NDIANAPOLIS – Four Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference basketball stars will team up at the annual All-Star Classic.
The Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association has named the 24 players that will make up the East and West teams on Sunday, April 16 at North Daviess High School.
Playing for the East Team will be Lawrenceburg guard Logan Rohrer, Greensburg guard Ki Dyer, Connersville guard Josh Williams, and Batesville forward Cole Pride.
On the girls side, East Central’s Josie Trabel was selected to be a member of the East team.
All players selected to the All-Star Classic were voted upon by HBCA member coaches.
WEST
Wes Aigner — Castle High School Peyton Bledsoe — Loogootee Peter Combs — Bloomfield Cale Donoho — South Spencer High School Joey Hart — Linton-Stockton Blake Herdes — Evansville Mater Dei Colten Leach — Bedford North Lawrence Jaylen Mullen — North Daviess HS Tyler Myers — Evansville Day School Brycen Neidigh — Washington JaQualon “JQ” Roberts — Bloomington North Logan Webb — Linton-Stockton
EAST
Josten Carter — New Albany High School Jacob Cherry — Eastern Ki Dyer– Greensburg Cooper Horn — Columbus North Casey Kaelin — Providence Owen Law — Jennings County Keegan Manowitz — Jennings County Kaden Oliver — Silver Creek Cole Pride — Batesville Logan Rohrer — Lawrenceburg Caleb Washington — Floyd Central Josh Williams — Connersville
Congratulations to the EIAC boys basketball All-Conference selections. Listed below are the MVp’s and players for the 2022-23 season as selected by the coaches.
1. MVP: JOSH WILLIAMS – (CONNERSVILLE) & KI DYER – (GREENSBURG) (81)
3. COLE PRIDE – BATESVILLE (67)
4. RYAN WILLOUGHBY – SOUTH DEARBORN (55)
5. BRAXTON MYERS – CONNERSVILLE (51)
6. JETER EDWARDS – GREENSBURG (47)
7. BRANT ERTEL – FRANKLIN COUNTY (40)
8. LUCAS BARRON – CONNERSVILLE (36)
9. LOGAN ROHRER – LAWRENCEBURG (34)
10. CARSON PIECZONKA – EAST CENTRAL (33)
11. COOPER BOBO – LAWRENCEBURG (31)
12. CADE KAISER – BATESVILLE (21)
12. BRODIE TEKE – SOUTH DEARBORN (21)
BESIDE EACH NAME IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS ACCUMULATED IN THE VOTING.
WASHINGTON – The 3A Sectional 29 champion Greensburg Pirates took on the Scottsburg Warriors for the regional championship on Saturday afternoon. The Bucs hustled their way into the lead with under a minute left in the game, but Scottsburg took the lead on an old-fashioned three-point play. With Greensburg down by two points, Ki Dyer worked himself open for the final shot. Unable to get completely open, Dyer fired a jumper over two Warriors that hit the rim and bounced off. The game ended with a 48-46 loss for the Bucs, ending the season with a 20-7 record. Dyer led Greensburg in scoring with 18 points, 12 of those coming in the second half.
Jeter Edwards got the Pirates on the board with the first basket of the game. A run of six unanswered points from the Warriors was ended with a Justin Adkins layup to make it a 6-4 game. Scottsburg’s 6’9” center Wyatt Zellers got into the scoring column, but Dyer outran everyone down the court and scored to make it 10-8, still in the Warriors’ favor. Edwards got himself to the charity stripe and tied the game up with 2:50 left in the frame. Scottsburg’s Kody Clancy took the lead for his team by scoring the next five points. Jack McKinsey scored for Greensburg with :30 remaining in the frame but Clancy put his team up 18-12 after draining a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first period.
The Warriors scored first in the second quarter to go up by eight points. McKinsey added two freebies and baskets were traded over the next few possessions; the score was 23-18 with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Jack Miller scored for Scottsburg and Dyer for the Bucs, keeping it at a five-point lead for the Warriors. Holding for the last possession, the Bucs worked it around the arc and hit an open McKinsey who drained the deep ball to make it just a two-point affair at the half. The Warriors’ eight-point lead had been trimmed and the score was 25-23.
The third frame started with Clancy and Zellers scoring for the Warriors and Edwards and Adkins matching for the Bucs. With the game still at two points, Dyer drove to the basket and scored while drawing a foul. The senior netted the free throw and gave the Pirates the lead 30-29 midway through the third quarter. The lead didn’t last long. Scottsburg went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes. Dyer ended the run with a three-point field goal and the Warriors’ lead was just three points. Clancy got to the line for the Warriors and hit both freebies. With :30 to go in the quarter, the Bucs held for the last shot and senior Grainger Maxwell was the recipient of the open three-pointer; he did not disappoint, netting the deep ball and making it a three-point game with the Warriors up 42-39 through three quarters.
The fourth period began with another Clancy basket. Then the Bucs got a McKinsey basket, followed by a quick turnover and two points for Dyer. The Pirates found themselves down by two points midway through the quarter when McKinsey drew a shooting foul to get to the line. The sophomore hit one of the freebies to tie the game at 44-44. Neither team was able to score a basket until Dyer scored with :41 seconds left in the contest, giving Greensburg the lead 46-44. Clancy’s three-point play with 23.3 seconds left put SHS up one. A Bucs’ turnover got Clancy the ball back with one second remaining, and he went back to the line hitting another freebie, giving the Warriors a narrow win.
Clancy led all scorers with 28 points; Zellers was the only other double-digit scorer for Scottsburg, finishing with 10. Dyer’s 18 was followed by McKinsey with 10, Edwards and Adkins 6, Maxwell 3, Bryce Stringer 2, Abe Tebbe 1.
Willoughby led the EIAC in scoring at nearly 20 a clip his senior season with the Knights. He averaged 10.3 ppg his junior season and finished with 15.0 ppg for his career. In 45 games over his two varsity seasons, he scored 673 points, this season he scored 447 in 23 games. Willoughby shot 52% from the field on the season and hit 32% from deep (25-78) with a 68% FT percentage this year.
Ki Dyer – Greensburg
Dyer is currently 20-points shy 1,000 for his career, sitting at 980. He is putting up 18.4 this season while shooting; 48% FG, 45% 3PT, and 79% FT. The three-year starter has led the Bucs to highest scoring offense in the EIAC at 56.2 ppg.
Brant Ertel- Franklin County
Ertel had the Cats off to a 5-0 start while scoring 20-points in three of those games. The FC senior went down with a foot injury in early January but came back and dropped a career high 31-points against Talawanda (Oxford,OH) and finished the season scoring 263 in his 16 games.
Cole Pride – Batesville
Cole “Big Smooth” Pride used his size and shooting ability to lead the Dogs to their most wins (17) since the 2013-14 season (18) and first sectional championship game since 2019. Pride scored 374 points this season while shooting 56% (149-264) from the field, connecting on 38% (30-79) of his deep balls, and he hit 72% (46-62) from the charity stripe.
Josh Williams – Connersville
Williams led a talented senior class for the Spartans, scoring 355 points this season. Williams hit 56% (119-212) from the field and shot 40% (38-56) from three-point land, good for third in the EIAC among players with +50 attempts. He finished his career with 568 points in 73 games, good for 7.8 ppg.
GREENSBURG- The Greensburg Pirates took on the Batesville Bulldogs in the sectional 29 championship game Saturday evening and earned themselves a 58-47 victory.
The Bulldogs started hot with Cade Kaiser leading the charge and scoring six of the Dogs first eight-points as they jumped out to an early lead. Ki Dyer and Jeter Edwards got the Bucs right back in the game after hitting a three-pointer each. Cole Pride scored for Batesville and the game was tied at ten. Jack McKinsey hit the final shot of the period giving the Pirates a 12-10 lead after one quarter.
Dyer opened the second period hitting another long ball and Bradley Lutz followed with a corner three putting Greensburg up 18-10. A pair of Gus Prickel free throws got the Dogs on the board in the frame. Dyer and Lutz continued to score for the Bucs to increase thier lead, Kaiser scored again for BHS, and Dyer hit from deep again to give the Bucs a 13-point advantage with 1:30 to go in the half. Jack Grunkemeyer scored for the Dogs, then Grainger Maxwell for GCHS, and with a half court buzzer beater Prickel cut the gap to 10 to close out the second quarter with the score, Greensburg 29 Batesville 19.
The third quarter started with Kaiser and Grunkemeyer scoring for the Dogs and Justin Adkins and McKinsey keeping it a 10-point Greensburg advantage. Addison Barnes-Petitt hit a three-point basket for the Bucs putting them up by 11, then Batesville went on an 11-0 run tying the game up at 37-37. Prickel, Sam Johnson and Kaiser all connected from outside the arch, and Pride added a field goal. Barnes Petitt stopped the run with basket and Dyer hit a runner on the final possession of the period giving the Bucs a 41-37 lead.
Edwards and McKinsey both scored for the Bucs to start the fourth quarter. Prickel hit for BHS, but then Dyer scored six of Greensburg’s next eight-points giving the Pirates an 11-point lead with just two minutes remaining. Grunkmeyer picked up his fifth foul sending Dyer to the line where he hit both attempts, Kaiser scored for BHS, then Abe Tebbe went to the charity stripe and put the Bucs up by 13-points. Kaiser closed out the contest with another basket for BHS, but it was Greensburg who claimed the sectional title with a 58-47 win. Greensburg will face the winner of the Corydon Central vs Scottsburg matchup in a Regional Championship game at Washington High School on Saturday, March 11th, with a 4pm tip.
Dyer led all scorers with 23-pionts in the Bucs victory. Kaiser led Batesville with 18 and Prickel added 10 in the loss. Batesville’s season end with a record of 17-7
GREENSBURG- The Greensburg Pirates eliminated the Lawrenceburg Tigers in the semifinals of the sectionals with a 10-point win on Friday evening. They will face Batesville tonight when they look for their 45th sectional championship. The game was just a two-point affair at the half but a huge third quarter from the Bucs put them out front, where they cruised to a 54-44 win.
Jeter Edwards got Greensburg on the board first and Ben Cornett scored for the Tigers. The Pirates then went on a 5-0 run with a Ki Dyer three and another Edwards basket. Logan Rohrer and Cornett then scored back-to-back for LHS and it was 7-6, Greensburg. Another Edwards field goal and three-points from Addison Barnes-Petitt had the Bucs up by six. Rohrer finished off the first frame with a with a shot that made the score 12-8 after one quarter.
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The second period started with Jack McKinsey for the Bucs and Rohrer for the Tigers exchanging deep balls. Grainger Maxwell scored four-points for Greensburg and Rohrer scored again for LHS, and the Bucs had a six-point lead with just 1:50 to go in the half. Lawrenceburg finished off the final two-minutes with a Cooper Bobo jumper and a Cornett field goal to cut the Pirates lead to two, with the score 19-17 at halftime.
The third quarter started with Bobo dropping in a three-point basket and giving the Tigers their first lead of the game. Greensburg responded by going on a 9-2 run over the next four minutes. A pair of McKinsey threes and a basket each for Dyer and Edwards put Greensburg back up by six. Bobo added a pair of freebies before the Bucs finished the frame on another 8-2 run that was capped off by a Dyer three pointer at the buzzer. The Pirates led after three quarters, 36-26.
The final frame started with the Tigers playing aggressive and getting a pair of Bobo free throws and Xavier Eads slashing the lane for a score, but Greensburg played their game and waited for open shots. The teams matched each other in the frame scoring 18-points each with half of the Bucs points coming from the charity stripe. Rohrer, Cornett, and Bobo each scored four-points for the Tigers in the frame but the Greensburg Pirates pulled out a 54-44 win the end the Tigers season with an impressive 19-7 record.
The Pirates, who are now 19-6 on the season, were led in scoring by Edwards who dropped 16-points on the evening. Dyer pitched in 12, McKinsey 11, Barnes-Petitt 10, and Maxwell 5. The Tigers were led by Rohrer’s 15-points, Bobo finished wiht 11, B. Cornett 10, and Noah Knigga, Eads, Charlie Meyer, and Sam Cornett each scored 2-points in the contest.
GREENSBURG – The final score of Wednesday’s nightcap at Sectional 29 is a bit deceiving, though well earned by the host Greensburg Pirates.
South Dearborn senior Ryan Willoughby – the EIAC’s scoring leader for the 2022-23 campaign – had just tied the game at 36 with a little over five minutes remaining. But those would be the Knights’ final points of the contest as the Bucs finished on a triumphant 17-0 note to advance with a 53-36 win.
Greensburg senior Ki Dyer (2nd-leading scorer the conference) hit a three with an assist to classmate Abe Tebbe. The Pirates’ Class of 2023 proceeded in the scoring column, putting in Greensburg’s final 29 points. Grainger Maxwell made it 41-36 and Jeter Edwards completed a traditional 3-point play off a fast break before adding a pair of free throws. The Pirates had built a 46-36 lead.
A Maxwell blocked shot led to a FT trip for Dyer. The latter drove to the rim for two to make it a 49-36 affair. Dyer and Maxwell added two foul shots apiece for good measure.
It was all home team to start out as Greensburg climbed ahead 12-2. Sophomore Jack McKinsey hit twice in the early going (2 and 3) and junior Addison Barnes-Pettit dropped in a trey from the corner and two in transition. SD coach Patrick Cosgrove asked for time at 3:42. Dyer then scored off an inbound pass.
The Knights settled down rather well and gained the lead with 4:19 to go in the first half. A Zander Schwab three sparked the comeback and Willoughby got loose on a break. A runout for Willoughby ended the first frame at 13-10.
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Breckin McCreary opened scoring in the second stanza, but it was Brodie Teke’s triple that put South ahead by two. The Knights’ run would reach 12 unanswered as Teke scored on a runout and Hudson Shackelford maneuvered down the lane for a pair. Dyer stopped the bleeding by hitting a trey.
SD broke down the Pirate defense for two layups late in the half – Shackelford and Willoughby. Edwards connected on a side 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 23-19 at intermission.
Dyer began the second half by burying a 3 from the top of the key. South then had four looks at the rim, with the last one going in for Adam Kunkel. Two foul shots by Willoughby had SD maintaining a 27-22 advantage. McKinsey cut it to three on a dribble drive and two Tebbe charities tied the game at 27. Two hoops by Shackelford (the second a triple from a Teke pass) aided the Knights in holding their lead as the fourth quarter loomed (32-31).
A cut to the rack by Edwards changed the lead early in the fourth and Dyer followed from distance. Jacob Daugherty’s jump shot preceded an SD timeout at 5:36.
Dyer led all scorers with 23 and Edwards tallied 10. McKinsey had 7, ABP 5 and Tebbe and Maxwell 4 each. Willoughby was tops for SD with a dozen. Shackelford scored 9, Teke 6, Schwab 3 and McCreary, Kunkel and Daugherty 2 each.
Greensburg (18-6) squares off with Lawrenceburg in Friday night’s second game. South Dearborn’s season ended at 15-9, a third consecutive winning campaign.
GREENSBURG – Since March 6, 2021, Connersville’s Spartans have secured two EIAC championships (going 14-0). But that date also remains the last time Kerry Brown’s squad won a sectional game. Following a loss to Greensburg last March, the Lawrenceburg Tigers – defending Sectional 29 champions – did the honors this year with Wednesday’s 50-41 victory over CHS.
Connersville, ranked fourth in the final Class 3A poll, could do next to nothing right through the first three quarters and trailed 31-17 with one frame to play. The score was 42-27 when timeout was called with 2:33 remaining. Spartan senior Josh Williams then tried to will his team to an epic comeback.
He started with three free throws after being fouled on a long-range attempt. Still a 12-point game, Williams produced a steal and subsequent 3-point play to make it 42-33 with two minutes left. The senior swingman then drained a 3-pointer to put CHS within two possessions.
The score was 45-38 when time was called at 30.7. Williams scored again to make it 46-40 ahead of Brown’s final timeout with 20.8 ticks left. CHS senior Lucas Barron then fouled out to end his solid Spartan career. LHS’ Cooper Bobo sank 1 of 2 to squash the Spartans’ postseason hopes.
Logan Rohrer – tied with Williams for game-high scoring honors at 19 – scored the game’s first bucket. James Williams and Barron later tied the game early at 4 apiece. Noah Knigga and Jo. Williams then traded baskets for a 6-6 stalemate. Lawrenceburg ended the first period on an 8-0 run. A lob to Rohrer was finished and big man Bobo stepped out for a three. In the final seconds, Rohrer scored on an inbound play to make it 14-6.
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Braxton Myers finally broke the Spartan silence with a field goal. Rohrer answered directly from the 3-point line and two by Sam Cornett had LHS up 19-8. Brayden Pearson landed a 3 for Connersville but Bobo echoed that and Rohrer’s bucket made it 24-11. The score at half was 26-14.
The third quarter featured very little scoring (eight points total) and a lot of deliberate offense. CHS got within 26-17 before Knigga hit and Rohrer’s cut to the basket produced a 3-point play.
Bobo added 13 in the winning effort and Ben Cornett posted 9. Knigga and S. Cornett each had 4 and Charlie Meyer a free throw. The senior class had all of Connersville’s 41 points; Myers had 6, Barron and Ja. Williams 5 each, Pearson and Gavin Pearson each with a 3-pointer.
LHS (19-6) and coach Brad Cutter move on to Friday night’s semifinal matchup with host Greensburg. The Spartans closed at 18-5.
GREENSBURG – A pair of Franklin County senior running mates were determined not to go home early from Sectional 29 hosted by Greensburg.
Jace Lee and Brant Ertel combined for 32 points Tuesday in the tournament opener against Rushville, an Ertel to Lee basket icing the game late for FC in a 50-45 win. Both Wildcat upperclassmen missed significant time during the 2022-23 season, making up for those lost minutes with Tuesday’s performance – Lee a game-high 18 points and Ertel 14.
The same combo made it 44-38 in FC’s favor around the game’s 3-minute mark but 3-pointers by Quentin Cain and Kameron Morton (Cain assist) tied the contest at 44 with 80 seconds left.
FC senior Brady Morehead was then sent to the free throw line; he missed the front end of a one-and-one but collected the carom and returned to the stripe. This time he was good on both charities. Quinn Gillman rebounded a missed three by Rushville, was fouled and sank 1 of 2 for a 3-point Wildcat lead. Cain made 1 of 2 after being fouled but out of an FC timeout, Lee scored and Morehead added a foul shot with only fractions of a second left.
The Cats enjoyed their largest margins as play went deep into the third period. A reverse layup by Lee made it a 31-23 with 4:32 to go. Rushville managed just six free throws before quarter’s end, while FC got a pair of key 3-point shots – Ertel at 2:33 off a Gillman assist and junior Eli Butt at 1:48 from the wing. It was a 37-29 game with eight minutes to play.
A three by Xxzavien Jenkins made it a 5-point game early in the fourth. Morehead answered with a tip-in and subsequent FT attempt; the missed freebie had FC up 39-32 before another Jenkins triple. A successful drive by Lee and later his drawing a blocking call on Lion big man Dylan Thompson led to a 42-36 count.
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The game had a bizarre opening. Rushville was assessed a technical foul during the warmup session (violations include dunking) so Butt stepped to the 15-foot line to get the contest underway – making 1 of 2. The FC guard soon put the Cats up 4-2 with a 3-point bucket. The Lions scored the next five points, capped by a Morton to Chase Woolf finish.
At 7-7, Cain completed a 3-point play before Gillman found Ertel in the corner for the tie. Rushville, working for a final shot in the quarter, got exactly that as Jenkins connected from beyond the arc for a 13-11 Lion lead.
Cain popped a jumper just inside the foul line to start period two, though he picked up a charging call shortly after. Xander Rodriguez made it 15-13 with an athletic putback. Nick Jarman (from Morton) hit from the 3-point line at 4:53 of the half to put RCHS up five. With the score 19-13, Lee ended a dry spell for FC with back-to-back layups. An Ertel drive completed first-half scoring, leaving the Cats just shy at 21-19.
The Wildcat run reached 9-0 as play resumed. Ertel drove in for two more, Lee was true on two FTs and Gillman finished a successful 3-point play. FC never trailed again. Three more points by Ertel had Lion coach Ryan Ehm calling time at 5:05 of the third.
Jenkins paced RCHS with 13 and Cain scored 11. Morton had 9, Thompson was held to five free throws, Woolf added 4 and Jarman 3. Butt 7, Morehead 5, Gillman 4 and XRod 2 rounded out the winning side.
FC (10-13) faces Batesville in the semifinal round Friday, 6 p.m. Championship is set for Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
RICHMOND – The Richmond Red Devils – led by future Division I guard Mason Carpenter – lit the Tiernan Center nets on fire Thursday against visiting Franklin County, knocking down 11 3-pointers en route to a 67-34 runaway victory in the regular season finale for both sides.
A field goal to end the first half by Xander Rodriguez (Tanner Weartz assist) and a 3-point bucket by junior Eli Butt to start the second (Quinn Gillman ast.) had the guests thinking positively about a 25-16 deficit.
But the Devils began ripping threes left and right to build a 45-23 advantage at the end of the third and a running clock (61-26) by the 4:30 mark of the game. Carpenter, a sophomore, had 22 points (four 3s) before exiting early in the fourth.
Weartz and Jace Lee had interior answers for Carpenter’s two early bombs in the second half. With the score 31-20, Gunner Kovach hit his only basket of the game – a three – and sophomore Cedric Horton used a Euro step for two after an FC turnover. Out of a timeout, Carpenter drained another triple and junior Ryder Cate dropped in a left-hand layup to make it 41-20.
The 10-0 Red Devil run was stopped by a Butt trey (Gillman assist). With time running out in the third, Brady Morehead was called for a phantom foul on Kainin Turner’s 3-point attempt; Turner made 2 of 3 foul shots as the only player on the court.
Butt’s third 3-pointer (Rodriguez assist) stood as FC’s lone bucket as play moved deeper into the fourth and Richmond reeled off a 20-3 run. A pair of Devil reserves joined Turner in hitting a total of four 3-balls before Horton got loose for a thunderous slam to put the hosts up by 35. Butt added to his team-high 13 points and Landen Wuestefeld hit his second and third from long range (9 pts. on the night) before the final horn.
The Cats struggled against Richmond’s full-court pressure early on, committing two turnovers that helped RHS to a 6-0 lead. A Weartz free throw broke the ice for FC at 5:08. Carpenter then completed a traditional 3-point play to make it 9-1.
The Wildcat defense kept the Devils off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes as Morehead laid one in and Gillman hit from the arc (Lee assist); it was 9-6 after one period.
A couple minutes into the next frame, however, Richmond heated up with Carpenter’s banked three followed by Turner’s triple. Wuestefeld answered from the cheap seats and Butt scored off the backboard to cut the RHS lead to 17-11. The Red Devils scored the next eight points of the game as another Carpenter 3-point play preceded two goals by Cate; the second was a 2-hand slam with the lanky Cate finishing the bonus free throw.
Gillman (3), Weartz (3), Lee (2), Morehead (2) and XRod (2) rounded out FC scoring. Turner put in 13 for RHS, Cate 9 and Horton 6.
FC (9-13) faces Rushville at the Greensburg sectional Tuesday. A win would place the Wildcats in Friday’s semifinal with Batesville, 6 p.m.
