Games of the Week: Week 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022-23 high school basketball season is off to an outstanding start especially following some high-powered games last week. Check out all of our coverage from the Forum Tipoff Classic last weekend with some high-leveled performances. This week, our top 10 games feature several elite matchups, with a lot of talent being showcased. Let's take a look at my top ten upcoming games across the state listed in order that they will be played.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>#2 Loogootee @ South Knox - Tuesday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a small school matchup, 1A #2 Loogootee takes on unbeaten 2A South Knox. Loogootee is 4-2 with their losses coming to 1A #1 Evansville Christian and 3A #2 North Daviess. South Knox is 4-0 with a couple of good wins against Sullivan, Evansville Harrison, and Southridge. Loogootee is led by their 2023 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868254' first='Peyton' last='Bledsoe']</strong>. South Knox is led by Dakota Candler and Dylan Maeder who were both in double figures in the overtime win over Southridge. This will be a fun game to watch between probably the third and fourth best teams in the area behind just North Daviess and Linton-Stockton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Tipton @ Maconaquah - Tuesday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tipton comes into this game at 5-0 having dominated every game this season. Maconaquah sits at just 1-3, but they have a couple of very narrow losses. Maconaquah was one of Tipton's seven losses last season in a high-paced back and forth basketball game. Tipton is led by their young, do-it-all guard duo of 2024 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158205' first='Nolan' last='Swan']</strong> and 2025&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297029' first='Grady' last='Carpenter']</strong>. Swan is averaging 17.6 points, 4.4 assists, 4.4 steals, and 3.6 rebounds. Carpenter is averaging 15.6 points, 9.4 assists, and 7.6 rebounds. Maconaquah is led by their two-headed monster of 20-point scorers with Bauer Maple (2023) at 28.3 points per game and [player_tooltip player_id='1747066' first='Josiah' last='Ball'] (2025) at 21.0 points per game. This game will be an absolute battle between four players who do it all for their respective teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Brebeuf Jesuit @ #6 University - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brebeuf Jesuit comes into this one at 3-1 with their lone loss coming to #2 Indianapolis Cathedral. University is unbeaten at 4-0 including a good win over Greenwood Christian. University has only ever beaten Brebeuf Jesuit once back in 2006, but this year may give them their best chance of all. Brebeuf is a balanced squad with a ton of talent.&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935746' first='Merrick' last='Macaluso']</strong> (2023),&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275802' first='Reis' last='Butcher']</strong> (2024), and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578390' first='Evan' last='Haywood']</strong> (2024) are all averaging double figures on the season. University is led by their trio of&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556354' first='Andre' last='Ozlowski']</strong> (2023),&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578464' first='Sabien' last='Cain']</strong> (2024), and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578353' first='Bryce' last='Gray']</strong> (2024). This game will be loaded with athleticism and should be really fun to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Danville @ Lebanon - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Danville comes in at 4-1 with several easy wins and an overtime loss to Bethesda Christian. Lebanon sits at 5-1 with their first loss coming on Saturday against 4A #7 Kokomo. 2025 guard&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2053657' first='Jace' last='Scrafton']</strong> leads Danville at 16.5 points per game. 2024 wing [player_tooltip player_id='1578355' first='Caden' last='Collins'] does it all for the Warriors with 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and 2024 big man&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578391' first='Evan' last='Lawrence']</strong> dominates the paint with 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. Lebanon is led by their trio of senior guards with&nbsp;<strong>Jake Burns</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1162775' first='Korbyn' last='Sloggett']</strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1162774' first='Kayden' last='Sloggett']</strong> who are all averaging double figures. This could be our preview of the Sectional 25 championship game in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>#5 Noblesville @ #9 Westfield - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Sectional matchup on this list comes from Sectional 8 with two top-10 teams in 4A. Noblesville comes in at 4-0 with three close wins over Fishers, Anderson, and Carmel. The Millers had lost 15 consecutive games to Carmel before winning on Friday on a buzzer beater three from&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272185' first='Cooper' last='Bean']</strong>. Westfield is 3-1 including a win over Kokomo to start the year, and their one loss came in overtime to Zionsville. The Millers are led by Bean,&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042494' first='Luke' last='Almodovar']</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868230' first='Preston' last='Roberts']</strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158209' first='Aaron' last='Fine']</strong>. Westfield is led by 2023 post&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1410467' first='Alex' last='Romack']</strong> with 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and 2024 guard&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275749' first='Trey' last='Buchanan']</strong> at 12.8 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Southport @ Bloomington North - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This 4A matchup features a pair of underrated teams who could be taking home a Sectional title in March. Southport currently sits at 3-2 with narrow losses to 4A #1 Ben Davis and Crown Point.&nbsp; The Cardinals picked up a pair of nice road wins over Lawrence North and Bloomington South. Bloomington North also sits at 3-2 after a narrow loss to Center Grove and a loss to Fishers at the Forum Tipoff Classic. Southport is a team with a ton of athleticism up and down the bench, and they are highlighted by their senior trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935723' first='Anthony' last='Dancler']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868221' first='Nickens' last='Lemba']</strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868243' first='Keyon' last='Garrett-Miller']</strong>. Bloomington North is led by Vanderbilt commit&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868224' first='JaQualon' last='Roberts']</strong> who is averaging 22.6 points and 9.6 rebounds. He will be the key for the Cougars to come out on top in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Anderson @ Indianapolis Pike - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anderson comes in at 4-1 on the season with a couple of big wins over Indianapolis Tech and Pendleton Heights. Their lone loss came on Saturday at Noblesville by just 4 points. Pike has had a tough and confusing start to the season. The Red Devils fell to 4A #1 Ben Davis by four before rolling past Perry Meridian. However, after looking like a solid contender, the Red Devils went to Brownsburg on Friday and lost by 33 points. 2023 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1391283' first='Ahmere' last='Carson']</strong> leads Anderson at 21.0 points per game as he does it all for the Indians. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1391284' first='Jaquan' last='Ingram'] </strong>(2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556394' first='Jaylen' last='Murphy'] </strong>(2023), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297010' first='Damien' last='King']</strong> (2025) are also averaging double figures. Pike is led by group of smaller guards led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049176' first='Devon' last='Woods']</strong> (2023) at 13.0 points per game and <strong>Cam Caskey</strong> (2024) at 11.0 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>#1 Ben Davis @ #4 Brownsburg - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another week and another top-level matchup in 4A involving Ben Davis. The Giants have played a tough schedule and have not stumbled in their 7-0 start with wins over Fishers, Kokomo, and Cathedral among others. Brownsburg is 6-0 and climbing after a really good road win at Chesterton. This will be a game full of Division I talent highlighted by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273713' first='Sheridan' last='Sharp']</strong> (2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham']</strong> (2024), and Valparaiso commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042497' first='Zane' last='Doughty']</strong> for Ben Davis. For Brownsburg, it is 2024 Purdue commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275779' first='Kanon' last='Catchings']</strong> and 2023 guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1391626' first='Elhadj' last='Diallo']</strong>. The duo comes in averaging 36.5 point and 14.7 rebounds between the two of them. This will be a high-flying, athletic, must-watch matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>#6 Carmel @ #7 Kokomo - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This top-10 4A matchup is one that people are going to be looking forward to. The always consistent Carmel Greyhounds taking on the Kokomo [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga']'s. Wait, Kokomo Wildkats. Easy mistake considering how good he has been. Carmel has played three consecutive games that have went to overtime or been decided on the final possesion, and they come in at 4-2 following their loss to Noblesville. Belmont commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042491' first='Sam' last='Orme'] </strong>leads the way for Carmel with seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868225' first='Spencer' last='White']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935725' first='Jared' last='Bonds']</strong> providing second and third scoring options. Kokomo is led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] </strong>at 21.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 4.8 blocks this year. He is one of the best 2024 players in the country for a reason. Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042500' first='Shayne' last='Spear']</strong> also averages double figures for the Wildkats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>#4 Fort Wayne Blackhawk vs. Chesterton at Grace College - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final game on the list is the final game of the Champions of Character Classic at Grace College. 2A #4 Fort Wayne Blackhawk takes on defending 4A runners-up Chesterton. Blackhawk Christian is unbeaten on the season with wins over Fort Wayne North, New Haven, and Lafayette Central Catholic. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042499' first='Josh' last='Furst']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042496' first='Gage' last='Sefton']</strong> are the senior leaders for this Braves team, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1364589' first='Kellen' last='Pickett']</strong> has really stepped up as a player to watch in the 2025 class. Chesterton comes in at 3-1 after their home loss to Brownsburg, but they played the Bulldogs tight and showed that they have not lost much of a step from last season. The junior duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158231' first='Justin' last='Sims']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275807' first='Tyler' last='Parrish']</strong> will be key for the Trojans with senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1391867' first='Owen' last='Guest']</strong> providing solid scoring as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->