5 Takeaways: Jeffersonville @ Floyd Central

This rivalry has had bad blood in past years, but, year after year, it continues to result in tightly contested games. Last season, this rivalry came down to a last-second three-point shot by Jeffersonville to win the game. This season, the game was nearly identical. Jeffersonville led by 10 at the end of the third quarter thanks to a great defensive effort in the third period by the Red Devils. However, a huge fourth-quarter performance by the Highlanders’ Jake Heidbreder put Floyd Central right back in the game before eventually tying it up with a layup in the final two minutes of action. In the final possession, with no time on the clock, Jeffersonville’s Jacob Jones banked home a three-point shot as he fell to the floor directly in front of the Floyd Central student section as the victorious Red Devils stormed the court. Since Jeffersonville defeated New Albany earlier in the season, this game more than likely decided the winner of the Hoosier Hills Conference as Jeffersonville is 2-0 over their biggest competition. Now, let’s look at five more takeaways from Friday night’s game.   1. This will be the game that decides Sectional 15   We just talked about how this game probably decided the winner of the Hoosier Hills Conference. However, the odds are that these two teams will meet again in Sectional 15. Although New Albany may have something to say about that, both Jeffersonville and Floyd Central defeated them earlier this season. Both of those games and this one came down to the wire and finished under five points. I think it is safe to say that the Sectional 15 championship game will be decided in an instant classic that comes down to the final minute to decide the champion. Anything but that would no doubt be considered a disappointment.   2. Jeffersonville’s big 3 are for real   This Jeffersonville squad contains arguably the best trio in the state of Indiana. Senior Tre Coleman is the leader of this team. The Nevada commit has led the team in scoring with over 15 a game. He struggled offensively on Friday night only collecting 7 points and 2 rebounds, but the rest of the Red Devil squad picked him up. He is a top-level talent, and he will continue to show that for the rest of the season. Jacob Jones is the floor general for Jeffersonville. Running the point, he has great court vision, and his ability to drive and kick or finish over the bigger defender is just uncanny. He hit several big shots in the win including the game-winning three with no time on the clock. He ended with 18 points while also dishing out 6 assists. At the end of the season, he will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, but for the rest of this season, he is going to be a major factor as to how far this Red Devil team can advance. The final member of this big three is the sophomore, Will Lovings-Watts. Lovings-Watts comes in as the number 4 player in the state of Indiana for the Class of 2022. He uses his 6’5 frame to his advantage, and his wingspan makes it difficult for opponents to finish at the rim or pass around him. He only collected 9 points, but he was able to sky up for 7 rebounds. On the defensive end, he was also able to come up with 2 monster blocks and 2 steals that led to fast-break buckets on the other end. Lovings-Watts is going to the go-to guy in the future for this Red Devils team, but at the moment, he plays a crucial role in the success of this program.   3. Jake Heidbreder can fill it up   With no doubt in my mind, I can say that Jake Heidbreder was the best player on the court last night. He is currently the number 25 player in the state for the class of 2021, and he has received offers from Furman and Indiana State among others. Although Heidbreder struggled from the three-point line early, he was able to come up clutch down the stretch with 10 points in the fourth quarter including the last seven for the Highlanders. He ended the game with 21 points while pulling down 7 boards in the process. Don’t be surprised if he continues to gain attention from high mid-major programs as he continues to improve in all aspects of his game over the next year.   4. Caleb Washington is a player to watch in the future   The 6’4 freshman showed many bright spots in his play throughout Friday’s game. He was able to score the first bucket of the game on an offensive rebound, tip-in over Jeffersonville’s Tre Coleman. However, these were his only points in the game. He ended up with 2 points and 7 boards, and he showed that there are obvious areas that need improvement in the coming years. He needs to improve his outside shot and become more confident in scoring the basketball. On the defensive end, he played very well stopping the post scoring, but he has yet to develop the defensive awareness to step over in front of the guards driving to the hole. He is only a freshman, so these are things that he will improve on over time, and he has the potential to be a go-to player for Floyd Central in the future.   5. Grant Gohmann has the potential to excel at the D2 or D3 level   The 6’6 senior center for Floyd Central has still yet to commit to a school for the upcoming season. However, with the performance on Friday night, he showed potential at the next level. Overall in the game, he gathered 5 points and 9 boards, but he had a couple narrowly missed three-pointers that could have put him close to a double-double on the evening. He showed the ability to box out a bigger player to grab the rebounds. Also, he showed confidence in his three-point shot despite only hitting one of them. For him to play at the next level, he will need to hit those shots more consistently and become much quicker on the defensive end, but those are two things that I could see him be able to do with the help from a summer in the weight room and a little bit of coaching. He is definitely a player to watch at division 2 or division 3 level in the coming years.