Class 4A Sectional Reactions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A field of nearly 100 Class 4A basketball programs was quickly whittled down to just 16 Sectional champions last week. Before the 16 remaining teams move on to Saturday's Regional round let's take a quick look back at the opening rounds of the IHSAA Boy's Basketball State Tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Team to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When you look at the most impressive turnarounds in the state you have to begin with Fort Wayne Wayne. After winning just four games a year ago the Generals are now 20-4 heading into their matchup with Noblesville in the Logansport Regional. This is a talented young team that has rattled off 12 straight wins and has proven they can play with anyone. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1578417' first='Jevon' last='Lewis'] is really talented with the ball in his hands. Along with [player_tooltip player_id='1556502' first='Monte' last='Smith'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297001' first='Chase' last='Barnes'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1297032' first='Trey' last='Dillard'], this group can really score and will be look to push the pace against Noblesville. Don't sleep on the Wayne Generals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Biggest Upset</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There weren't many real upsets in the Class 4A bracket, but #6 Center Grove was the highest ranked team to fall short of cutting down the nets. Bloomington North rolled through Mooresville and Martinsville before knocking off the Trojans 43-41. Dawan Daniels had a great tournament flanking Vanderbilt signee [player_tooltip player_id='868224' first='JaQualon' last='Roberts'] and talented sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1749527' first='Luke' last='Lindeman']. This is a talented Cougars team that will take on Columbus North Saturday in the Seymour Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Best Game</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hammond Central had to come from 14 points down to knock off #8 Munster to win the Sectional 1 title. After trailing 26-12 midway through the second quarter the Wolves kept chipping away eventually taking their first lead of the game at 53-51 and closing out a 54-53 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='1049160' first='Jordan' last='Woods'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1384393' first='Matthew' last='King'] each scored 16 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1557193' first='Kenneth' last='Grant'] knocked in four three-pointers on his way to 14 points. For Munster, senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='814532' first='Brandon' last='Trilli'] finished his career with 30 points and 13 rebounds. The Northern Michigan signee had a shot in the air to win it at the buzzer but just missed. Incredibly exciting game between two of the best teams in The Region. Hammond Central will face Mishawka on Saturday in the Michigan City Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Best Individual Performance</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is no surprise that [player_tooltip player_id='1049169' first='Markus' last='Burton'] would be the feature in this section. The Indiana Mr. Basketball front-runner headed to Notre Dame had 36 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 7 seven steals in Penn's 55-37 semifinal win over Goshen. Then, Burton backed it up with a 37-point performance in the championship game against Northridge. The Kingsmen will face Chesterton in the Michigan City Regional. Burton is averaging 30.3 points per game and currently sits at 2,182 career points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->