Games of the Week: Week 7

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022-23 high school basketball season continues after two explosive weeks of holiday tournaments. Check out all of our coverage from North Daviess, Franklin County, Richmond, Northeastern, Noblesville, Homestead, and the Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle over the past two weeks. This week, our top 10 games feature several elite matchups, with a lot of talent being showcased. Let's take a look at my top ten upcoming games across the state listed in order that they will be played.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Tri @ Blue River - Thursday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tri comes in at 7-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to Shenandoah. Tri is led by senior <strong>Daniel Davis</strong> at 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds this season. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578423' first='Josiah' last='Cox']</strong> has added 12.3 points per game this season as well. Blue River comes in at 6-3 on the season with two of their losses coming to 3A New Castle and a top-5 team in 2A with Wapahani. The Vikings are led by senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295366' first='Wyatt' last='Thornburgh']</strong> at 21.6 points per game. He has also added 7.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.7 steals. Senior <strong>Layke Leonard</strong> leads the Vikings inside at 11.1 points and 8.6 rebounds. The Titans beat Blue River 41-36 at Tri earlier this season, so the Vikings will look to get revenge on their home floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>1A #1 Evansville Christian @ 1A #3 Bloomfield - Friday at 6:00</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evansville Christian comes in at 6-4 on the season after four straight losses to a pair of state title contenders in 3A and 2A with North Daviess and Fort Wayne Blackhawk, 4A Jeffersonville, and Owensboro from Kentucky. The Eagles have not played since their fifth-place finish in the North Daviess Holiday Tournament. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158176' first='Josiah' last='Dunham']</strong> has been lights out this season at 26.2 points per game and 5.9 assists per game as well as shooting 43% from three. Senior <strong>Jake Schnepper</strong> also averages 10.3 points per game at 41% from three. Bloomfield comes in at 10-2 on the season and is coming off of a runner-up finish in the Wabash Valley Classic after falling to Linton-Stockton. The Cardinals are led by senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1557223' first='Peter' last='Combs']</strong> who has dominated the paint all season long. This could be a semi-state preview with two of the top teams in the state in action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Eastern Hancock @ 2A #5 Wapahani - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game features two of the top 2A teams on the East side of the state with Eastern Hancock just outside the top 10. Eastern Hancock comes in at 8-3 on the season with losses to a pair of 4A schools in Bloomington South and New Palestine as well as a top-10 team in 1A with Indianapolis Tindley. The Royals are led by the Spaulding twins with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393268' first='Jacob' last='Spaulding']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393269' first='Silas' last='Spaulding']</strong>. Jacob is averaging 17.6 points per game and Silas is averaging 15.1 points per game and the twins are shooting 38% from three this season. Wapahani comes in at 8-1 this season with their lone loss coming to Muncie Central in the season opener. The Raiders are led by their guard duo of senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150871' first='Aidan' last='Franks']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews']</strong>. Franks leads the team at 19.6 points per game and Andrews adds 19.2 points per game with the duo shooting over 60% from the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Jennings County @ 2A #2 Brownstown Central - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jennings County comes in as one of the six unbeaten teams in the state at 10-0. This game will be the toughest test of the season for the Panthers. Jennings County is led by a pair of guards with senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272966' first='Keegan' last='Manowitz']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578362' first='Carter' last='Kent']</strong>. Manowitz sits at 14.8 points and 7.3 assists on the season as well as 2.1 steals on the defensive end. Kent has added 13.7 points and 3.9 assists in a big sophomore campaign. Brownstown Central sits at 9-2 after a third-place finish in the North Daviess tournament following a loss to Fort Wayne Blackhawk. Brownstown is led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter']</strong>, a junior Purdue commit, who has dominated all season long. Sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297005' first='Colby' last='Hall']</strong> and <strong>Chase Coomer</strong> have also stepped up in a major way this season for the Braves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>4A #5 Carmel @ Center Grove - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a 4A battle between two of the top teams in the state, Center Grove hosts Carmel in a big battle. Carmel sits at 7-3 on the season with their losses all coming by single digits to Moline (IL), Noblesville, and Kokomo. They have picked up a pair of big overtime wins over Fishers and Plainfield. The Greyhounds are led by Belmont commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042491' first='Sam' last='Orme']</strong> as well as several pieces with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868225' first='Spencer' last='White']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935725' first='Jared' last='Bonds']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935732' first='Clay' last='Richards']</strong>. Center Grove sits at 10-1 after falling to Kokomo on a putback at the buzzer in the Kokomo tournament. The Trojans are fulling of pieces that can contribute in a major way with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272949' first='Marcus' last='Ankney']</strong> (Indiana Wesleyan), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273050' first='Ethan' last='McComb']</strong> (Butler Walk-On), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158238' first='Joey' last='Schmitz']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547490' first='Jalen' last='Bundy']</strong>, and several others. The Trojans impressed a lot of people with that showing, and this is another chance to show people that Zach Hahn has Center Grove back on center stage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Warren Central @ 4A #8 Lawrence North - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Sectional 9 matchup features two teams who will look to play spoiler come March. Warren Central has a 6-5 record after an up and down season. The Warriors have fallen to some of the top 10 teams in the state including #1 Ben Davis, #2 Indianapolis Cathedral, #4 Brownsburg, 10-1 Center Grove, and 3A #1 Mishawaka Marian. The Warriors are led by some key guys in the front court including <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868218' first='Jalen' last='Hooks']</strong> who transferred back from Donda Academy in California for his senior season as well as sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297060' first='Jevon' last='Guess']</strong>. Lawrence North has been great this season at 7-1 with their lone loss coming to Southport by just 2 points. The Wildcats had a big win over Lawrence Central at the beginning of the month and won the Connersville tournament last week. Lawrence North is led by a pair of young guards with junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson']</strong>. They also have 6'10" <strong>David Meriweather</strong>, who transferred from Indianapolis Metropolitan, dominating the post. This is a game both teams need to win in different ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Connersville @ Greensburg - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sectional 29 championship game is giving us a preview in the beginning of 2023 with Connersville visiting Greensburg. Connersville comes in at 6-3 after falling to 4A #8 Lawrence North in the finals of the Connersville Holiday Tournament. The Spartans also dropped a pair of early season road games to Delta and Shelbyville. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295370' first='Josh' last='Williams']</strong> leads the Spartans with 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578435' first='Lucas' last='Barron']</strong> also adds 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. Greensburg sits at 6-3 with losses to three underrated teams in Jennings County, Triton Central, and Seton Catholic. The Pirates took home a 5th-place finish in the Richmond tournament with a win over Indianapolis Tindley. Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1160678' first='Ki' last='Dyer']</strong> has been very good this season with 18.9 points per game on 40% shooting from deep. Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578402' first='Jack' last='Mckinsey']</strong> has also been big for the Pirates with 14.0 points per game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>2A #10 Tipton @ 1A #5 Bethesda Christian - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first of three top-10 matchups on Saturdays features Tipton and Bethesda Christian. Tipton sits at 9-2 with losses to Maconaquah and Western in the Clinton Central tournament finals. The Blue Devils picked up a big win over Carroll (Flora) in the opener of the tournament. The guard duo of junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158205' first='Nolan' last='Swan']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297029' first='Grady' last='Carpenter']</strong> have been unstoppable for Tipton this season. Swan sits at 17.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 47% from three this season. Carpenter has also put up big number with 17.3 points, 8.7 assists, and 7.2 rebounds. Bethesda Christian sits at 7-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to 4A #6 Westfield. The Patriots won the Monrovia Tournament last week with a win over Greenwood Christian in the finals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1761698' first='Sam' last='Mlagan']</strong> and <strong>Luke Douglas</strong> lead the way for Bethesda Christian this season with both averaging double figures at the start of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>1A #1 Evansville Christian @ 2A #3 Linton-Stockton - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evansville Christian makes the list for the second time as they will take on 2A #3 Linton-Stockton just one day after facing 1A #3 Bloomfield. Evansville Christian comes in at 6-4 on the season after four straight losses to a pair of state title contenders in 3A and 2A with North Daviess and Fort Wayne Blackhawk, 4A Jeffersonville, and Owensboro from Kentucky. The Eagles have not played since their fifth-place finish in the North Daviess Holiday Tournament. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158176' first='Josiah' last='Dunham']</strong> has been lights out this season at 26.2 points per game and 5.9 assists per game as well as shooting 43% from three. Senior <strong>Jake Schnepper</strong> also averages 10.3 points per game at 41% from three. Linton-Stockton comes in at 10-1 including a win in the Wabash Valley Classic. This will the Miners second game without their head coach as he was placed on administrative leave by the school. The Miners are led by UCF commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868240' first='Joey' last='Hart']</strong> as well as senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935736' first='Logan' last='Webb']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158180' first='Braden' last='Walters']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>4A #6 Westfield @ 4A #5 Carmel - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Sectional 8 matchup gives us yet another potential look at a Sectional final matchup although every team in that Sectional could reach that point. Westfield comes in at 6-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to fellow Sectional 8 opponent Zionsville in overtime. The Shamrocks do have big wins over Kokomo and Noblesville as well this season. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1410467' first='Alex' last='Romack']</strong> leads Westfield with 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds this season. Junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275749' first='Trey' last='Buchanan']</strong> also averages 13.6 points per game for the Shamrocks. Carmel joins Evansville Christian in making this list twice as they take on Center Grove on Friday night. Carmel sits at 7-3 on the season with their losses all coming by single digits to Moline (IL), Noblesville, and Kokomo. They have picked up a pair of big overtime wins over Fishers and Plainfield. The Greyhounds are led by Belmont commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042491' first='Sam' last='Orme']</strong> as well as several pieces with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868225' first='Spencer' last='White']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935725' first='Jared' last='Bonds']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935732' first='Clay' last='Richards']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->