Sectional Preview – North Judson 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 beginning with Sectionals 33-36 which feed into the North Judson Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 33: Whiting</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Andrean, Bowman Academy, Gary 21st Century, Illiana Christian, Lighthouse CPC, North Newton, Whiting</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Bowman Academy, Gary 21st Century, Illiana Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275745' first='Aiden' last='Austin']</strong> (Andrean 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275746' first='Alex' last='Austin']</strong> (Andrean 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158207' first='Lamontae' last='Cross']</strong> (Bowman Academy 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1160677' first='Quintin' last='Floyd']</strong> (Gary 21st Century 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158188' first='Evan' last='Gagnon']</strong> (North Newton 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1784933' first='Leon' last='Grimes']</strong> (Bowman Academy 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042493' first='D.J.' last='Moss']</strong> (Gary 21st Century 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556662' first='Luke' last='Van Essen']</strong> (Illiana Christian 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049190' first='Zeke' last='Van Essen']</strong> (Illiana Christian 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868220' first='Ashton' last='Williamson']</strong> (Gary 21st Century 2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Gary 21st Century is the clear favorite in this one with a 16-5 record and an 11-0 record against teams from 1A to 3A. They also have arguably the three best players in the Sectional with Williamson, Moss, and Floyd. Illiana Christian could give them a great game in the championship with the Van Essen twins. The Vikings also come in at 16-5, but they have lost three straight games to finish the season. Bowman Academy is led by Cross, a Gary 21st transfer, and could be a dark horse that pulls an upset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 34: North Judson</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Hebron, LaVille, North Judson, South Bend Career, South Central (Union Mills), Wheeler</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Hebron, LaVille, North Judson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578368' first='Collin' last='Czarnecki']</strong> (LaVille 2025), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2379845' first='Landen' last='Hale']</strong> (Hebron 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868268' first='Tyvon' last='Henry'] </strong>(South Bend Career 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1561001' first='Jay' last='Huerta']</strong> (South Central-Union Mills 2025), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049181' first='Kelson' last='Jordan']</strong> (North Judson 2023), <strong>Jalen Lewis</strong> (Wheeler 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049197' first='Ty' last='Schumacher']</strong> (North Judson 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049185' first='Jacary' last='Spates']</strong> (South Bend Career 2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> North Judson comes in as the obvious choice to win with a 19-3 record, and the hosts are 11-1 at home. The Bluejays beat Hebron by 8 and LaVille at 3 both on the road early this season. North Judson also got the best draw with Wheeler and South Central on their road to the title. The Hebron-LaVille game on Tuesday could be the game of the Sectional as they fight with South Bend Career for the shot to take on the Bluejays in the final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 35: Westview</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Fremont, Prairie Heights, Westview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Central Noble, Prairie Heights, Westview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158220' first='Jackson' last='Andrews']</strong> (Central Noble 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393265' first='Chase' last='Bachelor']</strong> (Prairie Heights 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272960' first='Ethan' last='Bontrager']</strong> (Fremont 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158228' first='Sam' last='Essegian']</strong> (Central Noble 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578349' first='Brady' last='Lehman']</strong> (Westview 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556398' first='Conner' last='Lemmon']</strong> (Central Noble 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556497' first='Isaiah' last='Malone']</strong> (Prairie Heights 2023), <strong>Caden Ummel</strong> (Churubusco 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273328' first='Brady' last='Yoder']</strong> (Westview 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1539667' first='Redick' last='Zolman']</strong> (Central Noble 2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Sectional 35 has been run by Central Noble over the last few years, but it is a three-team race this year. Central Noble comes in at 16-6 with a win over Prairie Heights by 2 and a 1-point loss to Westview. Westview comes in at 13-8 with a 10-point win over Prairie Heights who is 14-8 despite losing to both teams. The hosts got the top draw with games against Churubusco and Eastside on their run to title. The final semifinal with Central Noble and Prairie Heights and the championship game will both be battles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 36: Rochester</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Lewis Cass, North Miami, Pioneer, Rochester, Wabash, Winamac</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Lewis Cass, Rochester, Wabash</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>Luke Chambers</strong> (Lewis Cass 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578477' first='Trevor' last='Daughtry'] </strong>(Wabash 2024), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273739' first='Tyson' last='Good']</strong> (Lewis Cass 2023), <strong>Landen Hunt</strong> (North Miami 2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295303' first='Paul' last='Leasure']</strong> (Rochester 2023), <strong>Jordan Malchow</strong> (Winamac 2024), <strong>Drew McKaig</strong> (Pioneer), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578400' first='Izaak' last='Wright']</strong> (Wabash 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Wabash and Lewis Cass come in as the top favorites in Sectional 36 with Rochester as a dark horse. The Zebras beat Wabash earlier this season, and the hosts will have the home crowd behind them all weekend. The favorites, Wabash, got the bye and play the winner of Winamac and North Miami to start. Lewis Cass got a tough draw with the hosts in the semifinal before Wabash in the finals. We should have the two top teams in the Sectional final on Saturday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->