In front of a capacity crowd on Fort Wayne's northeast side, the defending 2A state champs weathered a fourth-quarter run from last year's 3A state runner-up to grab a ten-point victory Tuesday night. Junior wing Gage Sefton was fantastic in the win, scoring 28 points on just 17 shot attempts.

 

 

It looked as though the Braves were ready for yet another postseason run early on, as they scored seven points in the game's first minute and 15 seconds from three different players. The Braves continued their hot shooting throughout the first quarter, hitting eight of ten field goal attempts. Their six-point lead after one quarter quickly doubled to 12 with four minutes remaining until halftime as the free-flowing pace allowed the Braves' skill to shine.

 

While starting big man Josh Furst picked up a pair of early fouls, freshman Kellen Pickett came in to buoy Blackhawk during the second period. The 6'7 Pickett scored on a layup through contact, gathered three offensive rebounds, and blocked a pair of Lion shots in the lane during the second quarter, allowing the Braves to extend their lead. The only saving grace for the Lions in the first half was their work on the offensive glass, as forwards DJ Allen and Caedmon Bontrager were able to keep several plays alive after missed shots and converted those opportunities into points.

 

The hosts started the second half on a 9-0 run thanks to the play of Sefton. The 6'3 junior was able to maneuver into the lane and hit on various finishes to start the second half. Sefton would end up with nine points in the quarter as Leo could only muster six points in the eight minutes.

 

The fourth started with a bang for Leo when Bontrager caught a lob against a 1-3-1 defense. The 6'6 senior was active, but every score by Leo was met with a basket from Blackhawk, usually at the hands of Sefton. But turnovers would begin to haunt the Braves, who saw their ballhandlers picked clean near midcourt on several occasions, leading to easy layups for Leo. Xavier Middleton and Trey Hiteshew were the primary culprits, often sitting on spin dribbles by Blackhawk Christian.

 

Sophomore reverse Jackson McGee was prominent in the fourth quarter, as he scored ten of his team-high tying 15 points in the comeback attempt for the Lions. A 20-point deficit to begin the period would be cut to just six with just under 60 seconds to play. Lewis Jones was fouled on an inbound and made two free throws. However, a missed three would fall into the hands of Jake Boyer, who would make a pair of free throws for a ten-point advantage, which was the final margin.

 

Sefton led all scorers with 28 points, while Lewis Jones added 13 and Josh Furst 11 for the Braves. Bontrager and McGee were the high men for Leo with 15 each. However, the Leo struggled shooting, going just 4-16 from behind the arc and 9-20 at the foul line.

 

 

Leo                  15   9   6  25  -  55

Blackhawk Christian  21  14  15  15  -  65

 

Leo: Caedmon Bontrager 15 points (5/7 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 9 rebs, 2 stls; Jackson McGee 15 points (5/7 FGs, 2/3 3Ps, 3/4 FTs); Luke LaGrange 8 points (3/7 FGs, 2/4 3Ps), 2 stls; DJ Allen 6 points (3/10 FGs), 2 rebs, 3 asts; Trey Hiteshew 6 points (3/8 FGs), 3 stls; Brody Hiteshew 2 points (1/2 FGs), 3 rebs; Xavier Middleton 2 points (1/4 FGs), 4 rebs, 2 stls; Ayden Ruble 1 point (1/4 FTs), 2 rebs

 

Blackhawk Christian: Gage Sefton 28 points (12/17 FGs, 2/5 3Ps, 2/3 FTs), 2 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks; Lewis Jones 13 points (4/8 FGs, 3/7 3Ps, 2/3 FTs); Josh Furst 11 points (3/7 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 5 rebs, 2 asts; Clay Pickett 5 points (2/3 FGs, 1/1 3Ps), 5 rebs; Jake Boyer 4 points (1/6 FGs, 1/2 3Ps, 1/2 FTs), 6 rebs, 3 asts; Jimmy Davidson 2 points (1/2 FGs), 9 rebs, 2 asts; Kellen Pickett 2 points (1/2 FGs), 7 rebs, 2 blks