Sectional Preview – Loogootee Regional

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is officially almost time for Indiana High School Basketball to enter into the most exciting time of year. We have made it through over three months of regular season action and now culminate with a win-or-go-home state tournament. Here at Prep Hoops Indiana our staff will be previewing all 64 sectionals around the state over the next several days. Let's dive on in with Sectionals 61-64 which feed into the Class 1A Loogootee Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 61: West Washington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Borden, Christian Academy, Lanesville, Rock Creek Academy, South Central (Elizabeth), West Washington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Borden (16-7), Christian Academy (16-6)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1275907' first='Kasym' last='Nash'] (Borden H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1297066' first='Joshua' last='Renfro'] (Christian Academy 2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> This will be an interesting sectional to follow down in southern Indiana. On paper, Christian Academy got the best draw, but Rock Creek is a much more talented team than their record suggests. Ladarius Wallace, [player_tooltip player_id='1273031' first='Jaleb' last='Treat'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1391464' first='Marial' last='Diper'] are all talented players who could lead this sleeper team to a title. However, the Warriors won the early season battle by a point and have sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297066' first='Joshua' last='Renfro'] playing at a very high level. Meanwhile, Borden defeated Christian Academy 58-51 earlier this season and are the defending Sectional 61 champs. They are never an easy out come tournament time and are the only undefeated team against sectional opponents this season. Don't completely count out South Central (Elizabeth) either who enters with a 14-9 record and wins over Christian Academy and Rock Creek. In the end, it is hard to pick against old reliable in Sectional 61 at West Washington. <strong>Borden</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 62: New Washington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams: </strong>Crothersville, Medora, New Washington, Rising Sun, Shawe Memorial, Trinity Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> New Washington (10-13), Rising Sun (10-13), Trinity Lutheran (6-16)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch:</strong> Peyton Merica (Rising Sun H.S. 2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> This is our third Class 1A sectional where there isn't a single team with a record of .500 or better. That makes it very hard to determine a favorite. Looking at the field, three teams have records of 4-1 against fellow sectional foes. New Washington lost 76-63 to Rising Sun but has beaten the other four potential opponents. Rising Sun lost 69-65 to Trinity Lutheran but took care of the rest of the field. Finally, Trinity Lutheran is also 4-1 in the sectional despite having just six wins overall. They lost to New Washington 69-63 but knocked off Rising Sun. Truly anything could have here in Sectional 62, but the draw is in Rising Sun's favor. Looking for senior Peyton Merica to lead the Shiners to a sectional championship. <strong>Rising Sun</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 63: Loogootee</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Barr-Reeve, Loogootee, Orleans, Shoals, Springs Valley, Vincennes Rivet, Washington Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Loogootee (16-7), Orleans (20-3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='868254' first='Peyton' last='Bledsoe'] (Loogootee H.S. 2023), [player_tooltip player_id='1297013' first='Deion' last='Edwards'] (Springs Valley H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1158190' first='Ian' last='Hall'] (Orleans H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Sectional 63 is traditionally the best sectional at the Class 1A level. However, defending state champion North Daviess is no longer on the field as they are now competing in the Class 3A tournament. Still, #2 ranked Orleans and #5 ranked Loogootee are in the field as legitimate state title contenders. [player_tooltip player_id='868254' first='Peyton' last='Bledsoe'] is a very talented scorer for the host Lions that will open with Vincennes Rivet before taking on Barr-Reeve who drew the bye. Orleans got a good draw on the bottom half facing Shoals and then likely Springs Valley who features talented sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='1297013' first='Deion' last='Edwards']. The Bulldogs have proven, led by junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1158190' first='Ian' last='Hall'], they are a deep, balanced group that has consistently put up impressive results this season. Their only losses this season have come at Class 4A New Albany, at Class 3A Top 10 North Daviess, and at Class 2A Top 5 Brownstown Central. They won in four overtimes over Loogootee 62-58 as well. That will be a toss-up game when they likely meet in the finals. However, home court advantage could be the difference this time around. <strong>Loogootee</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 64: Wood Memorial</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Cannelton, Evansville Christian, Evansville Day, Northeast Dubois, Tecumseh, Wood Memorial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contender:</strong> Evansville Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1158176' first='Josiah' last='Dunham'] (Evansville Christian 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1391285' first='Tyler' last='Myers'] (Evansville Day 2023 - Evansville, walk-on)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Evansville Christian is one of the best teams in all of Class 1A. They are 14-9 on the season, but that is against an excellent schedule. Led by junior point guard who is one of the top scorers in the state of Indiana averaging around 25 points per game. He will be the best player in the Class 1A state tournament. They've rolled pretty good through sectional opponents so far going 4-0 and have some big time wins over teams like Loogootee who they beat twice, Liberty Christian, and Paoli. Then, you look at their losses and you see a double overtime loss to North Daviess, close games with Jeffersonville and Blackhawk Christian, and a recent loss to Noblesville. This team has played an elite schedule and should be more than ready to take down Class 1A competition. <strong>Evansville Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->