Tindley gets another shot in City tournament semifinal. 'It's going to be a dogfight.'

For a second consecutive year, Tindley will play in the City tournament semifinals. That is no small accomplishment for a program that only started playing in the City six years ago.

“We’re excited,” Tindley coach Omar Dillard said after his third-seeded Tigers defeated No. 6 Heritage Christian 70-60 in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. “It’s a great feeling to get back downtown. Tech gave us a whooping last time we played them so we have to put a game plan together so we can beat them this time. But we’re excited. Two years in a row – that has not happened at Tindley.”

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Tindley (9-4) has a tough assignment ahead, facing second-seeded Tech (14-2) in its home gym at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the second semifinal. Top-seeded Cathedral, a 77-40 winner over No. 9 Washington, will play fifth-seeded Crispus Attucks at 6 p.m. in the first semifinal. Attucks knocked off No. 4 Bishop Chatard, 61-59, in Thursday's quarterfinal.

It will be the second meeting between Tindley and Tech. The Titans won the first meeting, 80-64.

Tindley defeated Tech last year in a City quarterfinal, 77-68, before bowing out to eventual champion Cathedral, 85-64, in the semifinal.

“We have to stop them from going on big runs,” Dillard said. “They get really fun to watch and start throwing lobs and getting going. They have really good players. But we have to minimize that. If we may not shut them down, but if we can take some of that away, that’s really going to be our big focus.”

Class A ninth-ranked Tindley has good players, too, starting with 6-6 senior Aaron Humphrey, who scored a team-high 20 points in Thursday’s win over Heritage Christian. Humphrey, who came into the tournament averaging a team-leading 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, is one of the area’s best players regardless of class size. He started Thursday’s game by drilling a pair of 3-pointers.

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But opponents are not able to focus too much on Humphrey. The bulk of last year’s 18-10 regional championship team returned this season, including 6-5 juniors Jayden and Jeff Pinkston. Arlondo Hall, a 5-7 junior, has also been playing some of his best basketball recently, including a 24-point game in a loss to Lafayette Jeff.

“This is my second year here now and I think we all trust each other more, we know each other’s tendencies and how to talk to each other,” Humphrey said. “I think us getting over that hump this year is really going to help us.”

Tindley won a Class A state championship in 2016-17, led by now-Purdue guard Eric Hunter Jr. The Tigers made their deepest tournament run since that season last year, winning the sectional over Lutheran and the regional at Martinsville with wins over Shakamak and Southwestern of Shelbyville.

But the Tigers were blitzed by Class A state champion Barr-Reeve in the semistate, falling 72-25. Tindley trailed by eight points at halftime before Barr-Reeve ran away with a 34-1 run.

“It was a bad feeling,” Humphrey said. “We don’t want that to happen again. I feel like this is the year.”

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Malachi Coaster, a senior guard averaging 3.3 points going into the tournament, scored a season-high 18 points off the bench in the win over Heritage Christian. The Eagles (6-7) were led by Purdue recruit Myles Colvin’s 33 points. Colvin scored all 15 of Heritage Christian’s points in the fourth quarter.

“We tried to keep him from getting going in transition but he did anyway,” Dillard said of Colvin. “We probably did a better job on him last time we played them (a 70-48 win on Jan. 4). We tried to make him go to his off hand, but I think it was just more of him, I think, than us. He’s strong, super athletic and can shoot it.”

Tindley’s gym, which seats about 250 spectators at capacity, is a big home-court advantage. The sound bounces off the walls, creating a noisy environment despite the size. Tindley is 8-0 at home this season with wins over Heritage Christian (twice), Lawrence North and Decatur Central.

“We love playing at home,” Dillard said. “We try to protect our house. When people come to little ol’ Tindley I think they start looking around and say, ‘I don’t know about this place.’ But it works to our advantage because it gets loud. You know when we’re doing well – I’ll put it like that.”

The Tigers will look to take that home magic on the road with them on Saturday at Tech, where the Titans are a perfect 8-0. It will be a tall task. Tech is looking to win its first City tournament since the 2015-16 season.

“We have to chase them off the (3-point line) and we have to rebound,” Humphrey said. “They are a pretty athletic team, but we are too. I think it’s going to be a dogfight.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: High school basketball: Tindley gets a shot at Tech in City tourney