2021-2022 High School Season
2023 IHSAA State Finals
The 3A title game between NorthWood and Guerin Catholic was all NorthWood from the tip, thanks to Cade Brenner. The senior guard scored the first eight points of the game. He tallied twelve points by going two of three from deep in the opening quarter.
The size of NorthWood bothered Guerin, and the Golden Eagles only managed seven first-period points.
NorthWood opened a fourteen-point lead before Guerin started chipping away. It was a balanced effort from the Golden Eagles, with Kamea Chandler, Robert Sorensen, and Jack Cherry carrying the biggest chunk. Chandler provided most of the early scoring for Guerin.
Brenner reappeared for NorthWood when Guerin started to build confidence. The senior exploded for twenty-three first-half points. Brenner nailed five of seven threes in the opening half and eight of eleven overall.
Thanks to Brenner, NorthWood held a 35-27 halftime lead.
Ian Raasch had a good third quarter. His athleticism and versatility were showcased as he handled the ball, rebounded, and finished above the rim.
Still, Guerin stayed within striking distance. Early in the fourth, Lucas Parker scored a driving layup over a couple of NorthWood defenders to pull the Golden Eagles within 44-37.
Soon after the Parker score, Chandler and Cherry buried three-pointers. NorthWood clung to a 48-43 lead at that point.
As Guerin closed in on NorthWood, Aaron Wolfe drew up a wonderful play to get Tyler Raasch a mid-paint jumper, and the sophomore converted. The celebration was cut short as Chandler and Ty Sanders kept scoring for Guerin.
Chandler drove the lane and finished through a Tyler Raasch foul. His free throw with 1:39 tied the game.
NorthWood milked more than a minute off the clock with the game knotted at 52 before Ian Raasch drove. He could not finish the play but grabbed the rebound to maintain possession. The final play went to Brenner, who went scoreless in the second half, but he could not get the shot to drop.
Guerin took the lead to begin overtime with a free throw by Dylan Murans, but Ian Raasch answered within seconds. After a defensive stop, Brenner drove before spotting Ethan Wolfe open for a three on the other side of the court. Wolfe buried the triple to push NorthWood’s lead to 57-53.
Like all game, Guerin did not go quietly. The Golden Eagles had the ball down two with fifteen seconds left. However, a Chandler drive ended with a turnover, and NorthWood won 66-63 in overtime.
Brenner led all scorers with 28 points. Tyler Raasch posted a complete line of 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. Ian Raasch recorded 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Wolfe contributed nine points and five rebounds. Brock Bontrager added two points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Chandler led Guerin with 22 points and four assists. Cherry scored 15 points, and Robert Sorensen scored eight points and four rebounds.
The 2A title game between Blackhawk Christian and Linton-Stockton drew a bunch of college coaches and plenty of fan attention. The two schools dominated the 2A polls all season.
Joey Hart, a Central Florida signee, and Logan Webb pushed Linton-Stockton to an early lead, but both went two of six in the opening quarter. Blackhawk committed four early turnovers, but sophomore Kellen Pickett and Isaac Smith hit threes to keep the Braves in it.
Hart kept attacking in the second quarter. He took a handoff from Braden Walters to get downhill and finished through a Gage Sefton foul to put Linton up 23-13. It was Sefton’s second foul of the half too.
The senior guard caught fire from three in the first half. He made four of five three-pointers to give Linton a 29-18 halftime lead. Hart scored eighteen points by himself.
Matt Roth switched the defensive matchup on Hart by putting Pickett on him. The size of Pickett helped slow the shooting of Hart. After eighteen first-half points, Hart only scored five points on 1-14 shooting in the second half.
The Braves erased the eleven-point halftime deficit behind the improved defense and Sefton and Pickett powering the offense. Sefton scored ten of his sixteen points in the second half, while Pickett tallied twelve of his nineteen after the break.
Blackhawk outscored Linton 15-6 in the third quarter.
In the fourth, Blackhawk continued to make Linton take challenged shots before converting on the other end. Blackhawk shot an effective field goal percentage of 68 in the second half.
Even with things fading for Linton, the Miners had multiple chances down the stretch. Hart made a three with 1:03 left to pull Linton within 43-40.
However, it was a two-possession game the rest of the way, and Josh Furst capped the game with a dunk at the buzzer. Furst led Blackhawk in scoring this season, but it was his first points of the contest.
Blackahwk won 52-45.
Pickett finished with nineteen points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Sefton recorded sixteen points and eight rebounds, while Jimmy Davidson added nine points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
Hart scored a game-high twenty-three points. Webb contributed eleven points and five rebounds. Nathan Frady, the 2A Mental Attitude Award winner, had three points, twelve rebounds, and four assists.
The first game of the day started slowly, but the Lutheran Saints changed that in the second quarter. Led by the explosiveness of LJ Ward and shooting of Durray Smith, the Saints scored thirty-six points in the second period.
Southwood led after one, 10-9, but turnovers started to derail the Knights. Lutheran created nine first-half steals and converted them for twenty-one fastbreak points. The high-flying Ward had a big-time dunk in the second quarter to propel Lutheran.
Ward had eight points, four steals, three blocks, four rebounds, and three assists in the first half.
Will Winer scored eight of Southwood’s 16 second-quarter points, but the blitz by Lutheran was too much.
Lutheran led 45-26 at the half.
Lutheran kept the pedal down in the third quarter. The Saints scored 32 points in the third as Cayden Loescher scored in the lane, Ward slashed, and Smith continued to hit threes. Kameron Patterson filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Southwood continued to play hard and press, but the Knights could not make a dent in the Lutheran lead. The only question heading to the fourth was if the Saints could score 100 after Lutheran scored 68 points in two quarters.
Lutheran did not pull back much in the fourth. The Saints notched the 1A scoring record at the 4:02 mark. Lutheran broke the class record for points in a title game and tied the overall mark held by the 1955 Crispus Attucks team.
Lutheran won 97-66.
Cayden Loescher led Lutheran with 22 points, ten rebounds, and five assists. Smith finished with 21 points and four rebounds.
Ward recorded a crazy line of 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, six steals, and four blocks.
Kameron Patterson added 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Jason Oprisek gave Southwood 17 points and five rebounds. Cole Winer, the 1A Mental Attitude winner, recorded 15 points and six rebounds. Will Winer tallied 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
