NEW CASTLE – Don’t take it for granted.
That was Mt. Vernon coach Joe Bradburn’s message after Luke Ertel’s 33-point performance in the Marauders’ 62-51 win over Northview in the first game of the Henry Community Health Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday at New Castle Fieldhouse.
The Purdue-bound point guard not only carried the scoring load but led the 4A seventh-ranked Marauders (7-1) with 10 rebounds and five assists. It took a big effort from Ertel and the rest of the Mt. Vernon team to shake pesky 3A No. 3 Northview (5-1).
“He’s a gamer,” Bradburn said of Ertel. “Not only that, he prepares and he has such confidence in what he does because he’s also the hardest worker I’ve ever coached. He does things on his own from diet to workouts to training. He prepares to get his mind and body in the right position.”
Ertel put Mt. Vernon in position to play for a Hall of Fame Classic championship for the second time (the Marauders won the 2009 event). Mt. Vernon will play 4A second-ranked Crown Point (4-0), a 76-65 winner over Silver Creek in the second game, at about 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday night.
When asked how he planned to slow down Ertel, Crown Point coach Clint Swan joked he would yell, “Miss it! Miss it!”
“That’s about all I got,” Swan said. “He’s a really special talent. We’re going to have our hands full tonight. I think our guys are excited for the challenge. Maybe I’m not so much because I know it’s going to be tough but I’m glad we won and we’re getting to play for the championship.”
Crown Point put on a suffocating defensive effort against 3A second-ranked Silver Creek (7-1, which was unable to overcome 26 turnovers, including 18 from its starting backcourt. Still, the Dragons stayed in the game, going on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 50-all early in the fourth quarter as Richmond commit Dane Caldwell came to life.
But the Bulldogs had an answer for every Silver Creek run, quickly answering with a 6-0 spurt to take control again. Illinois-Chicago commit Dikembe Shaw led Crown Point with 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals and Bellarmine commit Mason Darrell added 18 points.
“I didn’t expect our backcourt to have 18 turnovers,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “It’s really uncharacteristic of us. A lot of that is a credit to Crown Point. Their defense is really good. They did a really good job of getting up into us and forcing us to make bad decisions. But you aren’t going to beat anybody good with 26 turnovers. We almost did. We got close. But way too many errors.”
Silver Creek will play Northview in the consolation game at 6 p.m.
Crown Point is playing in the Hall of Fame Classic for the first time in program history. Swan, who is in his 20th season at Crown Point and 29th season overall, grew up going to the Hall of Fame Classic.
“I came to these when I was a kid,” said Swan, who graduated from Rensselaer Central. “I’d come to watch. I wasn’t good enough to ever play in one. But I always wanted to coach in it. I think there was some bad timing in past years (to get invited), but we had a group this year and were able to get asked. It’s a huge honor to be here.”
Swan has a team that looks the part of a 4A contender. The Bulldogs won 43 games combined the past two seasons, winning 4A regional titles both years. But Fishers blocked Crown Point’s path in the semistate both times. This group, even beyond Division I signees Shaw and Darrell, looks equipped to make a deep run. At different times in Tuesday’s game, Bryce Peters (seven points, six steals, four assists), Kingston Rhodes (12 points, four assists, four steals), Jack Lux (five points, a key 3-pointer) and Michael Wilson (four points, three steals) all made big plays.
“I’m terrible at comparing past teams,” Swan said. “But I do think our balance and depth makes us a tough matchup. It’s a finger in the dam. Last game, our leading scorer was Reid Kaegi, who came in off the bench and made four threes. Those contributions from bench guys make a big difference.”
Mt. Vernon is a little different type of team than it was even a year ago. Ertel has far less experience around him other than 6-8 junior Max Vise, who finished with five points and seven rebounds in the win over Northview. Other players are learning to fill bigger roles, including 6-4 senior Jack Guerre, who finished with nine points and three rebounds.
It took all of those contributions – and some – to shake a Northview team that was led by 23 points, seven rebounds and five steals from Quinn Lewis. Among the spectators was 2025 Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins, who was home on break from UConn.
“Bradburn said he’d never coached in this in his 25 years in coaching,” Ertel said. “I realized it was a really big deal. You can’t take it for granted. It felt kind of like a playoff game and the next one will be even bigger.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Can Crown Point slow down Ertel? Hall of Fame Classic championship set
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
