Statement made: Bloomington North tops 100 in sectional opener with Mooresville

GREENWOOD, Ind. — The Bloomington North Cougars heard the noise.

Just under a year ago, the program was seven points from a trip to the state finals, taking eventual 4A champion Cathedral to the wire in a 61-55 loss. Entering this year's tournament, the Cougars didn't even crack the IBCA's final Top 20, nor the AP's 4A Top 10. Bloomington North needed to make a statement during its sectional opener with Mooresville.

It did just that.

Delivering the most ever by the Cougars in a tournament game, they advanced over the Pioneers 101-58.

"Offensively, we played with so much confidence," Cougars coach Jason Speer said. "Everybody had confidence in each other, we trusted each other, we moved the ball well. It just seemed like whenever we had those open shots, we were making them."

Daniels' career night sparks run

The opening quarter of action displayed the potential of an interesting matchup. Both struggled out of the gates, but with four minutes left, it turned into offensive fireworks. Each trading buckets on the way to a 25-16 score.

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Then Dawan Daniels came alive.

With JQ Roberts being a primary focus for the Pioneers, the senior took it upon himself to make things happen. Daniels poured in 16 points, 12 from behind the arc, in the second quarter to notch 21 at the half. There was a stretch where Daniels knocked down five consecutive 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter.

"We know some of the funny business, like they were loading up on JQ and his drives, and some of our other guys... We know that sort of thing is going to happen, and I sort of think that Dawan took that as personal maybe," Speer said. "He was able to walk into some three-point shots and once he got that first one down, it seemed like he ballooned after that."

Daniels finished with a career-high 30 points.

"Saturday at practice, I was feeling myself, shooting the lights out," Daniels said. "If he's (Roberts) not going, I've got to get going. We're not going home yet."

The second half is when Roberts kicked into high gear. He had already amassed 13 at the half, following it up by scoring 16 in the final 16 minutes, most of any Cougar during the span. In all, he contributed 29 points. It was Roberts' ninth consecutive game with at least that many.

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"The win was phenomenal," Roberts said. "Coming out here, we want to play the best that we can. We don't want to leave any points on the board, so we wanted to execute, play how we usually play and come out with the win. It was a great game to have and set the tone for the rest of the week."

Connor O'Guinn scored 12 points for the Cougars, Lucas Vencel added 11 and Luke Lindeman 10. On the Mooresville side, Nick Patterson had a team-high of 17 points and Brevon Burns had a surprising performance off the bench, scoring 12. Wes Reeves added 10.

Mooresville caps winding season

A 12-12 season may not have been the result the Pioneers envisioned given they fared 13-8 in 2022. However, Mooresville had to adjust to three of its leaders from 2022 graduating, including the lead scorer, Zach Woodson.

From that, they managed to excel, producing three double-digit scorers to be a more well-rounded team. Senior Nick Patterson took responsibility as the top scorer, averaging 14.1 points in addition to 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Sophomore AJ DeFur surprised by transitioning into the second option, putting up 12.1 points. Senior Wesley Reeves also upped his game, notching 10.9 points, 3.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

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Despite some impressive statistics, the Mooresville season was filled with almosts. It kept close with Center Grove, Plainfield, Columbus North and Terre Haute South, but it couldn't quite finish the job.

That's not to say the team didn't impress. The Pioneers had solid wins over good teams like Terre Haute North and Bedford North Lawrence, but they couldn't get that signature win. That confidence booster.

Come fall, the program will once again be served in the difficult circumstance of replacing multiple contributing seniors. That, of course, is nothing new. It's how high school basketball operates. The Pioneers will have to find new ways to score. DeFur seems like a good start.

North switches focus to Martinsville

Bloomington North and Martinsville share quite a history. The all-time series is a close one that favors the Cougars 23-19. In the tournament, Bloomington North leads 8-6.

Despite the Cougars having won the last five meetings, they're not taking the matchup lightly. The previous two were decided by 14 total points, with Bloomington North winning 71-60 on Jan. 13 and 59-56 last year.

Plus, Martinsville is playing its best basketball of the season, winning four of its last seven. It defeated the Pioneers 70-64 and took Bloomington South to overtime in a 64-62 defeat in late January.

However, after a 101-point outing, there's no questioning North is playing at its highest level.

"Very good team, very well coached," Speer said. "A lot of the same gameplan as it related to what we had to do against Mooresville. They put five guys on the floor that can do some things. We'll have to be ready."

Looking ahead

Bloomington North will meet Martinsville at Center Grove High School at 7:30 p.m. The game will follow the 6 p.m. matchup between Bloomington South and Center Grove.

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Bloomington North tops 100 in sectional opener with Mooresville