The opening round of the 97th annual Marion County Tournament took place on Tuesday amid snowy weather and frigid temperatures outside. Inside gyms around the Indianapolis area, teams battled for the right to advance to quarterfinal play on Wednesday. On the city's southeast side, 3A #3 Park Tudor faced off against 4A #9 Franklin Central.

 

 

Park Tudor would respond out of the timeout with an 11-2 run of their own. Isiah Moore would have six points in the run, and Jaren Jackson protected the rim with a pair of blocks on the forwards of Franklin Central. A quick flurry from Marcus Burk at the end of the quarter would give them a three point lead into the second.

 

Marcus Burk would continue to go off, providing Franklin Central with all the offense they would need. Isiah Rice would make Burk work on the defensive end, however, as he isolated Burk and drove by him multiple times, resulting in a couple fouls and assists to keep Park a Tudor within striking distance as the team's headed into the locker room.

 

After Burk posted 21 points in the first half, Park Tudor would come out determined to make someone else for Franklin Central beat them. Point guard Jimmy Weinke would oblige them. A ballscreen set by Burk freed Weinke for a pullup off the glass, and then a quick ball reversal found Weinke all alone in the corner and he deposited the three to give Franklin Central a 16 point lead. At this point, half of the lights at Franklin Central went out, the result of a power surge in Indianapolis that saw lighting issues occur at Southport and North Central as well. The teams would be idled for around 15 minutes before the lights turned back on again.

 

After the short break, each team would trade baskets over the final few minutes of the third, and Franklin a Central would carry a 15 point advantage heading into the final quarter. They would work the clock and eventually lead by 17 when Grant Pedigo drove and was fouled by Jaren Jackson. The layup went, and so did the subsequent free throw with just over two minutes left.

 

Park Tudor would crank up the pressure and force several late Franklin Central turnovers late, but the margin was too much to overcome as Franklin Central would hang on for a nine point win and advance to Wednesday's quarterfinal round. Jaren Jackson scored 12 of his team high 19 points in the fourth for Park a Tudor.