In recent years, Park Tudor and Scecina have battled for 2A supremacy in Indianapolis. Park Tudor is now in 3A thanks to the IHSAA success factor, and Scecina is rebuilding with a group of freshmen and sophomores. Scecina was trying to make a statement on Wednesday.
From the start, Scecina's zone defense gave Park Tudor fits. The defense collapsed on 2017 forward Jaren Jackson Jr. on every touch. With Scecina focused on taking away the inside game of Jackson, Park Tudor settled for outside shots. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the iron was unkind on the three-point attempts. Park Tudor shot 0-7 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter.
On the other end, sophomore Jeff Sultzer was aggressive from the start. He scored six points in the first period for Scecina. Sultzer was not afraid to attack the paint with Jackson patrolling the area.
The pace in the first half was normal, but neither team was able to get much going. Unofficially, Park Tudor was 5-20 from the field in the first half. Scecina was just 6-21, so they were not torching the nets either. That led to Scecina leading Park Tudor 17-15 at the half.
Jaren Jackson Jr. wasted no time taking over the game in the second half. He scored six points in a matter of moments. The talented junior only had four points in the entire first half. Park Tudor jumped on Jackson's back to begin the second half with a 9-0 run. The Panthers never looked back from there.
The Scecina offense totally stalled in the second half. The Crusaders only managed five points in the third quarter. Park Tudor did a good job of forcing turnovers while also keeping Scecina out of the lane. There were no easy baskets for Scecina in the second half.
Isaiah Rice scored seven points in early minutes of the fourth period. Rice helped Park Tudor push its lead to over 20 points in the final quarter before coach Jim Melton pulled his starters with about three minutes to go in the game.
The final was 49-37 in Park Tudor's favor. Jaren Jackson finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Isaiah Rice added 13 points. Jeff Sultzer led Scecina with eight points while Manuel Brown and Jasuan Vance added seven points in the loss.