Friday’s Daily Dive: 11/27

<p>Week 1 is underway and we have got a big slate of high school hoops going on this week in Indiana. This season is going to be full of uncertainty, but let us dive on in and take a look at some highlights of Friday’s night of hoops. </p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="963914" first="Cole" last="Wireman"] Puts Up 50  </b></p> <p>Kouts improved to 2-0 with a 90-63 victory over Hebron on Friday night primarily due to the incredible performance by the senior, [player_tooltip player_id="963914" first="Cole" last="Wireman"].  Wireman was 22-38 from the floor and 6-12 from three for a 51 point performance for the Mustangs.  He had 30 in the season opener, and this performance right here showed us that he is out for a monster senior season to make himself known.  This Kouts team is looking for big things this season, and their senior guards are going to be a big reason for their success.</p> <p><strong>South Ripley Holds Off Conference Foe to Win Opener</strong></p> <p>South Ripley hosted, Ohio River Valley Conference rival, Jac-Cen-Del in their season opener on Friday night, and they held on for a close 71-57 victory.  South Ripley led from the get-go, and besides a 21-19 lead for 23 seconds in the second quarter, the Raiders were in control from wire-to-wire.  South Ripley was led by <strong>Nick Schwarte</strong> and <strong>Jaden Peetz</strong> who had 23 and 21 points respectively.  Peetz also led the team with 9 rebounds.  Jac-Cen-Del’s [player_tooltip player_id="870287" first="Wyatt" last="Day"] led the Eagles with 20 in the loss.  <strong>Cameron Gehl</strong> and <strong>Caleb Simon</strong> also had solid scoring days with 18 and 16 points.  These two teams will meet in the final game of the regular season in a game that may very well decide the ORVC championship.</p> <p><b>Columbus North Survives</b></p> <p>Columbus North finished last season as a top 15 team in 4A, and they carried that momentum into this year with their Army commit, [player_tooltip player_id="783160" first="Blake" last="Barker"], leading the way.  They opened the season with a narrow defeat to Carmel, and they looked for their first win of the year at Jennings County on Friday night.  However, Jennings County had other ideas besides an easy victory for the Bulldogs.  It was a close game for the majority of the way, and the Panthers had it tied up at 30 at the half.  However, Barker exploded in the second half with 20 points to finish with a game-high 26.  <strong>Reese Harmon </strong>also added 17 in the win.  The Bulldogs held off the upset-minded Panthers, 71-62.  Columbus North will be back in action next at Seymour on Saturday night, and the Jennings County Panthers will host Rock Creek Academy on December 5th in their next showing.</p>