Eric Gardner
From the jump, it was pretty much all Zionsville as they set the tone and took away all extra opportunities from Brownsburg. Brownsburg fell into a bunch of early threes that didn’t work out and played catchup all game long. At the end, Zionsville just proved to be the tougher and more efficient team winning, 68-51.
Zionsville Back On Track, Brownsburg Still Searching
Both of these teams when through a tough time last week. Zionsville dropped a pair of games now that they are into the true heart of their schedule, but getting this win helps cover the losses up a bit. However, Brownsburg didn’t get that done in this game. They were not very good against Carmel and now against Zionsville. Offensively, they look a little lost and they need to get it figured out soon because the end of the season is coming and this is a team talented enough to make a run.
Childress Steps Up For Zionsville
Walked away impressed with the performance of junior forward Nate Childress from Zionsville. The 6’7 forward was all over the place and very aggressive on the boards. Brownsburg is a team that has a lot of forwards with a bunch of different skill sets so you would think they would be able to slow down opposing post players. Not Childress on this day. The best part of it for him was his attacking mentality on the boards, flying in from the middle of the floor and getting to the rim and doing it very tough and finishing at a high level. It was an impressive game for him.
Brownsburg Relying Too Much Perimeter Shots
Part of the reason, really the biggest reason for Brownsburg falling behind early was their inability to hit perimeter jumpers. They were 7/23 from the floor and most of those came in the first half. They really struggled to develop much offense as possessions were short with bad shots and that combined with Zionsville taking away any chance of offensive rebounds. Hopefully this is just a one-off because no one on this roster, at least starters, is really what you would peg as a good three-point shooter. This team is built for more physical lane penetration and work on the low block, which we really didn’t see much of in this game.
Zionsville, If They Make A Run, Will Be Because Of Toughness
While this isn’t a big thing for those that have seen their roster play before, last night locked in the belief that Zionsville has enough talent to make a run but it will be because of their toughness that they will make a run this year. Led by Nate Childress and Riley Bertram, those two really are tough as nails and aggressive, almost to a detriment but you need that. Their Sectional is way easier this year without McCutcheon and Lafayette Jeff being that great this year. Zionsville should be looked at as the favorite. If and when you make it through that, Regionals will be where they will need to play above their head with Carmel or Hamilton Southeastern waiting in the first game.
Brownsburg Has Time Before Big Tests Come
Looking at the rest of Brownsburg’s schedule, you get the sense this could line up really well for them. They have four games in a row that are all pretty reasonable wins for them including two Sectional opponents in Terre Haute South and Plainfield. Expectations are that they should be the winner of those four games. Then, their final two regular season games come against real opponents in Hamilton Southeastern and Center Grove, both on the road. Take the next four games to get things figure out and get rolling again and then you get two tests against teams that are just as good, most likely better then you are. This could be the best case scenario as a lineup to be able to be prepared for the postseason.