In a battle of 3A heavyweights, Culver Academies made a couple of big plays late to beat Marion.

After back and forth action, Marion took a 36-33 lead in the third quarter when Jalen Blackmon finished an and-1 in the lane. From there, CMA answered with an Ethan Brittain-Watts three-pointer. Then two minutes later, Trey Galloway converted an and-1 to put Culver up 39-36.

Culver never trailed again. With Marion trying to comeback, Deontae Craig made huge plays. He led CMA in scoring with 21 points. Blackmon hit a three-pointer to pull Marion within 47-44 of Culver, but Craig scored on that next possession to give CMA breathing room. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter, and Galloway added seven.

The first half was a defensive stalemate as Culver did a great job on forcing Jalen Blackmon into contested shots. On the other end, Dre Aguilar and Quran Howard-Clement clogged up the lane and sent back shots at a high rate. Howard-Clement finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Culver Academies had its defense suffocating Marion. Each time the Giants made a shot, it was earned. There were only a couple cleans looks the entire game for Marion. That credit must go to Culver Academies.

CMA moves on to play Silver Creek in the 3A State Final. Culver Academies is the defending champ of the class.

Culver Academies – Deontae Craig 21 points (8-13 FG, 5-9 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 turnoves, 1 steal; Trey Galloway 15 points (4-9 FG, 1-4 3FG, 6-9 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal; Ethan Brittain-Watts 12 points (4-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-3 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 2 steals; Jordan Freeman 6 points (3-10 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal; Johnny Cohen 3 points, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal; Anthony Goeb 2 rebounds, 1 assists; Nick Gravenites 1 turnover

Marion – JK Thomas 17 (7-15 FG, 3-9 3FG), 2 turnovers, 1 steal; Jalen Blackmon 15 points (5-17 FG, 1-11 3FG, 4-5 FT), 5 assists, 4 turnovers, 2 steals; Quran Howard-Clement 6 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers; Dre Aguilar 2 points, five rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 block, 1 steal; RaSheed Jones 4 points (2-5 FG) 1 rebound, 1 steal; Josh Balfour 3 rebounds. D’Angelo Jones 3 rebounds, 1 turnover

In the first game of the Elkhart Semi-State, Blackhawk Christian steamrolled Lafayette Central Catholic after opening the game 11-0.

Frankie Davidson set the tone by trying to dunk over an LCC defender on the first play of the game. It drew a foul on Carson Barrett just a few seconds in the game. The University of Indianapolis signee had a big game including a couple dunks.

11-2 was the closest the game got after the opening run. Michael Pulver and Marcus Davidson were great for Blackhawk when super sophomore Caleb Furst went to the bench with two fouls. Pulver was all over the floor, and Marcus was hitting triples.

LCC was able to stop the bleeding a bit at the end of the first quarter when Carson Barrett made a few plays. It was still a 13-point game heading to the second quarter then reached 20 points early in the period.

The Blackhawk lead stretched to 31 points as Zane Burke chased down a rebound, spun while going away from the basket, and hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter. It was that type of day for Blackhawk Christian.

Blackhawk will play Barr-Reeve in the Class A State Final next Saturday. These were the top two Class A teams for most of the year.

Blackhawk – Caleb Furst 8 points (3-8 FG, 2-3 FT), 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 blocks; Frankie Davidson 17 points (6-9 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-6 FT), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steals; Zane Burke 15 points (5-12 FG, 5-9 3FG), 5 rebounds, 1 turnover, 3 steals; Michael Pulver 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-4 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals; Abe Hicks 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals; Marcus Davidson 11 points (4-12 FG, 1-5 3FG, 2-4), 3 rebounds, 1 assists; Trinity Clark 5 points, 2 steals; Austin McIntosh 3points, 2 rebounds

LCC – Carson Barrett 12 points (5-12 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnover, 2 blocks; David Schwartz 11 points (4-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-6 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 steal; Matt Timmons 2 ebounds; Brenner Oliver 5 points; AJ Bordenet 6 points, 2 rebounds; Nate Webb 11 points, 5 rebounds, Clark Barrett 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers; Preston Hensley 3 points