Thursday Night (2/6) Games to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is typical only one iteration of "Thursday Night Games to Watch" every year. During girl's Sectional week the schedule on the boy's side gets thrown off a bit. There aren't many games on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday. Instead, the boys play on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. Let's highlight five of the games to watch from around the state on this special Thursday night slate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crown Point @ Portage</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have yet to see what this Crown Point looks like coming off of a loss because they started the season 13-0. However, after dropping one to South Bend Washington, they will now travel to take on Portage after their fist loss of the season. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1561445' first='Mason' last='Darrell'] continue to have excellent seasons for the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, the 12-4 Portage Indians features Grace College signee [player_tooltip player_id='1297094' first='Michael' last='Wellman'], Air Force bound [player_tooltip player_id='1297027' first='Garrett' last='Clark'], and Bethel signee [player_tooltip player_id='1297112' first='Samuel' last='Wellman'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Evansville Memorial @ Evansville Reitz</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game carries some weight as the de facto "best in the city" contest. Reitz was off to an 11-0 start to the season, but has now lost three of their last four games to fall to 12-3. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2466205' first='Lavell' last='Tinsley'] continues to have an excellent season averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game while superstar sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2195051' first='Jaylan' last='Mitchell'] adds 17.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. They will face a 12-3 Evansville Memorial squad that has lost two of their last three. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1539999' first='Luke' last='Ellspermann'] leads the Tigers with 18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Someone will pick up a big win while the other will continue a bit of a downward spiral.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fishers @ Westfield</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you live in the Indianapolis area and love basketball simply following around Fishers wouldn't be a bad idea. The defending Class 4A state champions are 18-0 and once again ranked #1 in Class 4A. On paper, this battle on the north side against Westfield should be one of their tougher tests. The Shamrocks are 12-2 on the season and still ranked in the Class 4A Top 10 despite losing their last contest to Avon. If they can bounce back from that loss they could be a team capable of competing with the defending champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mt. Vernon (Fortville) @ Noblesville</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is another option on the north side of Indianapolis. Don't look now, but the Noblesville Millers have rattled off eight straight wins and now sit at 13-4 on the season ranked #10 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 4A Poll. Junior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1561054' first='Baron' last='Walker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1534261' first='Justin' last='Curry II'] have been excellent for the Millers averaging 14.9 points and 14.6 points per game respectively. Meanwhile, Class of 2026 Purdue commit [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] leads Mt. Vernon who comes in at 12-3 on the season after winning four straight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Bend Riley @ South Bend Washington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be the place to be in South Bend on Thursday night. Washington is riding high after handing Crown Point their first loss of the season. Prep Hoops Indiana Class of 2026 #1 Prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1561449' first='Steven' last='Reynolds III'] is having a fantastic season averaging 24.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140346' first='Dakori' last='Parker'] adds 15.8 points and 4.8 assists per game. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297088' first='Marvin' last='Schindler'] and junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2398991' first='Tyrese' last='Jones'] lead the way for a very balanced Riley attack. They are 13-3 on the season coming off of a win over Northridge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->