IHSAA State Finals – Prep Hoops Indiana Live Blog (Evening)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just a few weeks ago there were 404 teams that began Sectional play across four classes here in the state of Indiana. Now, on Saturday, March 28th we have two teams remaining per class. There will be four State Championship games played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as teams, players, and coaches look to put their name in the Indiana High School Basketball record books. Prep Hoops Indiana has boots on the ground coverage and will be running a live blog throughout today's four games. This is your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know from the 2026 IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 49 states it is just basketball, but this is Indiana!!!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 3A: Cathedral 71 vs. New Haven 61</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral, ranked #2 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 3A Poll, got here by knocking off #1 Silver Creek in the Class 3A South Semi-State Final. Meanwhile, New Haven made an impressive run through the Class 3A North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral's [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. and [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] are committed to Detroit Mercy and Mount St. Mary's respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Haven threw the first punch, but Cathedral quickly answered. Owen Peterson got active in the middle of the Bulldogs' 2-3 Zone Defense, [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] made a 3, and [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. made a great pass ahead in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out of the media timeout, [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] immediately buried two more three-point shots and Owen Peterson finished an And-1. Cathedral leads 19-7 with 2:30 to play in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As expected, this one is being played at an incredible pace. New Haven has fought their way back in it thanks to a strong opening quarter from Tarvar Baskerville. The Bulldogs are able to match the length and athleticism of Cathedral.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game appeared to be getting away from New Haven early on, but a pull-up jump shot by Shane Rogers-Smith just tied the game at 22-22 with 6:34 to play in the second quarter. New Haven is doing an excellent job of matching the pace of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral was able to re-find their footing a bit after relinquishing their lead. [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. got going scoring all seven of his points in a flurry. [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] leads the way with 13 points while Owen Peterson has 10 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2892459' first='Jadrien' last='Ezell'] got hot in the second quarter and now leads the Bulldogs with 12 points. It iss 37-29 Fighting Irish at the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong run by the Bulldogs out of the halftime break. A pair of buckets for Tarvar Baskerville and a big three after an offensive rebound for DaMarcus Wright. It is 39-37 Cathedral with 6:02 to play in the third quarter. Both of these teams are so strong and athletic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2540063' first='Jaxson' last='Delaney'] gave Cathedral a lift in his first minutes off of the bench, but freshman Jayon Thomas converted an And-1 on the other end. [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. followed up the sequence with a coast-to-coast finish. This one is starting to flip back and forth on the scoreboard. 45-45 Cathedral with 2:45 to play in the third.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have ourselves a battle going into the fourth quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='2837232' first='Lavell' last='Ledbetter'] and Jayon Thomas have found success in the paint for New Haen while Tarvar Baskerville continues to run the show. It is 51-48 Bulldogs. Baskerville is up to 16 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is starting to look like Cathedral is going to survive. The New Haven turnovers are mounting. They now have 14, just shy of Cathedral's 15, as the Bulldogs trail 65-59 with 2:23 to play. [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. has taken the game over for the Fighting Irish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the end Cathedral just had a little too much for New Haven as they escaped with a 71-61 victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount St. Mary's signee [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] led the Fighting Irish with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Detroit Mercy bound [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. and junior forward Owen Peterson each added double-doubles. Aldridge Jr. finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists while Peterson had 11 points and 10 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior guard Tarvar Baskerville had 20 points in the loss for New Haven.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 4A: Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (27-3) vs. Crown Point (25-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can feel the weight of this one in the air. Both programs have packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse for yet another elite atmosphere.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton is sitting court side for this Class 4A State Finals matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crown Point's athleticism, quickness, and pressure defense has been able to bother [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] early. The Purdue signee hit a pull-up three-point shot, but he is 1-4 overall with two turnovers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561445' first='Mason' last='Darrell'] is making his impact felt on the defensive end of the floor. He took a charge on [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] and got a steal to a runout dunk as well. His energy is so infectious.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crown Point leads 15-10 after the first quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] has been excellent on both ends leading with 5 points and 5 rebounds already.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs have started the second quarter on a 6-0 run to open up a 21-10 lead over Mt. Vernon (Fortville). Their defense is simply swarming in this one. Hard for the Marauders offense to get comfortable at all.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561445' first='Mason' last='Darrell'] from DEEP at the halftime buzzer gives Crown Point a 30-20 advantage. He has 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] leads the Bulldogs with 9 points and 5 rebounds at the half. [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] has 11 points, but has needed 10 shots to get there. He also has 5 rebounds and 3 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mt. Vernon (Fortville) comes out of the gate hot with an 8-0 run. [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] And-1. Ertel to [player_tooltip player_id='2140419' first='Max' last='Vise'] for a runout layup. Ertel to [player_tooltip player_id='2892552' first='Jack' last='Guerre'] for a three. All of the sudden it is just 30-28 Crown Point with 6:44 to play in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We survived some potential "stall-ball" in the third quarter as the pace really slowed for a few possessions. Crown Point 35 Mt. Vernon (Fortville) 32.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An inverted [player_tooltip player_id='2140419' first='Max' last='Vise']/[player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] ballscreen worked to perfection for the Marauders. Ertel nailed the pick-and-pop three-point shot to cut their deficit to one-point, 38-37, with 5:05 to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] missed a free throw, [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] went end-to-end, [player_tooltip player_id='1561063' first='Kingston' last='Rhodes'] nailed a corer three-point shot. Mt. Vernon (Fortville) still leads by two points with 50.9 seconds to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs and Marauders continued to trade baskets down the stretch, but Mt. Vernon (Fortville) held on to win 52-50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Purdue signee [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='2140419' first='Max' last='Vise'] added 12 points and 5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Illinois-Chicago signee [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] had 24 points and 9 rebounds in the loss for Crown Point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->