Forum Tip-Off Classic Live Blog

<p>We are all set and ready to roll here from historic Southport Fieldhouse for the annual Forum Tip-Off Classic. Six great matchups featuring three defending state champions, a ton of ranked teams, and several Division I prospects. Follow along to our Prep Hoops Indiana Live Blog throughout the day for recaps following each game. It is going to be a great day of Indiana High School Basketball!</p>   <h2>North Daviess 40 Beech Grove 38</h2>   <p>Beech Grove started the game off hot connecting on a couple of three-pointers, getting [player_tooltip player_id='1556397' first='Jeremiah' last='Tate'] to the basket off of the dribble, and using their athleticism to turn North Daviess over some. However, things quickly stalled out in the second period. The Hornets were held scoreless for all eight minutes which allowed the Cougars to come back and tie the game at 16-16 going into the halftime break.</p>   <p>The offenses got going to start the second half. It only took 15 seconds for [player_tooltip player_id='935727' first='Jaylen' last='Mullen'] to finally get his first points of the game, a three-pointer, followed by a [player_tooltip player_id='1556400' first='Logan' last='Wilson'] three and a nice interior bucket by Brenden Stickles. The quick 8-0 run forced a Beech Grove timeout, but the Cougars maintained control taking a 34-25 lead after the third quarter.</p>   <p>To begin the fourth it was the Hornets turn to make a run. [player_tooltip player_id='1530699' first='Jeremiah' last='Alexander'] got hot and Adrian Holland eventually knocked in a three-pointer to cap off a 13-2 run that gave Beech Grove a 38-36 advantage with a little over three minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, that would be their last points of the game. Mullen got a steal for North Daviess that led to a pair of [player_tooltip player_id='1556400' first='Logan' last='Wilson'] free throws that tied the game. Then, Mullen knocked in two more to take the lead with 10.8 seconds remaining.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1556399' first='Lance' last='Wilson'] scored 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in the win for North Daviess while twin brother [player_tooltip player_id='1556400' first='Logan' last='Wilson'] also scored 11 points. Oakland City signee [player_tooltip player_id='935727' first='Jaylen' last='Mullen'] was big down the stretch finishing with 7 points and 4 assists.</p>   <p>For Beech Grove, [player_tooltip player_id='1556397' first='Jeremiah' last='Tate'] scored a game-high 16 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1530699' first='Jeremiah' last='Alexander'] added 15 points.</p>   <h2>Norwell 78 Franklin Central 43</h2>   <p>This one was never much in doubt. Senior guard Jake Parker was hot early on for Norwell as they built a comfortable first half advantage. Then, fellow seniors Lleyton Bailey and [player_tooltip player_id='935745' first='Luke' last='McBride'] really turned it on in the second half. In the end, the Knights enacted the running clock with about three minutes left to play and cruised to a 78-43 victory in game two of the Forum Tip-Off Classic.</p>   <p>Future Bethel Pilot [player_tooltip player_id='935745' first='Luke' last='McBride'] led all scorers with 23 points to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Norwell. Sharp-shooter Lleyton Bailey chipped in 22 points including eight three-pointers and Jake Parker added 17 points as the Knights moved to 4-1 on the season.</p>   <p>In the loss for Franklin Central, senior guard Elijah Crockett scored 18 points. Freshman E.J. Hazelett added 8 points including a couple of three-pointers. The 6'6" left-hander is a good looking long-term prospect.</p>   <h2>Crown Point 65 Southport 59</h2>   <p>Crown Point essentially took this one wire to wire. It was an impressive, and admittedly somewhat surprising, performance for the Bulldogs knocking off Class 4A #8 Southport on their home floor. Junior guard Jack Svetich was excellent from the opening tip scoring 14 first half points to pace the Bulldogs who took a 30-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. Then, Bellarmine signee [player_tooltip player_id='868237' first='A.J.' last='Lux'] picked things up in the second half along with a couple more big shots from Svetich. Crown is now 4-1 on the season while Southport falls to 3-2.</p>   <p>The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Jack Svetich with 21 points followed by [player_tooltip player_id='868237' first='A.J.' last='Lux'] who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='868253' first='Keaton' last='Buuck'] was strong around the basket as well finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Connor Cotton added 9 points.</p>   <p>For Southport in the loss, senior guard AJ Dancler poured in 28 points to lead all scorers including six three-pointers. Low-major Division I programs should be offering this high-scoring, skilled guard right NOW. [player_tooltip player_id='868243' first='Keyon' last='Garrett-Miller'] chipped in 11 points for the Cardinals while [player_tooltip player_id='868221' first='Nickens' last='Lemba'] finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.</p>   <h2>Fishers 79 Bloomington North 60</h2>   <p>The Tigers were in control of this one from start to finish. 5-star sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1297052' first='Jalen' last='Haralson'] started off hot knocking in a couple of thee-pointers in the first period and continued his strong play throughout the game. Fishers extended a 20-11 first quarter advantage to a 36-22 halftime lead. In the second half they really started to pour it on and finished with a 79-60 victory. It was an impressive performance for the Class 4A #10 Tigers who continue to fight through a very tough schedule to start their season. They are now 4-3 on the year while Bloomington North fell to 3-2.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297052' first='Jalen' last='Haralson'] was sensational all game long finishing with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Junior forward Keenan Garner added 11 points and 8 rebounds.</p>   <p>In the loss for the Cougars, Vanderbilt signee [player_tooltip player_id='868224' first='JaQualon' last='Roberts'] scored 19 points and pulled down 8 rebounds while senior guard Dawan Daniels chipped in 16 points.</p>   <h2>Penn 58 Zionsville 51</h2>   <p>Well, you don't see something like that very often. Zionsville jumped out to a 13-0 lead against Penn and led by as many as 20 points at 21-1 in the first period. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1049169' first='Markus' last='Burton'] poured in 10 points in the final couple of minutes to make it 24-11 at the end of the quarter. Burton continued to keep the Kingsmen in the game as they cut it to 35-31 at the halftime break with 20 points from the Indiana Mr. Basketball candidate.</p>   <p>The third quarter was back and forth with Burton scoring 12 more points, but sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] came up with a couple of big shots for the Eagles to maintain a slight 48-47 lead going into the fourth. Unfortunately for Zionsville they just couldn't hold on any longer in the fourth. Penn snuck away with a 58-51 victory to move to 5-0 on the season.</p>   <p>Notre Dame bound [player_tooltip player_id='1049169' first='Markus' last='Burton'] ended up with a game-high 38 points for the Kingsmen. For Zionsville, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] scored 16 points to lead the way while [player_tooltip player_id='868244' first='Nick' last='Richart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='868255' first='Logan' last='Imes'] contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.</p>   <h2>Ben Davis 62 Cathedral 50</h2>   <p>This one certainly lived up to the hype. The two best teams in the state faced off for the nightcap of six games at the Forum Tip-Off Classic with #2 Ben Davis taking down defending state champion and #1 ranked Cathedral 62-50. The Giants jumped out to a 25-11 lead after one quarter and never looked back from there. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1295357' first='KJ' last='Windham'] hit five three-pointers in the opening period to pave the way for Ben Davis. Cathedral clawed their way back in it with a strong second quarter from Mercer signee [player_tooltip player_id='868251' first='Jake' last='Davis'] cutting it as close as five points at 29-24. However, Ben Davis answered with a 10-0 run and led 42-26 at the halftime break.</p>   <p>The Fighting Irish made another run in the second half cutting their deficit to six points in the fourth quarter but just could never get over the hump. Valparaiso signee [player_tooltip player_id='1042497' first='Zane' last='Doughty'] was big on both ends of the floor down the stretch to help seal the game for the Giants. Ben Davis is now a perfect 7-0 on the season and will take over the #1 spot in the polls. Meanwhile, Cathedral fell to 4-1. They will flip their order, but these are still undoubtedly the two best teams in the state of Indiana.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1295357' first='KJ' last='Windham'] finished with 20 points to lead all scorers while [player_tooltip player_id='1042497' first='Zane' last='Doughty'] finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. [player_tooltip player_id='1273713' first='Sheridan' last='Sharp'] was excellent as well finishing with 9 points and 7 assists for the Giants.</p>   <p>In the loss for Cathedral, future Purdue Football player [player_tooltip player_id='868252' first='Jaron' last='Tibbs'] scored a team-leading 18 points and [player_tooltip player_id='868251' first='Jake' last='Davis'] added 16 points.</p>

We are all set and ready to roll here from historic Southport Fieldhouse for the annual Forum Tip-Off Classic. Six great matchups featuring three defending state champions, a ton of ranked teams, and several Division I prospects. Follow along to our Prep Hoops Indiana Live Blog throughout the day for recaps following each game. It is going to be a great day of Indiana High School Basketball!