The Indianapolis City Tournament finals are set. The top seed will play the sixth seed for the title Monday night at Indianapolis Tech.
Manual gave the top seed, Cathedral, a challenge for three quarters. In the end, Armaan Franklin and Jarron Coleman were too much for Manual. Franklin finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Coleman had 21 points and seven rebounds. Cathedral outscored Manual 20-12 in the fourth quarter to win going away, 65-48.
It was a back and forth game into the third quarter. Manual received a big performance from Jalen Johnson. The junior battled foul trouble but finished with 21 points including four three-pointers. All eight players that saw action scored for Manual. The balance kept Cathedral off balance.
Cathedral was 2-14 from three-point range but grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to offset the poor outside shooting. The Irish also shot 21-25 from the free throw line compared to 6-6 for Manual. Cathedral also forced 15 turnovers.
In the nightcap, Tindley and Howe played at a breakneck pace. The first three buckets of the game were three-pointers. That trend continued all game for Tindley. The Tigers shot 14-25 from deep with Purdue-bound guard Eric Hunter converting 7-11 from beyond the arc. Hunter finished with a game-high 33 points. He was fantastic from start to finish.
It was an extremely entertaining game as both teams looked to push the tempo. KJ Coleman and Joe Johnson combined for 25 points on 7-12 shooting including five triples.
Hunter put on a show in the third quarter. He scored 14 points in the stanza which led Tindley to turn a four-point halftime deficit into an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Although Tindley dominated the third quarter, Howe answered right back in the final frame. The Hornets used a heavy dose of Kycia Washington slashing to the basket down the stretch. Washington scored seven of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Howe also received big buckets from Tony Hopkins and Jamil Turner-Hall in the final possessions to win, 74-72.
Turnovers were an issue for Tindley. The Tigers finished with 18 turnovers while Howe committed just seven. Howe was also able to get to the line much more through its aggressive driving. Howe shot 23 free throws while Tindley shot 10.
Howe will challenge Cathedral for the City title Monday at 7:30. It will be played at Tech with the junior varsity title game proceeding the varsity match-up. It is always a great atmosphere at Tech.