After sweating out an overtime semifinal win against Ben Davis, Warren Central let loose on Saturday night, leading from wire to wire in a demolition of Terre Haute South in the regional championship. All five Warrior starters scored in double figures as they built up a 20 point lead in the first quarter and were never threatened.

 

 

The defensive pressure that Warren Central displayed was a thing of beauty, frequently getting steals and breakaways that clearly frustrated a good Terre Haute South squad. The Braves came into the nightcap off of a  big win over Mt. Vernon, with Indiana State signee De’Avion Washington scoring 32 in that contest. David Bell was the main defender that held Washington to 14 points on 4/14 shooting before Washington was ejected late in the third quarter following a pair of technical fouls.

 

 

This was the first non-MIC opponent for Warren Central since their sectional opener against Tech. Forward Jakobie Robinson scored a team high 17 on a variety of finishes around the basket. Antwaan Cushingberry scored 16 and handed out 3 assists while David Bell put in his typical all-around line of 14 points, 7 boards, 5 helpers, and 3 steals. Senior guard Craig Porter turned in a fine performance for the Braves with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but got little help as he and Washington were the only South players to score more than 2 points.

 

 

Looking to turn the momentum in the second quarter, Terre Haute South came out in a press, but Warren Central routinely beat it for easy baskets at their offensive end. At the end of the first half, the Warrior advantage had reached 27 points and they were well on their way to become the first team to win 30 games since Pike won 30 in their state championship season of 1998 (Pike’s final two wins came in the now-extinct Tournament of Champions).

 

 

Terre Haute South finishes their season at 20-8 while Warren Central moves to 30-0 and advances to take on New Albany for the right to play in the state finals.

 

 

Terre Haute South   7  18  12   11  -  48

Warren Central      26  26  18  13  -  83

 

Terre Haute South: Craig Porter 24points (8/17 FGs, 1/6 3Ps, 7/9 FTs), 10 rebs, 2 stls, 3 blks; De’Avion Washington 14 points (4/14 FGs, 6/8 fts), 2 stls; Maleek Logsdon 2 points; Kenyon Sholty 2 points; Dylan Turner 2 points; Camden Johnson 2 points; Jevon McCoskey 2 points

 

Warren Central: Jakobie Robinson 17 points; Antwaan Cushingberry 16 points (6/8 FGs, 2/2 3Ps, 2/2 FTs), 3 asts; Jesse Bingham 14 points (5/7 FGs, 4/8 FTs), 5 rebs; David Bell 14 points (6/10 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 7 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls; Dean Tate 13 points (4/9 FGs, 1/5 3Ps, 4/6 FTs), 4 asts, 2 stls; Joe Rush 6 points, Jalen Stamps 3 points