Only 4 teams remain in the Marion County championship, and they face off tonight – Ben Davis vs. #1 Lawrence North, Pike vs. #3 Lawrence Central. Prep Ball Stars breaks down the last two days:
Ben Davis (5-7) vs. Lawrence North (12-0)
Ben Davis has had a good week so far despite losing leading scorer Kai Steinman (16.2 points) to transfer. They haven’t missed a beat and got a big 62-58 win over Franklin Central in the quarterfinals to avenge an earlier season loss. The Giants are resilient.
“We are not going to go away and will keep fighting”, said head coach Don Carlisle.
It will take by far their best game of the season against Lawrence North with Mr. Basketball candidate Tony Perkins and top juniors DJ Hughes and Shamar Avance on the other side. Fight is one thing. More talent is another. I’ll take LN to go to 13-0 and move to the championship – 72-58.
Pike (11-2) vs. Lawrence Central (13-1)
These two teams battled to a 65-63 thriller (won by LC) last month. Pike has reeled off 5 straight wins since, including wins over Top 10 ranked Fishers and Warren Central. Most are awaiting a Lawrence North/Lawrence Central re-match. Can the Red Devils foil the plan? To do so, senior guard Davion Bailey is going to have to play lights out as well as get strong contributions from 6’5″ point guard JJ Louden and 6’5″ forward Noah Gordon. But the Bears are strapped with two Mr. Basketball candidates in Kansas State signee Nijel Pack and Louisville commit D’Andre Davis. Both have been slowed by injuries the last 30 days. Sophomore D’Ante Davis (brother of D’Andre) gives them another high major talent. As game as I know Pike will be tonight, I like LC to move to the championship – 66-60 Bears.
The Championship – Lawrence vs. Lawrence Part II
Lawrence North snatched Lawrence Central’s #1 spot in their building in an 83-73 win last month, and they did it convincingly. They hit the Bears hard with drives, dunks and they did while flexing. Can Lawrence Central hit back? The winner of this game will be the #1 team in the state, and player who leads their team to victory likely also takes the lead in the race for Mr. Basketball. Lawrence North is playing with a lot of confidence but so is Lawrence Central. Tough call. Flip a coin. Me? I’ll take Lawrence to exact some revenge in a thriller – 71-68.
