Lawrence Central against North Central was the match-up that the Indiana high school basketball community wanted to see. Unfortunately for the two teams, it came in the first round of the Marion County Tournament. North Central is the number one team in the state and Lawrence Central isn't far behind them. This game lived up to the hype.

2017 forward Kris Wilkes got the ball rolling for North Central in the first quarter. He attacked the basket early and often. Mateo Rivera helped feed Wilkes the ball as Wilkes scored seven points and Rivera racked up three assists in the opening period.

Turnovers and shooting were a problem for Lawrence Central early in the game. North Central applied pressure to every ball handler and the steals were plentiful. LC scored just seven points in the first quarter.

Virginia signee Kyle Guy heated up in the second period despite the chants of 'airball' and 'overrated' (both banned from by the WIAA) from the North Central student section. He scored 16 points in the period to get Lawrence Central back in the game.

The headline event in the third quarter, besides Lawrence Central taking a brief lead, was a loud boom and then a fifth of the gym lights going out. The lights also went out at Franklin Central, Southport and even Bankers Life Fieldhouse at the same time. It was likely weather related as a deep freeze hit Indianapolis this week. There was enough lighting to continue to play after a momentary delay.

Lawrence Central did score the first six points of the second half to take its first lead of the game. The game was back and forth from that point. Lawrence Central did a good job of limiting Wilkes' offensive opportunities in the second half. North Central used a balanced attack with Antonio Singleton, Emmanuel Little and Tyrie Johnson stepping up.

Guy and Biffle combined for 31 of Lawrence Central's 39 points through three quarters. The LC role players played a huge part in giving the Bears a fourth quarter lead though. Ben Resner had an important and-1 in the paint. Tyrelle Walker had a driving layup. Those plays had Lawrence Central up 53-48 with under two minutes to play.

Wilkes aggressively got open and made a strong move to the basket. He converted the play and was fouled in the process. With Lawrence Central leading by two points, North Central forced a held ball during its full court press.

North Central worked the ball around against Lawrence Central with Wilkes touching the ball a couple times. The defensive attention to Wilkes let Mateo Rivera open for a three pointer. Rivera was 0-5 from behind the arc to that point including three misses in the fourth quarter. He knocked the last one down though.

Despite being down one point, Lawrence Central milked the clock down. The Bears nearly turned the ball over once they started their set. LC had to dive on a loose ball in the back court and call for timeout with 3.7 seconds left to save the possession.

“No (I didn't need to tell him anything prior to the shot), he doesn't lack for confidence,” said North Central coach Doug Mitchell.

The final play went to the leading candidate for Mr. Basketball, Kyle Guy. He was able to get his momentum going towards the rim before attempting a shot from six feet while three North Central defenders converged on him. It did not go down and no foul was called.

North Central escaped with the 54-53 victory. Kris Wilkes led the way with 16 points while Antonio Singleton added 11 and Mateo Rivera had nine. Kyle Guy had a game-high 27 points. Mekhi Biffle added 13 points in the loss.

North Central advances to play Southport on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Marion County Tournament. The game will start at 7:00 p.m.