NEW CASTLE — Nobody was more amped up for the sectional title game than Lucas Bragg.
The senior guard for Delta boys basketball came ready to play, and he made it clear from the jump by knocking down his first three 3-pointers. He had some dazzling layups, some impossible assists and brought a unique intensity to the Eagles, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he constantly hyped up his teammates and celebrated each momentum shifting play with maximum emotion.
So when Delta took down archrival Yorktown, 56-48, to win the Class 3A Sectional 24 championship on Saturday, March 7, it was only fitting that Bragg was the first Eagle to touch the trophy.
“I’ll be honest, this one feels a little different,” Bragg said. “We’ve got a really young group. I’m the only senior that really gets any playing time. No offense to the others, because they’re a big part of this team too, but me being able to lead this team and teach them the ways of how to win, which is what’s big in this program, it really means a lot to me to see us come out on top tonight.”
The win marked Delta’s fourth consecutive sectional title — the first sectional four-peat in school history. The Eagles came into this season looking to replace four of their five starters from last year’s regional-winning team with Bragg as the only returner. With such limited varsity experience on the roster, the Eagles took plenty of lumps as they played through a very tough schedule, finishing the regular season 13-10.
But as is usually the case with Mark Detwiler-coached teams, it all came together just in time for the postseason.
“When you put so many new faces together, you don’t want to say you overachieve or anything like that, but just the way they came together,” Detweiler said. “To me, that’s what made it so fun as a coach. We’ve had some really high highs throughout the season, and then we’d have a really humbling loss, but that’s where growth comes.”
That growth was on full display as the Eagles’ zone defense stymied Yorktown’s offense throughout the game. The Tigers’ leading scorer — junior guard Mason Trammell — was impactful as a playmaker with eight assists but was limited to just five points of his own. Slowing him down was a crucial piece of Delta’s gameplan, and they executed it to perfection by holding him to a season low.
“You can look at the stats, he’s killed other teams,” Bragg said. “He’s done a lot. He’s put up some points, so forcing other guys to make shots on us was really the gameplan tonight. We did that successfully, and we came out with the dub.”
Freshman center Walker Johnson was crucial to Delta’s defensive dominance. The 6-foot-7 big man set a new career-high with five blocks — all in the first half. His presence down low was a problem for Yorktown’s post players, and the early block party seemed to affect the Tigers’ aggressiveness in the paint for the remainder of the game.
“Players at this level aren’t used to getting shots blocked a lot, and I thought that caused us to be a little timid,” Yorktown coach Justin Ullom said. “When you’re going to attack a zone with some size inside, you’ve got to be willing to get your shot blocked a few times and then go to the next play. But (Johnson) certainly affects that, he’s a great anchor back there, and he had a nice game.”
Junior forward Chase Phillips also affected the game in a variety of ways, scoring in double figures with 10 points and logging a team-high six rebounds. Yorktown is a stellar rebounding team, but Phillips’ presence on the glass helped Delta minimize the impact of that battle.
“I know Walker takes a lot of attention on rebounds, so whenever I can, I like to snake behind it and grab one or two, steal a couple from him,” Phillips said. “It’s always nice, and we don’t mind the rebounding numbers. We just play to win.”
As much as it was another team win for Delta, the star of the night was Bragg. He scored a season-high 19 points and led the Eagles with passion and intensity. He serves as a role model for his younger teammates, and while that was a role he had to grow into, it’s one that he has begun to excel in.
“Lucas was just Lucas,” Detweiler said. “Lucas is always Lucas. He’s turned into such a good leader, and it’s been fun to watch as a coach to watch him grow into that because to see him get frustrated with some of the youth stuff throughout the season, and then to kind of hold him accountable for some of those things, that was really fun to watch him grow and just become a great leader.”
Yorktown’s loss marked the end of Ullom’s first season coaching the green and white. The Tigers got off to a shaky start, going 6-7 through their first 13 games before turning a corner at the end of January and winning eight of their last nine regular season games. Although Yorktown will lose some key seniors like Jabin Barnes and Ryan Burkholder, the growth displayed in just one season should give Tiger fans confidence for the future of Yorktown basketball under Ullom’s leadership.
“We’re excited with our younger guys and younger teams in the program,” Ullom said. “Obviously, I want to talk about the seniors who got their last shot tonight. I thought they left it all out there. They’ve been great leaders in our program. They’ve helped us have buy-in from every player on down, and I thought they did exactly what you want seniors to do this year.”
Delta will advance to next week’s regional round, where the Eagles will seek a fourth consecutive regional to go with their four consecutive sectionals. The Eagles’ opponent will be none other than Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, who they defeated 45-43 to win last year’s regional title. Delta and Blackhawk Christian will play on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m. right back at New Castle High School.
According to Bragg, the Eagles just need to keep doing what they’re doing to take down the Braves again next week.
“Just be ourselves, be our team, stay together,” Bragg said. “These last two games have been our best games all season, just playing as a team and being able to play together. Playing off each other and doing what we need to do should get us the dub next week.”
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Lucas Bragg leads Delta boys basketball to fourth straight sectional title
Reporting by Cade Hampton, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
