EVANSVILLE — Who among us thought this week on the boys basketball schedule may not deliver much big-picture importance? Slowly raises hand and looks for others.
I know you likely thought it too.
This past week around Evansville delivered a shock to the system. I’m not kidding. The Southern Indiana Athletic Conference title race received a major shake up. The Pocket Athletic Conference top tier has dwindled to a pair of contenders. The rest of February got much more interesting following the events of Thursday.
Let’s not waste time and unpack what transpired.
Boonville gets the nod for Team of the Week
The Pioneers haven’t won a conference championship in 25 years. This past week brings that possibility into view.
Boonville continued its post-Christmas push with a pair of PAC victories. First was a 43-41 win against Gibson Southern in a rescheduled date on Tuesday. Next arguably earned the above distinction around Evansville: a 67-63 triumph at Heritage Hills. The Pioneers trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter.
Time to take Boonville (14-3) seriously if you still had doubts.
“We had a couple of games early where we let adversity affect us,” Boonville coach Jason Gansman said. “So we really promoted on huddling up and calming down everybody after every possession. Not worry about the score, but the next play. We were behind on a lot of their actions. We moved some lineups around and tried to be a little more aggressive at the top of our press. Just a fun game to be a part of.”
How did the Pioneers pull it off? I’m still asking myself. The first three quarters were mostly sided to Heritage Hills. My thoughts were shifted to what the Patriots could do moving forward this season. Then the fourth quarter happened.
Boonville scored 30 points over those final eight minutes. A full-court press gave the defense a jolt. The effort was aligned with what we had seen much of this season. Jaxon McKain had 17 points (12 in the final quarter) and 10 rebounds. Bradyn Egli added 15 with his own fourth-quarter push. Logan Strahle arguably changed the momentum with his energy off the bench.
Perhaps the difference was Grant Davis. The senior scored a season-high 15 points with four treys. For comparison, Davis was averaging only 2.3 points per game following a win at Central on Jan. 20.
“We’ve seen it in practice over and over,” Gansman said. “He actually said, ‘Coach, are you sure you want me to keep shooting?’ I said, it’s in the rhythm. It’s your shot. Have confidence and let it fly. I mean look at (the results).”
The conversation now shifts forward. It starts with a trip to Princeton on Tuesday. The winner sits in prime position for the PAC championship: the Tigers still visit Heritage Hills (Feb. 24), and the Pioneers’ final six games are PAC opponents. That matchup in Princeton is undoubtely the biggest domino though.
“We all want it more than the other team,” Davis said. “We have momentum going on our side. (Winning at Heritage Hills) proves we’re a full team. Anybody on our team can play.”
The biggest individual result? Castle 66, Bosse 61
This made me drop everything when the score arrived on my phone.
These teams had been on different trajectories, specifically in the SIAC standings. But the Knights delivered their best performance yet. Four players finished in double figures: Matt Dillman 16, Cade Baker 15, Charlie Riat 14 and Bo Hurt 10. Castle had its highest scoring output of the season and its best adjusted field goal percentage in nearly a month.
Give credit where it’s due. The Knights were the better team on Thursday.
The bigger impact comes in the SIAC. North stands alone in first place at 5-0, one game better than Bosse and Harrison at 4-1. Reitz (5-2) and Jasper (4-2) also remain within striking distance. Of course, this might be for nothing — North hosts Bosse on Tuesday. A victory by the former presents a real path to its first title since 2004. A win from the latter opens a wide path of possibilities, notably a tie at the top.
I doubt many saw that coming a week ago.
My thoughts on high school hoops at Ford Center
This turned out to be a fun high school basketball game. Isn’t that what everyone actually wants?
Memorial defeated Castle 58-56 in the first high school game at Ford Center in nearly six years. Neither will win the SIAC championship. But it was an experience both schools deemed worthy, especially Memorial as the home team, in accepting the challenges and logistics involved. The bonus was a competitive matchup. Grant Rogier scored a go-ahead bucket with under 15 seconds left, before Castle missed multiple attempts to win or tie just before the horn.
Maxx Anslinger had a game-high 21 points for the Tigers. Carter Bobe led the Knights with 16.
Again, the result was secondary. Memorial moved its home game downtown for the experience. Despite being so cavernous that any crowd can feel small, estimated attendance of around 2,000 was more than a typical Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game in March. I’ll go on record for behing a fan if more games are played there, if even they aren’t annual.
Of course, there was discourse online when the game was announced this week. Mostly around this not involving teams having stronger seasons. I’d love to see as many people as possible in the building for great basketball too. The only response: if any two schools are willing to take on the logistics, much like Memorial and Castle were, I hope they make the call.
Le’ts just hope it’s not another six years from now.
Other thoughts from this past week in boys basketball
Most of the attention was deservedly on the girls’ basketball sectional. But let’s empty the notebook:
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What we learned from Evansville area high school boys hoops, Feb. 2-7
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
