Sunday was the final week of the Metro Indy Fall Basketball League at the Noblesville Boys & Girls Club. There were three championships: A (top 2 in pools), B (3rd and 4th in pool), and JV.
Coach Gentry’s team arrived in the championship game of the B bracket behind 40 points from Evansville-commit D.J. Balentine. Balentine had 9 3-pointers in the semi-final game. Balentine continued his dominance in the championship game. Balentine went for 27 in the final as Derrick Gentry’s team beat Brandon Mayse’s squad.
In the A bracket, Ramon Stallings team led by Eron Harris and Petey Balls were the only undefeated team in the regular season of the league. Team Stallings advanced to the championship game by beating Team Andershock 60-51. Harris had a 10-point run by himself in the third quarter. Balls and Jalen McCallum also played very well for Coach Stallings. Jaylon Brown scored 16 points for Team Andershock in the loss.
The other A semi-final matched Sherron Wilkerson’s team against Duke Pryor’s squad. Wilkerson’s team was headlined by Jared Drew and Darryl Baker while Pryor’s team had the Warren Central duo of Devin Davis and Brent Calhoun. This game was a defensive battle which is unheard of in a fall league. Wilkerson’s team edged out Team Pryor to advance to face Team Stallings in the championship of the A bracket.
The championship game saw Coach Stallings’ team jumped out to an early lead. Defensive transition is usually sub-par in events like this one and Team Stallings pushed the ball better than any team in the league. That pace led to a lot of “easy” baskets. They also had a very balanced scoring attack although when they needed a bucket, it was surely going through Eron Harris.
It looked as though Team Stallings was going to pull away from Coach Wilkerson’s team in the third quarter when they stretched their lead to 15 points. Jared Drew and Darryl Baker didn’t let that happen though and Team Wilkerson made a comeback. It was a four point game when Wilkerson’s team forced a turnover which led to a transition 3 with 7 seconds left. Stallings team wisely let some time come off the clock before putting the ball in play. A last second heave after a missed free-throw fell short and Team Stallings escaped with the 60-59 victory for the league championship. Jordan Garnett finished with 13 points in the win. Drew finished with 20 in the loss.