Thursday Night Preview: 5 Games to Watch

<p>The Christmas holiday is almost here which means tournaments and shootouts taking place all day long across the state of Indiana. This evening, I’ll be at the Spartan Bowl to watch the final two games of the Connersville Tournament. There are a handful of other tournaments as well as a couple of very intriguing stand alone matchups. Let’s go over five of the games you’ll want to be following tonight.</p> <h3>Beech Grove (6-1) vs. Brebeuf Jesuit (5-1)</h3> <p>This matchup taking place at the historic Hoosier Gym in Knightstown features two teams ranked in the Top 10 of this week’s Prep Hoops Indiana Class 3A poll. The Hornets of Beech Grove came it at #8 while Brebeuf remains in the #1 spot. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="868242" first="Anthony" last="Ball"] has been excellent for Beech Grove so far this season averaging 17.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. For the Braves, [player_tooltip player_id="870225" first="Billy" last="Smith"] has played himself into Mr. Basketball consideration with his strong start to the year. The future Miami Ohio Redhawk averages 22.2 points per game on 53/46/94 shooting splits.</p> <h3>Mount Vernon (Fortville) (4-1) @ New Castle (7-1)</h3> <p>These two Hoosier Heritage Conference foes will be battling for sole possession of first place tonight at the World’s Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse. They are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the conference at this early juncture of the season. Mount Vernon is of course led by [player_tooltip player_id="870268" first="Armon" last="Jarrard"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870220" first="Amhad" last="Jarrard"] who average 16.4 and 15.2 points per game respectively. The Trojans are led by junior wing [player_tooltip player_id="1160680" first="Gavin" last="Welch"] with 14.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1160379" first="Trey" last="Miller"] adds 12.3 points a game.</p> <h3>South Decatur (4-4) @ Connersville (8-1)</h3> <p>Ranked #5 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 3A poll, and #1 in the AP this week, the Connersville Spartans suffered their first loss of the season this morning in upset fashion as they were knocked off by Monroe Central. Tonight, they turn around and face South Decatur and high-scoring senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1168149" first="Hunter" last="Johnson"]. Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id="1295356" first="Lucas" last="Barron"] and senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1063975" first="Tobey" last="Billups"] lead the way for the Spartans. Make sure you follow <a href="https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR">@BRamseyKSR</a> on Twitter for live updates from this game.</p> <h3>Bloomington North (6-1) vs. Monroe Central (7-0)</h3> <p>Coming off of an upset victory in the morning, Monroe Central will face off against [player_tooltip player_id="868224" first="JaQualon" last="Roberts"] and Bloomington North in the championship of the Connersville Tournament at the Spartan Bowl this evening. The Cougars have now rattled off four in a row since losing to Mooresville with senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="870215" first="Nick" last="Klaiber"] scoring a team-high 18 points per game. The 6’7" junior forward Roberts adds 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest.  For the Golden Bears, it is Taylor University commit [player_tooltip player_id="870304" first="Jackson" last="Ullom"] that leads the way with 17 points per game.</p> <h3>Bishop Chatard (6-0) vs. Bellmont (5-3)</h3> <p>The Trojans of Bishop Chatard rolled on to a perfect 6-0 earlier today with a 50-37 win over a solid Northeastern team. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1143910" first="A.J." last="Roseman"] scored 16 points to lead Chatard. They will face Bellmont tonight in the championship of the Delta Tournament after the Braves knocked off the host Delta Eagles. Senior guard Isaiah Wellman is scoring 18 points per game for Bellmont. His battle with Roseman in the backcourt will be a fun one to watch.</p>