Rockville 7 (Mahurin 2, Wilkey 2, J.Brown 2, Ulrich), LCC 6 (Hubertz 2, Churchill 2). Blocks — Rockville 4 (Mahurin 3, McFall), LCC 2 (Hubertz 2).
Next — Lafayette Central Catholic (17-8) played Liberty Christian (20-5) for the regional championship later Saturday. Rockville finished 25-1, Union (Modoc) 17-6.
High School
Rockville suffers tough loss to Lafayette Central Catholic
Rox unbeaten season derailed in regional
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. -
North boys make it three consecutive Vigo County golf titles
Terre Haute North made it three in a row in Vigo County boys high school golf championship action Wednesday at Hulman Links.
The Patriots shot 161 to edge Terre Haute South with 165. West Vigo carded 222. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Wolf homers as North baseball wins 16th game
Terre Haute North erupted for seven runs in the third inning on its way to routing visiting White River Valley 14-1 in 41⁄2 innings of high school baseball Wednesday afternoon at Don Jennings Field.
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Northview's Carter strikes out 19 in 10-inning win against South Vermillion
Northview’s Taylor Carter and South Vermillion’s Daphne Dunegan locked into a 10-inning all-star softball pitching duel Tuesday night at Northview High School.
Unfortunately, one of them had to lose. -
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: South Vermillion 4-0 in WIC after 4-3 win at Northview
Jordan Branz won his ninth game of the season, scattering six hits over eight innings to lead South Vermillion to a 4-3 victory at Northview in a Western Indiana Conference battle.
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Thompson going into Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame
Former Terre Haute North High School standout Anthony Thompson is the newest member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis wins against Oldenburg Academy
Playing on Ben Davis’ courts, Terre Haute South pulled out a 4-1 victory over Oldenburg Academy in girls high school tennis Tuesday.
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Multiple records fall in Big Four track meet
Terre Haute North dominated the girls competition, as expected, and Terre Haute South’s boys edged the host Patriots in what turned out to be a rain-soaked Big Four Classic high school track and field meet Saturday at North.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, North’s girls set four meet records in compiling 132.5 points, outdistancing the runner-up Braves, who had 63.5. -
Four teams still in running for Big Four baseball crown
The 2013 Big Four baseball tournament was going to last longer than Saturday anyway, thanks to a schedule change this season.
Thanks to steady rain at Terre Haute North, it will last even longer than planned.
Terre Haute South beat West Vigo 2-0 in Saturday morning’s first game, and the second contest between Northview and the host Patriots was halted in the top of the third inning as the field became unplayable. - More High School Headlines
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