BB SECT 12: Decatur Central, Pike advance to semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS – In a pair of extremely tight contests, Decatur Central (18-3) and host Pike (12-8) survived opening-round affairs March 4 at Class 4A Sectional 12. Here’s a wrap …

Decatur Central hoped to head into the semifinals without much trouble against Indianapolis Tech (3-17). Yet the largest lead the Hawks could manage was 35-30 with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter. 

Tech closed out the third quarter trailing only 46-45 and appeared to be in the mix for an upset. But senior forward Blake Beasley – who had a game-high 25 points – scored the next six points in the first 1:47 of the final quarter, allowing Decatur Central to take a 52-47 lead with 6:13 remaining. 

Tech hung close with the play of junior Isaac Mack and freshman Aaron Payne, closing the gap to 56-54 with :47.9 to go. Decatur missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities, but a jumper from Tech’s Mack missed. 

After being fouled on the rebound, Beasley calmly sank two free throws to seal the victory with 4.1 seconds remaining.

Class 4A will have a new champion this year after Pike eliminated reigning state champion Brownsburg (11-9) by two points. Pike appeared to have Brownsburg well under control early on, holding the Bulldogs for almost 6:30 without a point, let alone a decent look at the bucket. 

Pike led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to 20-9 with 5:30 remaining in the opening half. Brownsburg junior Kurtis Runyon then became free down low and scored six points to keep the Dogs within striking distance at halftime, 26-15. 

The Pike lead should have been much more as the Red Devils’ trapping defense had Brownsburg totally out of sync. But Pike did not take advantage of the numerous turnovers in struggled all night long offensively as well.

If only Pike sophomore sensation Marquis Teague had gotten untracked in the first half, it would have been lights-out at half. Teague did get going in the third quarter, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as the third quarter was closing out. 

Then again, everyone found the going tough going as the officials were definitely letting them play.

The Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game. Trailing by eight points with only two minutes remaining, senior Jacob Stevens started a 10-2 run by burying a three before Runyon banged inside for a bucket. 

After Khristian Smith hit a layup for Pike, Brownsburg senior guard Austin Fish nailed another 3-pointer, setting up a frenzied finish. Teague missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Runyon put back a missed shot with 10.6 seconds remaining to tie it.

Brownsburg took away the first option for Pike, Teague, on the subsequent possession – but it took three defenders to cut Teague off around the foul line. That left senior forward Julian Strickland open near the paint with less than two seconds remaining. 

Strickland made a strong move to the basket and converted, ending the season for the defending 4A state champs. 

Decatur Central and Pike will face off in Friday’s second semifinal. Avon (12-9) and Ben Davis (4-16) will get the night started with a 6 p.m. ET tip-off.

Game 1: Ben Davis 63, Indianapolis Manual 58

Game 2: Decatur Central 58, Indianapolis Tech 54

Game 3: Pike 50, Brownsburg 48

Game 4: Avon vs. Ben Davis. Fri 6p ET

Game 5: Decatur Central vs. Pike. Fri to follow

Championship: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5. Sat 7:30p ET