First Financial Wabash Valley Classic – Round One Live Blog

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nothing signals the day after Christmas quite like the annual Wabash Valley Classic. This year the event sponsored by First Financial will take place at Terre Haute South High School. We generally cover this tournament remotely but are excited to have boots on the ground coverage from Friday's opening round of games this season. Prep Hoops Indiana will be running a live blog from the opening tip to the final buzzer of today's eight games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>***All Rankings are from our Prep Hoops Indiana <a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/12/prep-hoops-indiana-week-5-class-by-class-rankings/">Week 5 Class-by-Class Rankings</a>***</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Martinsville 73 Shakamak 72 (OT)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560961' first='Grady' last='Gardner'] (Martinsville H.S. 2026 - University of Saint Francis)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven first half three-point shots by Shakamak has kept them right in this one. Leo Miller, a sophomore guard, hit two three-point shots late in the half, including one just before the final buzzer, to tie the game at 33-33. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lakers are led by Madden Husband with 9 points at the half. [player_tooltip player_id='2408973' first='Case' last='Terrell'] has added 7 points while both Leo Miller and Jalen Johnson have 6 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Martinsville, it is University of Saint Francis signee [player_tooltip player_id='1560961' first='Grady' last='Gardner'] who leads all scorers with 10 points and 2 assists at the half. Mason Dodson also has 10 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shakamak came out of the half time locker room just as hot as they went into it. Jaden Johnson hit a three-point shot to give the Lakers their first lead in a long time, maybe of the game, which sparked a 7-1 run that gave them a 40-34 advantage. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1560961' first='Grady' last='Gardner'] answered with five straight points of his own to close up Martinsville's deficit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of buckets by Husband and Jalen Johnson helped to keep the Lakers in front as the quarter went along. Husband has 15 points heading into the fourth quarter as Shakamak holds onto a 48-46 lead. The 6'2" junior wing has been impressive in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2408973' first='Case' last='Terrell'] laid it up for Shakamak with 1.5 seconds left to send this one to overtime. It's been a great game to start the day here at the First Financial Classic!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Martinsville was able to survive thanks to the strong play of [player_tooltip player_id='1560961' first='Grady' last='Gardner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2407767' first='Carson' last='Robertson'] down the stretch. The Artesians held on to defeat Shakamak 73-72 in overtime. University of Saint Francis signee [player_tooltip player_id='1560961' first='Grady' last='Gardner'] led the way with 29 points including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime. [player_tooltip player_id='2407767' first='Carson' last='Robertson'] added 16 points. In the loss for the Lakers, Madden Husband finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2A #8 Linton (5-1) vs. Edgewood (4-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> Connor Daily (Linton H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2622251' first='Caden' last='Jones'] (Edgewood H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1560992' first='Paul' last='Oliver'] (Linton H.S. 2026 - Indiana State University Football)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Casey-Westfield (IL) (8-1) vs. 1A #2 Bloomfield (5-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2881972' first='Leighton' last='Jones'] (Casey-Westfield H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1560962' first='Blake' last='Neill'] (Bloomfield H.S. 2026)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cloverdale (4-2) vs. Terre Haute North (2-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1561105' first='Brady' last='Klopfenstein'] (Terre Haute North H.S. 2026 - Bellarmine University), [player_tooltip player_id='2617833' first='Ishmael' last='Kiteka'] (Cloverdale H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='2425772' first='Tyler' last='Renn'] (Terre Haute North H.S. 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2A #1 Parke Heritage (6-1) vs. Greencastle (4-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1728674' first='Sam' last='Gooch'] (Greencastle H.S. 2026 - Wabash Valley College Baseball), [player_tooltip player_id='2272232' first='Isaac' last='Pickel'] (Parke Heritage H.S. 2026 - Taylor University), [player_tooltip player_id='1560965' first='Treigh' last='Schelsky'] (Parke Heritage H.S. 2026 - Huntington University)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Vermillion (0-6) vs. West Vigo (3-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2470672' first='Reed' last='Dougherty'] (West Vigo H.S. 2027), Ben Shryock (South Vermillion H.S. 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3A #3 Northview (5-2) vs. Terre Haute South (1-6)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2622247' first='Trayven' last='Buis'] (Northview H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1561022' first='Brayden' last='Goff'] (Northview H.S. 2026 - Marian University), [player_tooltip player_id='2797123' first='Quinn' last='Lewis'] (Northview H.S. 2028), Leonard Wilson (Terre Haute South H.S. 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sullivan (3-3) vs. Marshall (IL) (3-4)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1561438' first='Cooper' last='Bock'] (Sullivan H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2807644' first='Paul' last='Ridgway'] (Sullivan H.S. 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->