A frustrating month of February (three losses by a combined seven points) has done nothing to shake Justin Blanding’s faith in his team.
After all, this looks a lot like where University’s season stood last year at this time. That turned out pretty well.
“It’s kind of an image of last year a little bit,” Blanding said after University’s 77-61 win at Shortridge on Friday night. “We’ve had some tough losses. But we’re confident because the games that we did lose, we beat ourselves. We didn’t really get beat by the other team. We’re trying to clean up some of those things and see if we can get hot.”
Experience helps. The Trailblazers (13-6) have a core group of players that were part of last year’s run to the Class 2A state finals, which featured close wins over Linton-Stockton, Triton Central and Parke Heritage before falling 59-54 to Manchester in the Class 2A state finals.
Blake Gray, who drilled four 3-pointers in the first half of Friday’s win, was a big part of that team as a junior. So was senior guard Faisal Mohamud, who finished with 15 points in the win over Shortridge. But the biggest difference from this year to last year might be blossoming game of 6-6 junior Josh Henderson, who scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half against Shortridge.
“His all-round game, inside and outside, and he can handle it a little bit,” Blanding said. “We try to make sure we can put him positions where he’s at his best. The high post, pick-and-pop, post up, he can kind of do everything. We got him rim running a little bit more. He’s been great for us. He’s working at it and listening and doing a great job.”
If that Henderson name sounds familiar, he is the son of former Brebeuf/Indiana/NBA star Alan Henderson. The 6-6 Henderson, averaging 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds coming into to the game, said he feels more confident this year as a shooter and ballhandler. He came into Friday’s game shooting 59% from the field and 84% from the free-throw line.
“(My dad) helps me out with everything,” Henderson said. “He works me out, trains me and pushes me to get better. It’s good to have somebody to look up to and try to be like.”
Like last year, University will have to navigate a difficult Sectional 42 to advance in the tournament. Park Tudor (12-7) beat the Trailblazers by five points in November and could be a co-favorite in a sectional that has nothing but teams with winning records, including Covenant Christian (10-8), Riverside (18-1), Monrovia (11-7) and Cardinal Ritter (11-9).
“We’ve had some tough losses, but I think we’re going to figure it out and finish the season strong,” Henderson said. “Once you get to sectionals, none of those little losses really matter.”
Other thoughts, takeaways and results from Friday night:
*It was a heartbreaking scene on the other side of the University-Shortridge game. Shortridge senior guard Elijah Wilson went down with what appeared to be a significant left ankle injury with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Shortridge (11-8), trailing by nine points when Wilson went down, has not played many meaningful minutes without the senior guard on the court this season. Wilson, who finished with 13 points, was on crutches after the game, meeting his team at the middle of the court. He was averaging 23.7 points coming into the game.
“No signs of a break but sometimes sprains are worse than breaks,” Shortridge coach Ryan Mulcrone said. “We’ll see where he’s at (Saturday) and Monday and hopefully have a better evaluation. We just said, ‘This is why we circle up and stay together.’ We have time before sectional, so the goal will be to get him back and ride with however healthy he is then. The good thing is this gives other guys an opportunity to step up.”
*What a comeback by Hamilton Southeastern. The Royals rallied from 17 points down in the second half to force overtime and defeat Class 4A No. 6 Carmel 67-61. Sophomore Varschon Clark led HSE (12-9) with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists and Luke Weemer added 14 points and six rebounds. HSE has now won five in a row. Carmel, which dropped to 13-4, was led by Cash Daniels’ 23 points, six assists and five rebounds.
*Park Tudor pulled off a similar rally, coming back from an 18-point second quarter deficit for a 60-57 win over Liberty Christian to win the Pioneer Conference championship. Brody Bluiett and Keylan Smith each scored 20 points to lead the Panthers (12-7) past the Class A No. 6 Lions (14-7).
*Shelbyville now has two 1,000-point career scorers in seniors Caden Claxton and Mar Nicholson. Class 3A No. 6 Shelbyville (16-4) won its fifth consecutive game with a 64-59 victory over New Palestine.
*Cool to see the stars out supporting their former high schools on Friday night. Lawrence North honored its 2004-06 state championships teams, with Greg Oden in attendance, as the Class 4A No. 8 Wildcats (16-3) defeated Ben Davis 73-60 to improve to 4-0 in the MIC. Lawrence North host Pike in a rematch of the Marion County Tournament championship next Friday. Cam Webster had 20 points and Brennan Miller added 18.
*Trayce Jackson-Davis, the 2019 Mr. Basketball from Center Grove, was honored with a jersey ceremony on Friday. He was nearly treated to an upset win from the Trojans, who battled Class 4A No. 1 Fishers to a 50-44 loss. The Tigers improved to 20-0 in winning their 50th consecutive regular season game.
*Sheridan clinched its first outright conference championship in 48 years, defeating Carroll (Flora) 58-57 on a layup by Trey Page. The Blackhawks (14-3) finished 8-0 in the Hoosier Heartland Conference.
*Brebeuf Jesuit defeated Roncalli 60-48 behind a balanced attack led by 14 points, four rebounds and two assists from Chace Ford.
*Luke Ertel led Mt. Vernon with 26 points in an 83-56 win over Marion.
Here are all of the Super 25 results from around the state
1: Fishers (20-0): Defeated Center Grove 50-44. Saturday: vs. Penn.
2: Silver Creek (22-1): Defeated Scottsburg 88-54. Saturday: at Evansville Memorial.
3: Crown Point (17-1): Defeated Valparaiso 78-51.
4: Mt. Vernon (18-3): Defeated Marion 83-56. Saturday: vs. Fort Wayne Snider.
5: Pike (18-3): Defeated North Central 88-62.
6. Plainfield (19-2): Defeated Greenwood 59-56.
7: Carmel (13-4): Lost to Hamilton Southeastern 67-61. Saturday: vs. Avon.
8: Lawrence North (16-3): Defeated Ben Davis 73-60. Saturday: at Elkhart.
9: Cathedral (16-3): Defeated Don Bosco Institute 105-63. Saturday: vs. Winton Woods (Ohio)
10: Northridge (18-1): Defeated Concord 79-59.
11: Terre Haute North (17-3): Defeated Bloomington North 65-46.
12: Ben Davis (11-6): Lost to Lawrence North 73-60. Saturday: vs. Lawrence Central.
13: New Albany (14-5): Defeated Providence 80-59.
14: South Bend St. Joseph (16-4): Defeated Mishawaka Marian 78-66.
15: Penn (15-4): Defeated South Bend Washington 91-51. Saturday: at Fishers.
16: Brownsburg (12-8): Defeated Noblesville 51-38.
17: South Bend Riley (16-4): Defeated Elkhart 90-57.
18: Northview (16-4): Defeated Brown County 90-54.
19: Oak Hill (16-1): Defeated Blackford 73-50.
20: Zionsville (12-9): Defeated Hagerstown 68-42.
21: Princeton (17-3): Defeated South Spencer 82-53.
22: Whiteland (16-4): Lost to Decatur Central 80-70. Saturday: at Pendleton Heights.
23: Shelbyville (16-4): Defeated New Palestine 64-59. Saturday: at Beech Grove.
24: Parke Heritage (16-4): Defeated Fountain Central 77-31. Saturday: vs. Riverton Parke.
25: Pendleton Heights (13-4): Did not play. Saturday: vs. Whiteland.
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: University wins, snap judgments and Super 25 results from HS basketball
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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