Game Report: Ben Davis 55 Southport 52 (OT)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Davis entered this season with extremely high expectations. They've leaned on this Class of 2023 for a couple of years already and now they are seniors along with star junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham']. The Giants are set at every position with arguably the most depth in the state of Indiana. To start the 2022-2023 season, Coach Don Carlisle's group was ranked #2 in the state and handed an incredibly difficult schedule. So far this season Ben Davis has played three road games against teams ranked in the Prep Hoops Indiana Top 10. However, to the Giants credit, they have come out unscathed at 3-0. Wednesday night certainly was their toughest test to date.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After controlling the game in a 77-56 win at Fishers and comfortably winning 68-54 at Zionsville, Ben Davis faced some real adversity on Wednesday night at Southport Fieldhouse. Still, the Giants came out on top 55-52 in overtime to remain perfect heading into their weekend where they face Pike on Friday night and then a marquee matchup with Kokomo on Saturday at the Sneakers For Santa Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was ugly early on. Despite all of the talent on the floor the first half was a story of missed shots and turnovers. Neither team could find their footing and just seemed sped up for the first 16 minutes of basketball leading to unexpected 15-15 score at the halftime break. However, it started to look more like the game fans expected in the second half as the score after three quarters essentially doubled to 31-30 Ben Davis. The game reverted to some sloppiness in the fourth quarter, but [player_tooltip player_id='868221' first='Nickens' last='Lemba'] and [player_tooltip player_id='935723' first='Anthony' last='Dancler'] did enough for the Cardinals to force the game to overtime at 44-44.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down the stretch it was defense from [player_tooltip player_id='1273713' first='Sheridan' last='Sharp'] and clutch free throws from junior [player_tooltip player_id='1295351' first='Mark' last='White'] that sealed the deal for Ben Davis. White connected all six of his free throw attempts in the overtime period to help lead the Giants to their 55-52 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was [player_tooltip player_id='1295357' first='KJ' last='Windham'], who knocked in three three-pointers who ended up leading Ben Davis with 16 points. 6'9" Valparaiso commit [player_tooltip player_id='1042497' first='Zane' last='Doughty'] continued his strong play to start the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds while both [player_tooltip player_id='1273713' first='Sheridan' last='Sharp'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1295351' first='Mark' last='White'] each added 10 points a piece. In the loss for Southport, [player_tooltip player_id='935723' first='Anthony' last='Dancler'] led all scorers with 18 points and [player_tooltip player_id='868221' first='Nickens' last='Lemba'] added 15 points for the Cardinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->