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Sectional 2: Portage 69, Chesterton 55

Written by Trevor Andershock

(O'Mari Evans driving against Lake Central. Photo from the NWI Times)

The senior core of Portage proved to be too much Chesterton on Friday night. O'mari Evans, Michael Wellman, and Garrett Clark dominated from the tip, leading Portage to a 69-55 win.

Portage, entering the sectional 18-5, and Chesterton, entering 15-8 and on a seven-game winning streak, were the favorites to win the Sectional 2 at Valparaiso. The DAC rivals received byes to the semifinal but had to face each other on Friday night.

From the tip, Evans set the tone with his defense. He forced two steals for runouts in the first quarter. Wellman was initially aggressive, and Clark gave Portage extra possessions by hitting the glass.

Portage jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first period. Junior guard Logan Pokorney hit two three-pointers for Chesterton's only points.

The Trojans made the game competitive in the second quarter by slowing down and scoring second-chance points. Rob Czarniecki and Cayden Schneider gave Chesterton a boost in the quarter.

An eight-point guard at halftime, Evans opened the second half with two three-pointers in quick secession and all but put the game out of reach. An unsigned senior, Evans had a tremendous second half to finish with 24 points, four steals, three rebounds, and three assists.

While trailing, Pokorney kept shooting well for Chesterton. He has progressed into an elite spot-up shooter who does an outstanding job of preparing before catching the ball. He finished with 22 points on six three-pointers.

Jaylon Watts also had success slashing to the basket, especially in the fourth quarter, for Chesterton. He scored 18 in the loss.

Portage used a half-court trap to keep Chesterton on its heels all game, and the turnovers Portage forced out of it were the difference in the game.

Michael Wellman scored 16 points, and Sam Wellman iced the game at the line to finish with 12 points and five assists. Clark tallied nine points and 12 rebounds.

Portage plays Merrillville for the Sectional 2 title at Valpo High School on Saturday night.

Sectional: Fishers 54, Westfield 47

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

(JonAnthony Hall takes a three-pointer against Crispus Attucks at the 2024 FORUM Tipoff Classic. Photo by James Cocherell)

In a highly anticipated sectional opener, No. 1 Fishers defeated Westfield 54-47, but it was far from a cakewalk for the Tigers. The Rocks took Fishers down to the wire in early February and had a chance late against the Tigers this time, too. In the end, Stanford football signee JonAnthony Hall (15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks) and Jason Gardner Jr. (13 points and six assists) powered Fishers to the victory.

Fishers, a team shooting over 45 percent from three this season, began the game one of five from deep. That allowed Westfield to take an early lead. Junior guard Drew Haffner provided most of the offense behind his shot-making. The lanky guard scored eight points in the opening period.

Miami of Ohio signee Justin Kirby came off the bench to immediately knock down a three, followed by a Hall three to give Fishers the 17-15 advantage after one quarter.

Sophomore point guard Jason Gardner Jr. recorded five points and two assists in the first six minutes, but he also picked up two fouls. That sent him to the bench for a stretch.

Junior Brock Detamore buried a spot-up three in the second quarter to swing the lead back to Westfield's side, 20-19. Durante Morton scored while being fouled to extend the Rocks' lead to 22-19.

However, Fishers finished the half on a seven-to-zero run, and halftime did not slow down the Tigers. The 4A favorite scored the first nine points, including two emphatic dunks from Hall, to make the overall run 16-0.

Gardner and Hall led Fishers to an 11-point lead into the final quarter. The Tigers pushed the advantage to 15 points before Westfield made a final charge.

Haffner found a shooting and scoring rhythm again after being quiet in the middle quarters for Westfield. Haffner, Will Harvey, Detamore, and Jalen Malone sparked the late run.

The Rocks made it a three-point game with 1:25 to play but could not come any closer to the Tigers. Taylor University signee Nathan Baker dove on a loose ball to get Fishers possession with 24.7 seconds remaining. The effort all but sealed the game for the Tigers.

Baker finished with six points, four assists, and the crucial steal.

Kirby tallied ten points off the bench, and Millen McCartney scored seven.

Haffner scored a game-high 19 points in the loss. Malone recorded ten points and six rebounds. Detamore scored eight points, and Harvey notched seven points and four rebounds.

Fishers was an uncharacteristic 4-16 (25 percent) from three but made 19-23 (82.6 percent) two-point shots. On the other side, Westfield could not score around the rim against Hall, Kirby, and Baker. The Rocks shot 10-29 (34.5 percent) from inside the arc, leading Fishers to win the points in the paint battle 34 to 12.

Westfield finishes the season 18-4, with two close losses to Fishers.

Fishers (25-0) plays Zionsville in the second game at Carmel on Friday night. The first game is Noblesville vs. Hamilton Southeastern.

No. 10 Northridge 63, No. 17 Penn 54

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

(Photo of Brady Scholl via Jeff Douglas/3rd13)

Brady Scholl stole the show as No. 10 Northridge (12-2) beat No. 17 Penn (9-7) 63-54. Scholl made two game-changing defensive plays down the stretch for the Raiders. First, he chased down Penn freshman star Caleb Coolman to erase a layup. A minute later, Scholl picked the pocket of a Penn ball-handler and took the turnover in for a dunk. The two plays by Scholl helped Northridge secure the road victory.

Scholl finished with 21 points, ten rebounds, and seven blocks. Coolman had a game-high 27 points in the losing effort.

Early on, Northridge’s Hayden Johnson was on fire from three. He made all four of his three-point attempts in the first half. He also hit a difficult baseline step back in the second quarter. Johnson scored 16 points in the first half.

Scholl began to make his impact from the tip on the defensive end first, then started to score more later in the first half. The athletic center blocked three shots in the first quarter to stall the Penn offense.

The Penn offense came from freshman Coolman in the first quarter. He scored eight of Penn’s ten points in the stanza. Coolman knocked down two first-quarter threes and added another in the second period. Coolman had 13 first-half points.

Ethan Good came off the bench to score the other eight first-half Penn points, including a fastbreak and-one and a pull-up three off a ball screen.

Northridge looked poised to blow the doors off Penn in the third quarter after Kam Radeker made a couple of threes. His transition triple pushed Northridge’s lead to 44-28, but Penn quickly responded. Good hit a fallaway three from the right side at the third-quarter buzzer.

Johnson scored on a drive to extend Northridge’s lead back to 14 with under six minutes to play. Once again, Coolman and Good answered for the Kingsmen.

Penn had it back to an eight-point game when Coolman stole the ball from Scholl. A six-point deficit looked imminent, but Scholl had other plans. The play seemed consequential at the moment and even more significant in retrospect.

Despite Coolman and Good combining for nine three-pointers, Penn could not get closer than eight points the rest of the game.

Johnson finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists for the Raiders. Mason Bales played a steady role for Northridge throughout the game, recording 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Radeker tallied eight points, five assists, and four rebounds.

Coolman went for 27 points on five of ten from three-point range. He also added five rebounds and three assists. Good finished with 18 points. John Bedient posted four points, two rebounds, and two assists.

Nick Anderson's journey from Lake Central HS to Barry to Furman

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

Nick Anderson proved to be one of the best shooters to come out of the state in recent memory during his senior year at Lake Central High School. He scored 25 points per game for Dave Milausnic while shooting 47.1 percent from three. Throughout his senior yeat at LC, Anderson went from a D3 recruit to drawing D1 interest. However, COVID put an end to spring recruiting for the D1 programs looking at him, and Anderson wound up at D2 Barry University in Florida.

Anderson progressed each season at Barry. As a senior, he averaged 17 points per game and almost led his team to the NCAA Tournament by pushing No. 1 Nova Southeastern to the limit in the conference tournament final.

Anderson decided to use his fifth season at the D1 level, and he is thriving for Furman University in the Southern Conference.

A full look at Anderson's game and journey:

Brooks Barnhizer's evolution

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

(Brooks Barnhizer at the NCAA Academy)

2021 Lafayette Jeff graduate Brooks Barnhizer took over the game against Indiana on Wednesday, leading Northwestern to the 79-70 victory. The all-around performance has been a consistent thing this season for Barnhizer. He made the All-Big Ten third team last year and is poised to improve that in his senior year.

Barnhizer was a 2021 Indiana All-Star before enrolling at Northwestern University.

Here is a look at his clutch performance against Indiana, his high school career, and how he has progressed throughout his four years at Northwestern.

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News

Recruiting News

Sectional 2: Portage 69, Chesterton 55

Sectional: Fishers 54, Westfield 47

No. 10 Northridge 63, No. 17 Penn 54

Nick Anderson's journey from Lake Central HS to Barry to Furman

Brooks Barnhizer's evolution

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