Game Reports: Loogootee Regional

<p>In 49 states it is just basketball, but this is Indiana!!! The historic Jack Butcher Arena at Loogootee High School was rocking with over 4500 people in attendance for the Regional semifinal round. Here is a quick recap of the two semifinal games.</p> <h2>North Daviess 38 Edinburgh 37</h2> <p>The span of just a few seconds can turn elation into heartbreak. That is both the blessing and the curse of tournament basketball in the month of March. Survive and advance versus lose and go home. On Saturday morning at Loogootee High School, North Daviess and Edinburgh traded emotions in the final minute of play.</p> <p>Edinburgh led after each of the first three quarters of a very slow paced game. However, the Cougars pulled on top when it mattered most. Lance Wilson hit a three-pointer with just under 1:30 to play in the game to give North Daviess a 34-32 advantage. [player_tooltip player_id="935747" first="Caleb" last="Dewey"] quickly tied it up at 34 a piece with a pair of free throws with 1:04 left to play.</p> <p>Down the stretch, [player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"] and Lance Wilson went 4-4 from the free throw line to seal the comeback victory for North Daviess. [player_tooltip player_id="1402431" first="Travis" last="Jones"] hit a three-pointer as time expired, but it wasn’t enough as the Lancers fell 38-37.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"], a 6’0" junior point guard, led the Cougars with 16 points including 10 in the second half. For Edinburgh, it was 6’4" senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="1402431" first="Travis" last="Jones"] who led all scorers with 20 points.</p> <p>North Daviess is now 24-3 while Edinburgh finished their season 22-4.</p> <h2>Borden 48 Springs Valley 44</h2> <p>On paper, it will look like a wire-to-wire victory for Borden. Despite leading after each quarter, the Braves relinquished the lead a couple of times in the final period. Springs Valley got hot down the stretch to put a bunch of pressure on their opponent, but in the end some fourth quarter heroics from sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="1275907" first="Kasym" last="Nash"] led Borden into the Regional final.</p> <p>The Blackhawks of Springs Valley trailed by four points entering the fourth quarter but quickly got back-to-back pull-up jumpers from senior wing Connor Grimes to tie it up. The two teams would go on to trade baskets over the course of the next several possessions. Eventually, a Grimes three-point play was answered by Nash’s third three-pointer of the quarter that gave the Braves what would prove to be the lead they held the rest of the way.</p> <p>Borden’s 48-44 win moved them to 17-7 on the season as they advanced to take on North Daviess this evening. Springs Valley ended their season at 22-4. [player_tooltip player_id="1275907" first="Kasym" last="Nash"] was the leading scorer for the Braves putting up 14 points on four three-pointers while Sterling Mikel added 13 points. In the loss for the Blackhawks, Kannon Case scored a game-high 17 points and Connor Grimes added 13.</p>