PREP ROUNDUP: Cass completes weekend sweep of Heights, Marquette

Dec. 12—It was a big weekend for the Lewis Cass boys basketball team.

The Kings showed the progress they've made over the past year as they recorded a 69-64 win at Hamilton Heights Friday and a 67-55 win over visiting Michigan City Marquette Saturday.

The Kings moved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in Hoosier Conference East Division play with the wins.

In the win over Hamilton Heights (1-5, 0-1), Luke Chambers posted an outstanding performance scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. LJ Hillis rocked his own double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tyson Good was the third Kings scorer in double figures notching 12 points and he added six assists. Keaton Lewellen added six points, four boards and four assists.

The Kings defeated the Huskies for just the third time in the last 16 years and first since the 2016-2017 season when the Kings also won on the road by one point when coached by Jon Kitchel.

Saturday was a community night of sorts for the Kings as Santa Claus was in attendance, there was a chili cook-off, the boosters held a silent auction basket sale and there was also little cheer night.

The Kings also recorded their first home win of the season. They hit 16 of 19 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off Marquette (0-3).

Chambers had another double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Good had 20 points, five boards and four assists. Lewellen was also in double figures with 10 points and he added six rebounds. Hillis added eight points. Haden McClain had six points and five assists. Owen Lowe added three points.

The Kings got off to a slow start but built momentum throughout the game on Good dunks and defensive charges taken by Lowe, Wyatt Loos and Chambers.

Cass hosts Tipton (5-0, 1-0) Friday.

PANTHERS WIN IN 2OT

Pioneer picked up its first win of the season at North Miami Saturday night with a 57-55 win in double overtime.

Drew McKaig had 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Panthers (1-3). Caleb Sweet had a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds. Brayden Erickson had 10 points, five boards and three assists.

The Panthers trailed 12-8 after one and the game was tied 19-all at halftime. The Panthers led 32-24 after three before the Warriors came back to tie it at 41-all at the end of regulation. It was tied 46-all after the first overtime.

"I'm really proud of our guys for gutting this one out," Pioneer coach Darren McKaig said. "We got pretty beat up on Friday night, and then this game was really physical and went to double overtime. Drew McKaig played 39 of the 40 minutes and Caleb Sweet played 35 minutes. There was a total of 51 fouls called in the game.

"We had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but couldn't extend the lead at the foul line. North Miami kept chipping away until they tied it up with under a minute to play. Both overtime periods were close and we finally hit some clutch free throws at the end. Rylahn Toloza and Micah Rans played some great defense in the top of our zone down the stretch."

Pioneer dropped its HNAC opener to Triton 63-31 Friday in Royal Center. McKaig had 13 points, four boards, three assists and three steals. Erickson had 10 points and three steals. Sweet added seven points and five boards.

Triton moved to 3-2 overall. Pioneer travels to LaVille (3-2, 1-0) Friday and hosts Class A No. 10 Argos (3-2) Saturday.

COMETS CLIPPED IN OT

Caston lost in overtime at Frontier Saturday, 52-46.

The Comets led 8-7 after one and 23-22 at halftime. But they scored just one point in the third quarter and trailed 31-24 after three. They outscored Frontier 17-10 in the fourth to tie the game at 41-all and force overtime. Frontier outscored Caston 11-5 in OT.

"Our guys battled through a dry spell scoring the basketball to get the game into overtime," Caston coach Carl Davis said. "When you shoot 34% from the field it doesn't leave much margin for error on the other end of the floor. Frontier deserves credit for knocking shots and free throws down late in the game. We weren't able to apply the pressure we needed to in order to force them into turnovers throughout the game. Obviously a tough result to the game, but another learning opportunity for us as we head into our first conference game. We need to continue to clarify roles and fully pursue them with the urgency required to win games at this level."

Kade Zeider had 14 points to lead the Comets (1-4). Caleb Stinson scored 13, Cain Schanlaub had 10 and Colby Pugh added seven.

Dayton Hoover led the Falcons (1-4) with 23 points. Justin Schroeder added 10. The two teams could meet again in sectional play.

Class 2A No. 3 Carroll recorded a 68-43 win at Caston Friday. Chris Huerta scored 19 points to lead the Cougars in the win. Also for Carroll (4-0), Griffin Viney scored 15 points, Jake Skinner had 13 and Austin Kuns had nine.

The Cougars led by five (23-18) after the first quarter, by 10 (37-27) at halftime and by 16 (51-35) after the third quarter.

Schanlaub and Pugh had 11 points each to lead the Comets. Zeider and Stinson added nine apiece.

"Carroll got off to a great start. They are every bit as good as advertised," Davis said. "They scored on their first seven possessions. Our guys battled and stayed in the game despite their tough start. I thought our guys were aggressive and got great looks when we took care of the basketball. Carroll is so good at capitalizing on mistakes. We have to take better care of the basketball moving forward. In spurts we played well, but we have to work on preparing and competing consistently all week in order to compete for four quarters."

Caston hosts Knox (1-3, 0-1 HNAC) on Friday.

LAVILLE EDGES WINAMAC

Winamac dropped a 48-42 decision to visiting LaVille Friday in the HNAC opener for both teams.

The Warriors fell in a physical contest and shooting woes and turnovers proved costly down the stretch.

John Malchow had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors (0-5). Jayse Bentle scored eight points. Sawyer Depoy had seven points and seven boards. Brendan Hines added four points, four boards and four assists.

Collin Czarnecki had 23 points, seven boards and four steals to lead the Lancers (3-2).

The Warriors host Culver (3-2, 1-0) on Tuesday.

PIONEER 63, LAPORTE 14

Class 2A No. 12 Pioneer routed visiting LaPorte Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers led 18-2 after one and 36-2 at halftime. They led 53-8 after three.

Ashlynn Brooke had 19 points to lead the Panthers (8-1). Makenna Strycker scored 11. Kylie Attinger and Paula Collado Fernandez had 10 apiece. Belle Blickenstaff added six.

Pioneer travels to Caston Tuesday.

CASTON 48, TRITON 15

Class A No. 3 Caston trounced Triton Saturday afternoon in Fulton.

Isabel Scales had 12 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and six steals to lead the Comets (11-0, 3-0 HNAC. Addison Zimpleman scored 12 points. Bailey Harness had nine points and five steals. Macee Hinderlider scored six points and Annie Harsh added five. Kinzie Mollenkopf added four points and nine boards.

Caston led 10-2 after one, 19-4 at halftime and 35-11 after three.

Caston hosts Pioneer Tuesday.

LAVILLE 46, LOGAN 44

LaVille defeated visiting Logansport on a buzzer beater Saturday night.

"They had the ball side out of bounds on their end with 7.7 left," Logan coach Chris Keisling said. "We rebounded the ball off a field goal attempt and it got knocked loose, they got it and put it in at the buzzer. Tough loss against a darn good LaVille team."

Kendra Sutton had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Berries (4-7). Gabby Richie had 12 points and five assists. Lydia Goad added 12 points.

Heaylyn Kwiatkowski scored 17 and Lucy Sherk had 15 to lead the Lancers (9-2).

Logan defeated visiting Muncie Central 62-42 Friday to improve to 3-2 in NCC play. Richie had 27 points, eight boards and six steals. Goad had 14 points and seven boards. Ryann Wylie had eight points and three steals and Kellyn Cripe added seven points and three steals. Sutton added five points and six boards.

Gabby Douglass led the Bearcats (4-6, 2-2) with 14 points.

Logan hosts Lafayette Jeff Friday and travels to Maconaquah Saturday as both nights are girls-boys doubleheaders.

LAVILLE 54, WINAMAC 27

LaVille was too much for Winamac Friday night.

Brooke Edison led the Lancers (2-0 HNAC) with 18 points.

Maggie Smith and Hailey Attinger had five apiece for Winamac (1-10, 0-3). Lily Bennett and Lauren Bruce each added four.

CARROLL 71, MANCHESTER 48

Alli Harness scored 33 points and Madison Wagner 20 as the Class 2A No. 7 Cougars (10-1) raced out to a big lead and never let the Squires get close Saturday. Carroll led 29-7 after a quarter and 39-17 at halftime.

Emily Justice and Regan Gleason scored seven each for the Cougars. Wagner took 10 rebounds for a double-double and Harness and Jamilah Tilman took six boards each. Harness had seven assists and Wagner five. Harness and Wagner combined for nine steals.

Brookelynn Buzzard scored 25 points for Manchester (5-7).

CLINTON CENTRAL SUPER DUALS

Cass went 4-1 on the day with wins over Attica (52-30), Eastbrook (60-18), Taylor (76-6), Indianapolis Lutheran (42-36) and a loss to Clinton Central (59-21).

Jensen Burrous went 5-0 on the day for the Kings at 138/145. Aeneas Keles went 4-0 at 145. Jack Miller (113), Max Grist (120), Isaiah Nunez (132), Montez Burns (170) and Lane Collins (220/285) went 4-1. Levi Bell (106), Nick Park (160) and Michael Banner (195) went 3-2.

Cass (9-3) travels to Manchester Tuesday.

CASTON SUPER SIX

Austin Dague and Jabez Yarber both went 4-1 on the day to lead the Comets.