TERRE HAUTE —
The last step for Rockville’s undefeated boys high school basketball season was anything but an easy one Friday night in the Rock-a-Dome.
Visiting Terre Haute South and Jeffrey Turner had their best quarters of the season in the second period, turning an early 11-4 deficit into a lead that reached nine when Turner hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer just before intermission.
A scrambling, physical trapping defense that had helped the Braves keep the home team off-balance in the first half led to early fouls in the third quarter, however, and the Rox improved to 22-0 with an 83-71 win.
“I didn’t think we responded very well [in the first half],” coach Dave Mahurin of the Rox said afterward. “When you play a Terre Haute South or a Terre Haute North, it’s a totally different game … we didn’t match [South’s] physicality at all and we didn’t press with any intensity. But I thought we came out in the second half with a different attitude.”
“It was a scary first half,” said Lane Mahurin of the Rox, “but we trust in our guys, and they came around.”
Turner, who had 22 points by halftime and was 8 for 11 from the field, got his third and fourth fouls in the first 72 seconds of the third quarter while Rockville was closing the gap to 42-40.
Spence Tofaute, who took up a lot of the scoring slack for the Braves in the second half, got the next four points, but Rockville got eight in a row — 3-pointers by Nick Waltz and Jordon McFall and a layup by Lane Mahurin — to take a 48-46 lead, its first advantage since the end of the first quarter.
A basket by Kevaris Gregory tied the score for the last time at 48, but the Rox got two more 3-pointers — Gary Ulrich and McFall — and had the lead to stay. Turner, who had been on the bench for all but a few seconds after his fourth foul, picked up his fifth a minute into the fourth period.
“I’m proud of how hard the kids played,” said coach Scott Ridge of the Braves. “It was a tough situation ... I thought [the referees] called too many fouls on us — [Turner] only played a minute in the second half.”
South was within 57-55 when Spence Tofaute got a three-point play moments after Turner had fouled out. Lane Mahurin got five straight points, Spence Tofaute answered with two free throws, and a 3-pointer by Ulrich was matched by South’s Logan Steward to keep the Braves within five at 67-62. Rockville then pretty much clinched the outcome with an 11-3 run.
Mahurin led all scorers with 35 points and he and McFall — who scored 21 — combined to go 11 for 11 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Ulrich, who sat out the end of the second quarter with foul trouble, had 16 points of his own, while Waltz led all rebounders with 11 and Keiontre Wilkey had seven assists.
Turner, coming back after a bout with strep throat, had 24 points, seven rebounds and five steals in about 16 minutes — he was rested several times in the first half — while Spence Tofaute scored 16 and Gregory 12. Steward had seven assists for the Braves.
Ridge now hopes to get similar effort in postseason play from the Braves, who have a week off before playing a semifinal game at the Class 4A Mooresville Sectional.
“We’ve got to keep this going,” he said. “We’ve got to play a little better [next] Friday or we could be done.”
“South is playing well,” Dave Mahurin agreed. “Their win over Ben Davis was no fluke. They can make some noise in that sectional.”
As for the first unbeaten season in school history, the Rockville coach said, “I really don’t know what to think about it. We tried to take one game at a time, I think our schedule is the toughest it’s ever been … maybe it’s an indication that we’re pretty good, but we can also get beat on any given night.”
“It’s hard to imagine what we’ve accomplished,” Lane Mahurin, the coach’s son, added, “but I’m sure we’ll appreciate it in the future.”
“That’s a really good team we lost to,” Ridge pointed out. “They made some shots too.”
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (71) — Turner 8-12 5-5 24, P.Tofaute 1-2 0-0 2, Herrin 3-7 2-2 8, Gregory 5-11 1-1 12, Steward 1-7 0-0 3, Shipley 2-5 0-0 6, S.Tofaute 5-9 5-6 16, Stanley 0-1 0-0 0, Newton 0-0 0-0 0, Minnett 0-0 0-0 0, Wolfe 0-1 0-0 0, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 FG, 13-15 FT, 71 TP.
ROCKVILLE (83) — Mahurin 10-14 15-18 35, McFall 5-14 7-7 21, Waltz 2-5 2-6 7, R.Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Ulrich 5-9 1-2 16, K.Wilkey 1-3 2-2 4, J.Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Paddock 0-0 0-0 0, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Thurman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 FG, 27-35 FT, 83 TP.
Terre Haute South 13 27 12 19 — 71
Rockville 14 17 25 27 — 83
3-point shooting — THS 8-21 (Turner 3-3, Shipley 2-5, S.Tofaute 1-2, Gregory 1-5, Steward 1-6), Rockville 10-25 (Ulrich 5-8, McFall 4-13, Waltz 1-3, Mahurin 0-1). Total fouls — THS 29, Rockville 14. Fouled out — Turner, P.Tofaute, Steward, Herrin. Turnovers — THS 16, Rockville 17. Rebounds — THS 27 (Turner 7, P.Tofaute 4, Herrin 4, Gregory 4, Steward 3, Newton, Minnett, Wolfe, team 2), Rockville 36 (Waltz 11, Ulrich 6, Mahurin 5, McFall 3, J.Brown 3, team 8). Assists — THS 14 (Steward 7, P.Tofaute 2, Gregory 2, Shipley, S.Tofaute, Wolfe), Rockville 19 (K.Wilkey 7, McFall 5, J.Brown 3, Ulrich 2, Mahurin, Waltz). Steals — THS 13 (Turner 5, P.Tofaute 3, Steward 3, Herrin, Gregory), Rockville 7 (McFall 2, K.Wilkey 2, Mahurin, Ulrich, J.Brown). Blocks — THS 1 (Gregory), Rockville 3 (Mahurin 3).
JV — Terre Haute South 39 (Da’Shon Heyen 14), Rockville 26 (Tyler Rapp 8, Isaiah Thurman 7).
Next — Rockville (22-0) plays Riverton Parke at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Class A North Vermillion Sectional. Terre Haute South (9-13) plays at 6 p.m. next Friday at the Class 4A Mooresville Sectional against Mooresville or Northview.
High School
Rockville holds off determined Terre Haute South Braves to cap 22-0 regular-season record
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Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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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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