TERRE HAUTE — The season has ended for all but three high school boys basketball teams in the Wabash Valley who will continue postseason play this week, buoyed by success on the courts last week.
North Central and Sullivan will compete in regionals on Saturday in Indiana and Robinson puts its bid for another trip to the finals on the line tonight in Illinois.
Close games marked sectional play at all sites in the area last week, including three of the four games I covered at the Class A White River Valley Sectional at Switz City.
I covered my first sectional games at this sectional 50 years ago and there’s little difference between then and now except that consolidation and changes in class have changed the lineup somewhat.
As was true 50 years ago, the teams in the field meet in the regular season and fans don’t have to travel a great distance to watch the games. All five of the teams in this year’s field will be in the same conference (SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference) next year.
This year, Shakamak and North Central shared the final championship in the Tri-River Conference while the Lakers and WRV were co-champs of the SWIAC.
North Central won two close games to earn its second sectional title in four years and will face Indianapolis Lutheran in the regional at Martinsville.
The Thunderbirds had to come from 10 points down in the final quarter to beat Clay City. As coach Ryan Kamman noted, “Clay City played a great game. We found a way to win … both nights.”
North Central scored 34 points in the final period to pull out the victory. That could be a tournament school record for the T-Birds.
Shakamak and WRV both were ranked in the final Class A poll and battled for two overtimes before the Lakers prevailed to advance to the championship game.
Saturday’s final game went down to the wire with Ethan Stanifer hitting a free throw with 1.8 seconds left for the winning point in NC’s 36-35 victory.
And so it went in Greene County.
Sullivan, like North Central, won two close games to win the 3A sectional at Owen Valley and will face Boonville in the regional. The Pioneers won their first sectional in 26 years.
Bloomington South, meanwhile, won its 48th straight game and can tie the all-time record of 50 set by Lawrence North by winning another regional.
The Panthers will face Evansville Harrison in a rematch while Martinsville faces Jeffersonville in a matchup of two surprise winners, with Jeff sidelining powerful New Albany.
• • •
• Tom-Cattin’ It — Mo Moriarity has resigned as the football coach at Carmel High School to take a position on the staff at Indiana for the second time, this time under Bill Lynch.
Moriarity coached at Bloomington South for 15 years and had great success before taking a job at IU. He had a 58-14 record in five seasons at Carmel and took four teams to the championship game and won one title.
• Gary Duncan announced before the season began that this season would be his last as the boys basketball coach at Southridge and that season ended last week when the Raiders lost in the sectional.
Duncan has been a head coach for 21 seasons, 19 at Southridge, and won his 300th game this year.
One of his nephews is Taylor Duncan of Marshall, Ill., who had stellar seasons in football and basketball for the Lions and will play college football at Eastern Illinois.
• A.J. Graves has been released by PBG Basket in Poland. The former WRV and Butler ace played in 16 games with the team, averaging 7.8 points.
• Ben Davis girls and Bloomington South boys were the only Indiana teams in the USA Today rankings last week and the Giants had no trouble repeating as Class 4A champs.
• Dave Boos has resigned as women’s volleyball coach at Ball State. Assistant Marci Peniata is the interim coach.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
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