Regional: Fort Wayne North vs. Zionsville
Back and forth, a game that was close until the last minute, Zionsville and Fort Wayne North went to battle. With 11 lead changes and 9 ties, neither team really got an upper hand. Fort Wayne North took a small lead going into halftime but did it without Keion Brooks Jr. really being a factor.
Really, he wasn’t involved on the offensive side of the ball until the last quarter. Brandan Johnson took over the offense for a stretch where he went 3/3 from behind the are and chipped in 13 points and 4 rebounds. Keion Brooks got going late but Lucas Kroft was really good early on and helped balance out the offense a bit for them.
Zionsville was right there with Riley Bertram taking hold early until Isaiah Thompson got going. Bertram got his first shot blocked by Keion Brooks but then figured out how to finish because he was going right at him later on and finishing well on his way to 14 points. Thompson, though, was huge in the second half after the offense started to slow down. He ended up with 26 points but it wasn’t enough to beat Fort Wayne North.
Best Offensive Player: Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville)
This was a really good game for Thompson. He was slow to get going but then it was all him and he was fantastic at the rim finishing with length and creativity. One of the better games we have seen in that regard. He was perfect 6/6 from the free throw line and had a couple threes mixed in there. Was about as good of a game as Zionsville needed, just needed an extra stop at the end.
Best Defensive Player: Nate Childress / Will Alcock
Hard to overlook Childress and Alcock here. Both were really good in shutting down North and their offense. Alcock was great with his ability to switch and help on Brooks. Childress was more aggressive and won a lot of the rebounding in this one. While it wasn’t enough to win, their combined 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots was huge.
Biggest Surprise: Fort Wayne North’s Second Half Shooting
Really, there weren’t a ton of surprises but after looking back at the stat sheet, to see North win in a gam where they shot just 38.9% in the second half is a little crazy. They outscored Zionsville 28-26 in the second half but in the end, it was the free throw shooting that helped make up for it. They had a lot of them late, late in the game but still, they went 11/14 in the second half and that seemed to be the difference. To escape that game shooting poorly was a massive win.
Top Scorers:
Keion Brooks Jr. (FW North) – 14 points (4/9 FG), 9 reb
Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville) – 26 points (9/14 FG), 5 reb
Team |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Final |
Zionsville | 14 | 25 | 40 | 51 |
Fort Wayne North | 12 | 27 | 39 | 55 |