Mishawaka moves into Class 4A Sectional title game with win over South Bend Riley

LAPORTE — A quick start gave Mishawaka all the momentum it needed.

The Cavemen made their first six shots and sped to an early 17-5 lead. The lead stayed double digits the rest of the night as the Cavemen dispatched Riley, 71-58.

The victory moved Mishawaka (19-6) into the Class 4A, Sectional 3 championship against Michigan City (18-6), who held off host LaPorte, 79-64. The contest will be Monday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.

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Mishawaka did very little wrong in the first half, as the lead stretched to 20 by halftime.

“We took care of the ball early, and we hit some big shots in the first half,” said Mishawaka coach Bodie Bender. “We limited the turnovers against their pressure, which helped.”

Riley posted 13 wins in the regular season, but couldn’t get untracked offensively Saturday.

“We didn’t compete from the start, and the moment was too big,” said Riley coach Alex Daniel. "But our kids fought back hard all season.”

The Wildcats continued to fight in the second half, as a pair of steals ignited an 11-0 run that put Mishawaka’s lead to 50-35 late in the third quarter.

But baskets from offensive rebounds by Cooper Pritchett and Brady Fisher pushed Mishawaka’s lead back to 19 before the teams emptied their benches.

The Cavemen, who shot 59 percent from the field for the game, placed four in double figures, led by Arthur Jones with 21 points. Fisher added 17 on 8-for-9 shooting from the field, while Pritchett added 13 points and Rasauun Johnson added 11 points.

Riley, which finished the season 13-10, was led by Brandon Williams, who came off the bench to score 18 points. Payton Baird tallied 14 points and Mancell Hill added 11 points.

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Mishawaka 71, Riley 58

RILEY: Payton Baird 6-10 0-0 14, Kishawn Wright 1-4 2-4 4, Marvin Schindler 3-15 1-2 9, Caleb Francis 0-4 0-0 0, Mancell Hill 4-9 0-0 11, Brandon Williams 6-13 3-3 18, Joshua Harmon 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 21-56 6-9 58.

MISHAWAKA: Jackson Snyder 3-6 0-0 6, Cooper Pritchett 5-5 3-4 13, Rasauun Johnson 5-6 1-2 11, Maddux Yohe 0-1 0-0 0, Arthur Jones 7-19 3-4 21, Brady Fisher 8-9 1-3 17, Anthony Nelson 1-3 0-0 3, Ace Troyer 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29-49 8-13 71.

Three-pointers: Riley 10-28 (Hill 3-5, Williams 3-9, Baird 2-4, Schindler 2-8, Francis 0-2), Mishawaka 5-10 (Jones 4-7, Nelson 1-1, Snyder 0-2). Rebounds: Riley 18 (Baird 8), Mishawaka 31 (Pritchett 7). Assists: Riley 6 (Baird 3), Mishawaka 12 (Jones 4). Steals: Riley 9 (Williams 2), Mishawaka 6 (Fisher 2). Total fouls: Riley 15, Mishawaka 9. Turnovers: Riley 14, Mishawaka 18. Blocked shots: Francis 2, Fisher, Yohe.

Fast start lifts Michigan City past LaPorte

In the night’s first game, Michigan City withstood a second-half charge from the host Slicers to advance. Paced by two thunderous dunks from Briton Franklin, the Wolves scored the first 10 points of the game and built an 11-point lead in the first half.

LaPorte found the range from behind the arc and stormed back to take a 43-41 lead late in the third quarter on two free throws from Kyle Kirkham.

But the fourth quarter belonged to Jamie Hodges, Michigan City’s point guard. He scored 10 of his 18 points in the last period and finished with seven rebounds and seven assists, as the Wolves scored 28 points in the final stanza to move to Monday’s final. Franklin led the Wolves (18-6) with 22 points, while Jameer Nelson added 17 points.

Kirkham led the Slicers with 27 points, and Rylan Kiezkowski added 15 for LaPorte, which concluded the season 17-7.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA boys basketball Class 4A LaPorte Sectional semifinal games