BOYS BB ROUNDUP: Panthers turn back Red Devils; Cass, Mac also post wins

Feb. 18—Western's boys basketball team beat West Lafayette 56-42 in the Hoosier Conference's ninth-place game Friday night at Richard R. Rea Gymnasium.

The Panthers outscored the Red Devils 19-3 in the second quarter to turn an early deficit into a 28-18 lead. Mitchell Dean scored seven points in the quarter and Ian Thurston and Carter Biggs scored six apiece.

The Panthers (12-9) led 38-29 after the third quarter. Dean scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Panthers seal the win.

Dean finished with a game-high 19 points. Thurston scored 11 points, Hudson Biggs had 10 points and Carter Biggs had nine.

Donovan Loudermill led the Red Devils (11-10) with 14 points.

Western went 2-0 vs. West Lafayette in the regular season. The teams could meet again in the Frankfort Sectional.

RENSSELAER 63, TIPTON 57

The Bombers beat the Class 2A No. 9-ranked Blue Devils in the Hoosier Conference's championship game at Tipton.

CASS 56, B. CENTRAL 49

L.J. Hillis scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as the Kings won the Hoosier Conference's third-place game in Walton.

Tyson Good added 16 points and Luke Chambers scored 11 for the Kings (13-7).

Hunter Sisson had 19 points and Aaron Lambeck added 12 to lead the Bison (14-7).

BLACKFORD 58, EASTERN 51

Eastern led 29-25 at halftime, but Blackford rallied for a 39-all tie after the third quarter. From there, the teams traded blows in the final quarter before the Bruins broke away in the final 2:00.

Dawson Hundley led Blackford (8-14) with 36 points. The senior guard came into his final home game averaging 16.3 points.

Colton Lindsay led the Comets (10-10) with 18 points, including 16 in the first half. Corbin Snyder made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points and Cayden Calloway scored 13 points.

"Blackford played very strong defense and Hundley was on fire from beginning to end," Eastern coach Brad Lindsay said. "Our guys practice hard and give us all they have. We have lost four heartbreaking games in the past three weeks."

The previous heartbreakers for the Comets were a one-point loss to Rossville on Jan. 27, a double-OT loss to Taylor on Feb. 2 and a three-point loss at the buzzer to Elwood on Feb. 10.

"We played our second game without our leading rebounder, 6-4 junior Eli Edwards, who is out for the season with an injury," Lindsay said. "Other players are stepping up and giving us quality minutes as we have to play differently without Eli. Our guys are fighters."

MAC 73, MANCHESTER 68

Maconaquah beat visiting Manchester, ending the Squires' bid for a share of the Three Rivers Conference title. Manchester needed to beat Mac and then beat Whitko next week to tie Tippecanoe Valley for the title.

The Mac-Manchester matchup featured two of the state's top-10 scoring offenses. The Squires led 23-19 after the first quarter, it was 37-all at halftime and the Braves had a 58-56 edge after the third quarter.

A.J. Kelly led the Braves (14-6 overall, 5-3 TRC) with 20 points. Josiah Ball scored 18 points, including 10 in the third quarter, Bauer Maple had 17 points and Ethan Zeiser, M.J. Ellis and Fuddy Kile had six apiece.

Ethan Hendrix led the Squires (15-5, 6-2) with 20 points.

ROCHESTER 55, PERU 52

Peru's bid for a share of the TRC title came to an end with the road loss. Peru needed to beat Rochester and then beat Wabash next Friday to tie Tippecanoe Valley for the title.

Peru had a 13-7 lead after the opening quarter, but Rochester controlled the middle quarters for a 44-37 lead. The Zebras held on down the stretch for the upset win.

Luke Hunting led the Zebras (11-8, 5-3 TRC) with 18 points and Aidan Smith backed him with 17 points.

Alex Ross led the Bengal Tigers (13-6, 6-2) with 18 points. Matthew Roettger scored 17 points and Gavin Eldridge had 14.

CL. PRAIRIE 66, TC 51

Clinton Prairie wrapped up at least a share of third place in the Hoosier Heartland Conference with the win. The Gophers (11-9 overall) finished 6-2 in league play.

Trenton Patz led Tri-Central (5-16, 1-7) with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Landon Grant scored 14 points and Stetson Newcom and Drake Ramseyer had six points each.

"First off, credit Prairie on their preparation. While we got the ball where we wanted a lot of the time, they did a nice job of forcing our 3-point shots 3 and 4 feet off the line. While we can hit from there, it's definitely not what we want," TC coach Cam Hindman said.

"Patz had a tremendous game despite being triple teamed whenever he caught the ball and gave Prairie all kinds of problems. We did a good job finding him on the offensive end most of the night."

Hindman noted the play of backups Layton Henderson and Logan Younce as another highlight.

"The game was much closer than the final score reflects but in the end our 15 turnovers were the difference," he said.