HOOPS ROUNDUP: Kings bombard Panthers in sectional opener

Mar. 1—Lewis Cass had an impressive start to sectional play with a 65-29 win over Pioneer Tuesday at the Class 2A Rochester Sectional.

Tyson Good had 18 points and five assists and shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range to lead the Kings (16-7). Luke Chambers had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. LJ Hillis scored the first eight points of the game and finished with 10. Keaton Lewellen added seven and Haden McClain and Owen Lowe chipped in five apiece. Brody Hillis added four and Trey Johnson chipped in two. The Kings shot 8-of-11 from long range for the game (73%).

Caleb Sweet had nine points to lead the Panthers (5-19). Noah Miller scored six. Drew McKaig and Lucas Perry added five apiece. Gage Harper chipped in four.

Cass coach Kyle Johnson talked with WLHM's Dirk Tocco and Karl Eshelman about his team's strong start.

"That was a big thing we talked about, we wanted to really start the game hot. We really wanted to play the first three minutes of the third quarter well too. I think we did that as well," Johnson said. "LJ Hillis says, hey, I'm going to get you guys started. I think that's a big deal for all the kids in their minds. It took all the pressure off, we're up 8-0, a couple timeouts already in for Pioneer. I'm just proud of the kids. They did what they were supposed to do tonight. We were supposed to win this ballgame and we did it. It was neat to see everybody get a chance to do something well tonight from top to bottom, from one to 11. Eleven guys got to do something today in the game.

"People talk a lot about our height and today it was very evident. Not just being a tall team but using our height. So I was pretty proud of them."

In the regular-season matchup Pioneer played Cass to within 56-42 on Jan. 13 in Royal Center. It was a game the Panthers trailed just 22-18 at halftime.

But Tuesday was a different story. Cass led 21-11 after one, 37-19 at halftime and 56-27 after three.

"We got blitzed tonight," Pioneer coach Darren McKaig said. "Lewis Cass hit outside shots early and often against our zone. Their size advantage caused us to commit so much attention to the paint that we ended up giving up some wide open 3s. Then we tried to cover the 3s better and they killed us inside. We got buried early and couldn't recover.

"They also did a great job guarding Drew and Caleb all night. Their defense gave us very few good opportunities. We took more off-balanced, tough shots than we have all year. I am still proud of our effort and attitude the entire game. These guys never quit all season."

Cass plays Rochester (11-9) at 7:45 p.m. Friday in a semifinal game.

"They're a lot like every team in this sectional. They've had some really good wins and they've had some tough losses," Johnson told the radio. "I'd say the same thing about us. We've had some good wins, some tough losses, up and down. But we're playing them on their home floor. What I like about Rochester, what I've always liked, is they play extremely hard. They'll throw a bunch of different looks at us. Coach Malchow and his crew will throw a bunch of different looks at us and it will be competitive. Wabash probably comes in as the favorite with the best record and Rochester just went to their place and beat them by one. This is a fun sectional to be a part of. I'm excited. We're going to have to really focus the next two days to take care of Rochester on their home floor where they tend to play pretty darn good."

WINAMAC 66, N. MIAMI 48

Winamac (9-15) was too much for North Miami (1-22) in a battle of Warriors in the first game of the Rochester Sectional.

Winamac methodically pulled away, leading 19-13 after one, 32-21 at halftime and 49-36 after three.

John Malchow led Winamac with 23 points and Jayse Bentle added 14.

Landen Hunt had 17 points, six assists and six steals to lead North Miami. Jacob Riley scored 14 points and Brayden Binnion added 13 points and seven boards.

Winamac plays Wabash (16-6) at 6 p.m. Friday in a semifinal game.

FRONTIER 44, CASTON 40

Caston's second-half comeback came up short at the Class A West Central Sectional.

The Comets trailed 15-6 after one quarter and 25-8 at halftime. They outscored the Falcons 20-6 in the third to get to within 31-28 entering the fourth. But their comeback ran out of steam as they were outscored 13-12 in the final stanza.

Caleb Stinson had 16 points and Talon Zeider scored 14 to lead the Comets (8-15). Cain Schanlaub added eight and Rowan Jellison chipped in two.

Dayton Hoover led the Falcons (11-12) with 18 points. Justin Schroeder scored 12 and Drew Turner added eight.

"We dug ourselves a big hole with our rebounding and shooting 17% in the first half," Caston coach Carl Davis said. "Overall we did some good things defensively but we didn't finish the possessions with the rebounds we needed.

"Proud of how our guys came out and fought in the second half. They've done that all season. We were able to speed them up and were much more aggressive attacking the rim offensively. We had some great looks at the rim in the fourth quarter and couldn't seem to get the shots we needed in the lane to fall. This group never quit, just ran out of time. Thankful for the work our seniors have put in and the improvements they have made."

Frontier plays Tri-County (10-12) at 6 p.m. Friday in a semifinal.

CARROLL 80, SEEGER 56

No. 10-ranked Carroll outscored Seeger 31-14 in the fourth quarter to win going away in an opening-round game at the Class 2A Delphi Sectional.

Owen Duff led Carroll (20-4) with 22 points. Chris Huerta and Jake Skinner scored 15 apiece, Austin Kuns had 11 and Griffin Viney had nine. Kuns hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

Carroll advances to face Covington (12-12) at 7:45 p.m. Friday in a semifinal.