2016 Basketball Sectionals

DUBOIS COUNTY, INDIANA MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016 SECTION B

Sectionals 2016 The Herald

PAGE 2 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Hanging above the cubbies in Jasper’s boys basketball locker room are framed team photographs from each Wildcat squad dating back to 1914, when the Wildcats fielded their first boys basketball team.

Teams across the area takes a slightly different approach to teaching players about their program’s history, though it’s something that everyone covers in some form.

ALISHA JUCEVIC THE HERALD

Living History

How do teams teach their current players about the program’s history? There are plenty of methods. And usually, you don’t have to look far.

Jasper Wildcats: Decades of faces No doubt, every high school basketball player frets about where his team will eventually fit into a program’s past, but Craig Shepherd and his Jasper teammates are confronting the issue on a far more tangible level.

Within Jasper’s locker room hang photos of every team dating back to the program’s inaugural season in 1914. And when dealing with a volume of that size, real estate on the walls eventually becomes a concern. Where will the 2015-16 team nestle in? Good question.

“We actually ran out of room,” Shepherd said. “We’re trying to figure out where we’re going to put this year’s one.”

The portraits were hung in the early 2000s by former Jasper coach Tim LaGrange after the school remodeled the old gym’s locker rooms, “and those are there every time these young men are getting ready for practice or for a game, as a constant reminder of what a select fraternity of young men that these guys are a part of,” said Wildcat coach John Goebel, whose current squad will be the 100th Jasper team to compete in a sectional. “It’s a special group, and not everyone gets that privilege of being able to play basketball for Jasper.”

Privilege is rarely painless, though, and it’s been no different for Jasper through the years.

When Cabby O’Neill Gymnasium was restored some six years ago, many Jasper players (past and present) and booster club members “spent a lot of elbow grease on that place,” Goebel said while also mentioning the $30,000 the Jasper basketball booster club poured into the six-figure project. “And I think that helped to teach these young men who are with us today the importance of that facility.”

Similar to the JHS gym, Cabby’s wall are also adorned with photos from the past. And though Cabby hasn’t housed a boys varsity contest since it served as the Cats’ home floor during the 2012-13 season (while the new high school gym

ARIANA VAN DEN AKKER/THE HERALD

At Northeast Dubois, photos of the Jeeps’ semistate-qualifying teams from 1977 and ’84 (below and to the right of the flag) overlook the basketball floor. was being built), the boys squad practices at Cabby every other day during the high school girls season, “and that’s part of our appreciation for the men who have come before us,” Goebel said.

Jasper has been able to make history a bit more personal as well. LaGrange used to invite a past player to visit and talk with his team each year. Assistant coach Jason Ahlbrand, who helped guide the Cats to a sectional title in 1989, “he’ll (talk about) teams around his time that he’d say, ‘This year, they were the favorite and they didn’t make it but then the next year, they maybe weren’t the favorite but they got in and won the sectional,’” Shepherd noted. Plus, with freshman coach and 2007 Jasper graduate Eric Dall, Shepherd gets to play under a guy he revered growing up.

“We remember even when we were little, looking up to them,” Shepherd said of guys like Dall, Mitch Sermersheim (’09) and Adam Knies (’10). “And we want to leave our legacy, too, for the little kids to look up to and make a name for ourselves when we’re gone, because this is it.”

— by Joe Jasinski

Southridge Raiders: History close by Southridge coach Ted O’Brien doesn’t need to preach much about tradition when all his Raiders have to do is glance around the gym.

The conversation spills out when the Raiders practice daily in a 6,000-seat, 65-year-old basketball cathedral. The photos of former Southridge standout athletes, banners from championships won as well as pictures capturing the gym filled to capacity during the heyday of Indiana high school hoops — all that is hard to miss wandering through Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium.

“You can just look around here and see all the history,” Raider senior Payton Mattingly said.

But for the most part, those relics are all that’s left for players today, O’Brien explained. High school basketball is alive and well in southern Indiana, but the enthusiasm from communities has dipped since the advent of class bas-

ketball in 1998. Since then, sectional attendance has slowly diminished.

It’s not that the old days aren’t known anymore, they just need to be brought up a bit more often.

“You have to talk about it more,” O’Brien said about the tradition of basketball at Huntingburg and southern Indiana. “It used to just be known. It used to just flow more naturally.”

Luckily, the Raiders have means to keep the tradition alive. There is Memorial Gym, of course, but also former hoops legends like Don Buse, an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer and former Indiana Pacer who recently served as an assistant with the Raider varsity team.

“Having Coach Buse on staff for so many years, these guys got to live those stories and understand what he went through,” O’Brien explained.

Townwide pep rallies, caravans of cars stretching for miles heading to games — that’s the type of enthusiasm that once followed the sport. Even if it’s faded, some still exists today. For the first time in years, O’Brien said he’s heard buzz about this year’s Class 3A sectional at Memorial Gym, which features four teams ranked in or just outside the top 10.

“I think this year’s sectional is going to be the first in a long time that’s just got that dynamic atmosphere,” O’Brien said.

Mattingly has experienced bits of that. As a sophomore, he dressed varsity for the sectional and couldn’t hear former coach Jeremy Rauch shouting from the end of the bench. He’s hoping for that kind of environment come Friday when the Raiders play their first game. O’Brien has assured his guys that “they’re going to play in front of more people next week probably than they ever have.” That could provide the Raiders with a more tangible history lesson.

“It makes you excited because you want play in sectional here, you want to play in regional here,” Mattingly said.

“You just want to play here and see how big it really feels when you’re on the court.”

— by Joseph Fanelli HISTORY continues on Page 9

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 3

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PAGE 4 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

WILDCATS Win The Sectional!

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THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 5

SECTIONAL HISTORY

YEAR WINNER RUNNER-UP HOST SCHOOL SCORE 1925 Huntingburg Orleans Jasper 23-21 1926 Huntingburg Winslow Jasper 23-14 1927 Huntingburg Winslow Huntingburg 37-29 1928 Spurgeon Petersburg Petersburg 24-15 1929 Spurgeon Holland Jasper 20-13 1930 Huntingburg Holland Huntingburg 21-12 1931 Stendal Jasper Petersburg 45-30 1932 Stendal Jasper Jasper 24-20 1933 Jasper Ireland Huntingburg 41-7 1934 Jasper Huntingburg Petersburg 23-7 1935 Huntingburg Jasper Jasper 28-13 1936 Jasper Holland Huntingburg 36-24 1937 Huntingburg Jasper Petersburg 40-34 1938 Jasper Huntingburg Jasper 30-25 1939 Stendal Jasper Huntingburg 37-35 1940 Huntingburg Petersburg Petersburg 36-22 1941 Winslow Holland Jasper 25-19 1942 Jasper Spurgeon Jasper 49-33 1943 Jasper Winslow Jasper 32-28 1944 Jasper Spurgeon Jasper 50-43 1945 Jasper Holland Jasper 61-30 1946 Jasper Spurgeon Jasper 51-41 1947 Jasper Huntingburg Jasper 36-27 1948 Jasper Spurgeon Jasper 51-49 1949 Jasper Winslow Jasper 48-39 1950 Winslow Jasper Jasper 64-46 1951 Winslow Jasper Jasper 49-42 1952 Jasper Spurgeon Huntingburg 52-47 1953 Holland Huntingburg Huntingburg 49-46 1954 Winslow French Lick Huntingburg 67-53 1955 Huntingburg Holland Huntingburg 55-50 1956 Jasper Winslow Huntingburg 73-69* 1957 Jasper West Baden Huntingburg 77-68 1958 Springs Valley Huntingburg Huntingburg 66-41 1959 Huntingburg Springs Valley Huntingburg 41-39 1960 Jasper Winslow Huntingburg 84-38 1961 Jasper Winslow Huntingburg 85-58 1962 Jasper Ireland Huntingburg 59-51 1963 Ireland Springs Valley Huntingburg 20-19 1964 Springs Valley Ferdinand Huntingburg 77-74** 1965 Springs Valley Huntingburg Huntingburg 72-65 1966 Springs Valley Jasper Huntingburg 59-57** 1967 Holland Jasper Huntingburg 62-52 1968 Holland Ferdinand Huntingburg 57-53 1969 Springs Valley Holland Huntingburg 54-34 1970 Huntingburg Holland Huntingburg 55-53 1971 Jasper Dubois Huntingburg 86-65 1972 Jasper Forest Park Huntingburg 61-53 1973 Jasper Southridge Southridge 47-46 1974 Jasper Perry Central Southridge 73-49 1975 Jasper Forest Park Southridge 75-74*** 1976 Southridge Forest Park Southridge 57-45 1977 Northeast Dubois Jasper Southridge 60-55* 1978 Perry Central Jasper Southridge 56-55 1979 Southridge Northeast Dubois Southridge 46-44 1980 Southridge Northeast Dubois Southridge 55-45 1981 Jasper Southridge Southridge 69-68 1982 Southridge Forest Park Southridge 48-44 1983 Southridge Jasper Southridge 63-53 1984 Northeast Dubois Southridge Southridge 49-36 1985 Southridge Forest Park Southridge 57-37 1986 Southridge Jasper Southridge 55-53 1987 Southridge Northeast Dubois Southridge 42-41 1988 Northeast Dubois Jasper Southridge 52-39 1989 Jasper Southridge Southridge 49-37 1990 Forest Park Jasper Southridge 55-42 1991 Southridge Northeast Dubois Southridge 47-36 1992 Southridge Forest Park Southridge 55-40 1993 Forest Park Pike Central Southridge 46-40 1994 Southridge Forest Park Southridge 46-34 1995 Jasper Southridge Southridge 70-51 1996 Jasper Northeast Dubois Southridge 61-43 1997 Pike Central Southridge Southridge 67-56 1998 Gibson Southern Pike Central Washington 63-47

Evansville Bosse Evansville Memorial Boonville 72-71*

South Spencer Evansville Mater Dei Southridge 69-68

Cannelton Northeast Dubois Tecumseh 70-61 1999 Gibson Southern Pike Central Washington 64-53

Heritage Hills Boonville Boonville 58-53

Evansville Mater Dei Perry Central Southridge 62-56 Tecumseh Cannelton Tecumseh 66-42 2000 Princeton Vincennes Lincoln Washington 61-46

Evansville Mater Dei Evansville Bosse Boonville 86-60

Paoli Tell City Southridge 73-69

Northeast Dubois Springs Valley Orleans 71-46 2001 Jasper Vincennes Lincoln Washington 71-69*

Evansville Mater Dei Heritage Hills Boonville 72-59

Crawford County Tell City Southridge 65-64

Northeast Dubois Orleans W. Washington 61-30 2002 Jasper Pike Central Washington 66-39

Gibson Southern Heritage Hills Boonville 53-43 Crawford County Southridge Southridge 50-46

Tecumseh Evansville Day Wood Memorial 64-52 2003 Sullivan Vincennes Lincoln Washington 38-37

Heritage Hills Gibson Southern Boonville 38-36

Forest Park Crawford County Southridge 59-45 Tecumseh Evansville Day Tecumseh 48-37

YEAR WINNER RUNNER-UP HOST SCHOOL SCORE 2004 Vincennes Lincoln Washington Washington 64-54

Evansville Mater Dei Heritage Hills Boonville 59-55

Forest Park North Posey Southridge 64-42

Orleans Crothersville W. Washington 45-33 2005 Washington Vincennes Lincoln Washington 83-60

Evansville Mater Dei Boonville Boonville 47-38 Forest Park Southridge Southridge 61-46

Orleans Northeast Dubois Springs Valley 42-40* 2006 Washington Vincennes Lincoln Washington 63-53

Evansville Mater Dei Evansville Bosse Boonville 66-64

Forest Park South Spencer Southridge 50-37

Orleans Northeast Dubois Orleans 67-44 2007 Washington Vincennes Lincoln Washington 71-63

Evansville Bosse Evansville Memorial Boonville 56-54

Southridge Tell City Southridge 42-41

Orleans West Washington W. Washington 70-43 2008 Washington Vincennes Lincoln Washington 76-49

Evansville Memorial Princeton Boonville 67-58

Evansville Mater Dei Tell City Southridge 54-41

Orleans Springs Valley Springs Valley 32-24 2009 Washington Vincennes Lincoln Southridge 42-34

Princeton Evansville Memorial Princeton 60-51

Forest Park Evansville Mater Dei Boonville 69-60

Northeast Dubois Orleans Orleans 40-39 2010

Washington Jasper Washington 43-30

Forest Park Evansville Mater Dei Southridge 66-44

Northeast Dubois Orleans Springs Valley 44-42** 2011 Washington Southridge Southridge 47-36

Forest Park North Posey Boonville 43-41

Trinity Lutheran Orleans Orleans 53-40 2012 Vincennes Lincoln Jasper Washington 56-41

Forest Park Evansville Mater Dei Southridge 73-51

Orleans Northeast Dubois Orleans 61-47 2013 Vincennes Lincoln Jasper Washington 48-25

Perry Central Evansville Mater Dei Southridge 56-54

Northeast Dubois Tecumseh Wood Memorial 69-60* 2014 Jasper Heritage Hills Southridge 69-52

Perry Central Evansville Mater Dei Boonville 67-64 Northeast Dubois Tecumseh Tecumseh 55-45 2015 Vincennes Lincoln Washington Washington 50-40

Evansville Mater Dei Forest Park Southridge 69-64

Wood Memorial Evansville Day Wood Memorial 49-39 * overtime; * double overtime; *** triple overtime ■■ HOW THEY’VE FARED ALL-TIME IN THE SECTIONAL School Yrs. Won Lost Pct. Titles Jasper 99 160 68 .702 31 Southridge 43 44 31 .587 12 Forest Park 44 48 34 .585 10 Northeast Dubois 39 39 30 .565 9 Heritage Hills 43 44 34 .564 9 Note: Jasper first competed in IHSAA state tournament play in 1914. In the 102 seasons from 1914 through 2015, there were three occasions where the Wildcats did not compete in sectional play. In 1914, there was no sectional round in the tournament; the Wildcats lost their first game of state tournament play to Cutler (a school from Carroll County in north-central Indiana). Then in 1917 and 1918, Jasper did not participate in the sectional because its coach, Raymond Cunningham, left to serve in the U.S. Military during World War I. ■■ SECTIONAL TITLES WON BY DEFUNCT SCHOOLS Huntingburg (10), Holland (3), Ireland (1) ■■ OTHER POSTSEASON TITLES School Regional Jasper 14 Southridge 2 Forest Park 5 Northeast Dubois 3

Semistate 1 2 3 0

State 1 0 2 0

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PAGE 6 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Class 3A

@ Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium Jasper Wildcats Record: 15-6 Coach: John Goebel (114-86 in nine seasons; 200-123 in 14 seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Washington (18-4), 8 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 31 sectionals, 14 regionals, 1 semistate, 1 state title Probable starters: G T.D. Nottingham (5-8 Jr.); G Hunter Gossett (6-1 Sr.); G Justin Goebel (6-0 Sr.); F Alex Allen (6-4 Sr.); F Peyton Gentry (6-6 Sr.) Team tidbits: Allen grabs a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game and is shooting

Southridge Raiders Record: 8-14 Coach: Ted O’Brien (23-21 in two seasons; 36-30 in three seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Pike Central (17-5) or Princeton (2-22), 6:30 p.m. Friday Postseason history: 12 sectionals, 2 regionals, 2 semistates Probable starters: G Chase Bland (5-10 Sr.); G Gaage Fetter (6-1 Sr.); G/F Harrison Steckler (6-2 Jr.); F Payton Mattingly (6-3 Sr.); F Jayden Montgomery (6-2 Sr.) Team tidbits: The Raiders will be gunning for their first sectional win on their home

Pike Central Chargers Record: 17-5 Coach: Jason Roach (29-16 in two seasons) Opponent: vs. Princeton (2-22), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 1 sectional, 1 regional Probable starters: G Trey Wornica (6-1 Jr.); G Colton White (5-10 Jr.); F Tyler Toopes (6-5 Sr.); F Gabe Elliott (6-5 Jr.); F Bryant Nalley (6-5 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Pike Central’s revival this season has been savored by the Charger fan base with history in mind. Before going 12-11 last season, Pike Central’s last win-

A LOOK BACK This is the Jasper boys basketball team from 1951, which is the last year that Jasper hosted a boys basketball sectional. When Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium was built, the sectional moved there from Jasper. Since the advent of class basketball in 1998, Jasper has gone to Washington or Huntingburg every year for the sectional. The Wildcats will again play at Huntingburg this year, but the local Class 2A sectional will be played at Jasper.

This ’51 Jasper team received a firstround sectional bye and followed by beating Ireland 49-29 and Huntingburg 40-37 to reach the sectional championship, where the Wildcats lost 49-42 to Winslow. Pictured from left to right are, first row: student manager Bob Berg, Duane Stemle, Gil Seger, Junie Giesler, Bill Rohleder, Johnny Habig and coach Cabby O’Neill. Second row: Marvin Hackman, Dave Krodel, Jim Kress, Jerry Clark and Charley Buechlein.

66.5 percent from the field, the fourth-best season mark in program history behind Adam Sander (67.8), Faruk Mujezinovic (67.1) and Mike Luegers (66.8). ... The Wildcats have won their last eight games played at Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium, including three in their 2014 sectional run.

Keep an eye on: The end of the game. The Cats struggled with that in losing a 14-point lead against Washington in the regular season, though their end-of-game management has been solid the last two weeks.

Moment to remember: The Cats crushed rival Vincennes Lincoln 62-31 in early January, earning their widest winning margin against the Alices in series history on their way to a share of the conference title.

Washington Hatchets

floor since 2011 after dropping their sectional opener in the next three years that followed. ... The Raiders shoot free throws at a collective 74 percent rate, with Bland (83 percent) and Steckler (76) leading the way. ... 32 percent of Southridge’s field goals come from the 3-point line; Fetter has hit 56 on the season and 124 for his career.

Keep an eye on: Keeping pace early. The Raiders have had some sluggish starts despite solid finishes — including a loss to potential sectional foe Pike Central in which they fell behind 28-6 before losing 65-55.

Moment to remember: The Raiders’ fourgame win streak in late December/early January included a win at Northeast Dubois to avenge a loss from a few weeks earlier.

Vincennes Lincoln Alices

ning campaign came in 1998-99. ... Pike’s points are well-distributed among Toopes (16 ppg), White (11.4), Nalley (11.3), Elliott (11.2) and Wornica (8.7). Elliott also averages 7.6 rebounds and shoots 58 percent from the floor with Nalley at 62 percent.

Keep an eye on: Winning mojo. The Chargers haven’t had it for years, and they scuffled at the end of the regular season, losing three of their last four entering the postseason. Can they rediscover it to work through a kind draw in a tough sectional and win for the first time since 1997?

Moment to remember: On Jan. 2, the Chargers toppled Indianapolis Park Tudor, then ranked No. 1 in 3A, by a 58-54 count behind Toopes’ 16 points and nine rebounds.

Princeton Tigers

Record: 18-4 Coach: Gene Miiller (188-74 in 11 seasons; 656-302 in 41 seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Jasper (15-6), 8 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 46 sectionals, 20 regionals, 6 semistates, 7 state titles Probable starters: G Connor Brown (6-1 Sr.); G Colten Garland (6-0 Sr.); G Matthew Stephens (6-1 Jr.); F Jake Bedwell (6-1 Sr.); F Jacob Overton (6-2 Jr.) Team tidbits: The Hatchets score 63.6 ppg, which is an increase of almost 10 points

Record: 17-6 Coach: Jeff Hein (12366 in eight seasons; 295-205 in 22 seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Jasper (15-6) or Washington (18-4), 8 p.m. Friday Postseason history: 71 sectionals, 20 regionals, 4 semistates, 2 state titles Probable starters: G Grant Oexmann (5-11 Jr.); G/F Ethan Claycomb (6-7 Sr.); F Tate Schuckman (6-2 Soph.); F Braeden Field (6-1 Sr.); F Anthony Smith (6-5 Sr.) Team tidbits: Lincoln is on a five-year run of winning 15 or more games. After losing

Record: 2-22 Coach: Ryan Haywood (41-77 in five seasons) Opponent: vs. Pike Central (17-5), 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday Postseason history: 33 sectionals, 7 regionals, 3 semistates, 1 state title Probable starters: G Brogan Reneer (5-9 Jr.); G Rylin Stough (6-0 Soph.); G Nick Albin (6-1 Soph.); F Joe Wildt (6-3 Sr.); F Maleek Hardiman (6-3 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Princeton is 0-12 away from home this season and being outscored by

from last year’s team that won 17 games, and it’s a higher average than their state championship teams from 2010 and ’05. ...

Garland (18 ppg), Brown (14), Overton (13) and Stephens have a combined 13 seasons’ worth of experience as starters. ... The Hatchets have won 41 of their 46 sectionals on their home floor; they most recently won at Southridge in 2009 and ’11.

Keep an eye on: Height (no one taller than 6-2) and depth (Hatchets usually play six guys). Both will be tested by taller and deeper teams in a tough draw.

Moment to remember: The Hatchets rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter Jan. 15 at Jasper to win 66-64 on Garland’s floater in the final seconds.

three senior guards from last year’s group that reached the semistate before bowing out to Guerin Catholic, the Alices have regrouped around Claycomb (18 ppg) and Smith (13). ... Lincoln’s 71 sectional titles rank second statewide behind only Kokomo, which has won 74.

Keep an eye on: Claycomb. Not just because of his scoring ability, but because he may be the toughest player in the sectional from a matchup standpoint as a guard in a big-man’s body.

Moment to remember: An Oexmann-toSmith connection for a layup with seven seconds left gave Lincoln a 35-33 win over Washington on Feb. 4 that allowed the Alices to grab a share of the Big Eight title.

an average margin of 13 points a game. ...

Stough (10 ppg) is coming off a 21-point game last week against Heritage Hills.

Wildt is the second-leading scorer (9 ppg) and top rebounder (5.6); the all-state tight end in football who’ll play at Rose-Hulman makes 49 percent of his field goals but just 46 percent on free throws.

Keep an eye on: Can they win the close one? The Tigers have played better in Feburary but are 0-5 this season in games decided by 10 or fewer points.

Moment to remember: The Tigers broke loose for 94 points in a 21-point rout of Mount Vernon on Feb. 6 as all five starters got in on the action with 10 or more points, including 22 from Stough.

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 7

Contradictory Cat finds purpose in dirty work

By JOE JASINSKI jjasinski@dcherald.com Before taking the court on senior night, Hunter Gossett received a special, albeit quirky, bag of thank-you gifts from one adoring fan: a root beer, Slim Jims, Tootsie Rolls, a pack of gum and a handwritten note. It read: Hunter, Thanks for letting me shoot balls. Thanks for a good season. Good luck at sectional. Jeff The words were penned by first-grader Jeff Springer, who Gossett had met at Jasper youth football camp this past summer.

During the basketball season, the two often talked before games.

One time, as Jasper ran onto the court, Springer yelled Gossett’s name and called him a magician.

First-grade flattery at its finest.

Over the past couple summers, Gossett has made other friends on the AAU basketball circuit.

Nearly every game, Gossett and the opponent he guarded would get into a physical tussle or verbal altercation. It happened with such regularity that one of Gossett’s teammate, Bloomfield senior Eli Combs, would start laughing whenever he saw Gossett’s adversary start to boil each game.

Gossett is The Great Paradox.

He’s the defender who relishes getting under the opposition’s skin and the prankster who once set up a fake Twitter account pretending to be a college basketball coach (he even tweeted at players, like teammate Luke Foster, in halfhearted recruiting pitches). And he’s the guy who elected to spend Spring Break 2015 in New Orleans fulfilling tasks like installing ceiling insulation and drywall at a newly founded daycare center.

Fusing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde gives you Gossett, a role modelrebel composite who’s left his mark on the Wildcat basketball program as a three-year varsity player but perhaps even more so on the Jasper community at large.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but he’s just got it,” teammate Alex Allen says. “He’s always looking out for other people instead of himself.”

It’s a knack that sprouts up each time Gossett mentors kids in WyldLife, a ministry group that meets monthly and pairs middleschoolers with high school seniors. “He’s a role model to a lot of kids,” says Allen, who’s also a WyldLife leader.

And through WyldLife grew Gossett’s ongoing skit character, Bert Einstein. Bert and his brother Al (played by fellow JHS senior Larry Burgess) don buttoned-

up plaid collared shirts (shortsleeved), tucked into khaki shorts.

Their socks are mid-calf length.

They were thick, black-rimmed glasses and their backpacks never come off. They enter to a remixed version of the Disney Channel’s “Little Einsteins” theme song.

Gossett dances before grabbing a mic and hopping into full Bert Mode. That blends sarcasm, awkwardness and deadpan humor, Gossett’s bread and butter.

“I just wanted to be that person for people that they could just cut up and laugh at and have fun with their friends,” Gossett says. “It’s just memory-making for me, and just doing that for the younger kids.”

Gossett then steps on a basketball court, tips a pass to force a turnover and walks down the court clapping his hands. Defense and disruption are facets of the game he’s always enjoyed, “and he’s been the guy throughout the course of the season, when we’ve needed to have the other team’s best player defended, we’ve reached out to Hunter time and time again,” Jasper coach John Goebel says. “And he’s done a real nice job time and time again.”

Adds Allen: “Defense, you’ve got to want to play it, and he wants to play it.”

A lot of it is dirty work. And that may be the common denominator among most things Gossett does. On the court, it’s tipped passes and invading the paint offensively, which has undoubtedly helped in Gossett’s recent offensive uptick as he’s averaged 9.2 points over the last nine contests.

“I think that’s one of the keys to being happy in life is figuring out what you’re good at and running with it, no matter if it’s basketball or anything in life,” Goebel says, “and he’s figured out what his skill is, what he’s best at, is scoring around the bucket.”

Goebel’s words are farther reaching, still. While on the mission trip in New Orleans, Gossett unearthed that contentment via manual labor — the drywall and insulation, and also painting the daycare center and a coffee shop and getting legitimately dirty when he helped construct gardens from which locals could come pick fresh produce for free. At the end on the Gulf Coast trip, Gossett and the work crew he traveled with took a trip to the beach. Gossett was so gassed from the toil of the previous days that he laid down and fell asleep immediately, waking up with his front side burnt to a crisp. “I still might have a few suntan lines,” Gossett jokes.

Jasper senior Hunter Gossett has developed a good-guy, badguy persona of sorts through the years with his pestering defense on the court and altruistic spirit off it, serving as a mentor to middle-schoolers and having spent last spring break on a mission trip to New Orleans.

ALISHA JUCEVIC THE HERALD

For Jasper, Gossett has had to fill various roles through the course of the season. With teammate Grant Theil sidelined for nearly two months because of a foot injury, Gossett acted as the squad’s lone defensive specialist. And without 6-foot-7 big man Luke Foster the past few weeks with another injury, Gossett’s been obliged to have even more of an inside presence.

At 6-foot-1, he’s versatile. Altruistically, he’s no different.

While helping out as a freshman and sophomore at DistinXion basketball camps, a nonprofit organization founded by the Zeller family (Luke, Tyler, Cody and the gang), Gossett helped coach kids in kindergarten through eighth

grade and with whatever else was asked of him.

“I’d do the dirty work,” Gossett says. Simultaneously, he found people to emulate.

“I don’t think there’s a negative thing I could say about the Zellers, at all,” says Gossett, who coincidentally will confront the Zeller boys’ alma mater, Washington, in Tuesday’s Class 3A sectional. “They’re just a great group of people and that’s who I strive to be like in the future whenever I hopefully start a family. Just the way they carry themselves and the way they treat others, it just speaks for itself.”

The way Gossett treats others?

That largely depends on whether or not the person is trying to score

on him.

Antagonist on the court. Upstanding citizen off it.

“It’s kind of true,” says Gossett, who jokingly admits to having toned down any trash talk with opponents this season. Donating his time to others, though, has a binary motive — for one, it’s his faith. And secondly, “it gives me a sense of purpose,” says Gossett, who will ship off just a few days after graduation in May to work at a Christian youth camp in North Carolina for about a month this summer. “Stuff like that makes me realize there’s bigger things in life than just high school sports and being cool. Being looked at as a great person, that’s all that matters in life.”

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PAGE 8 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Southridge’s Chase Bland, left, didn’t play basketball for the Raiders last season to focus on his running career. In his year off, though, Bland starred in Southridge’s intramural hoops program with Nolan O’Brien.

Both Bland and O’Brien traded rec ball this season for the school’s varsity team, and Bland jumped back in as the team’s starting point guard.

ARIANA VAN DEN AKKER THE HERALD

Former Raider intramural stars take a big step

By BRENDAN PERKINS bperkins@dcherald.com Before Chase Bland and Nolan O’Brien were allies, they were combatants.

Bland, the No. 1 draft pick on his intramural basketball team at school, against O’Brien, the can’tmiss shooter on his intramural team. The champions of A lunch versus the kings from B lunch.

Their teams met in Southridge’s intramural hoops championship last school year, before Bland and O’Brien made the leap into a markedly more distinguished brand of basketball.

“These guys were on the allintramural team last year,” joked Raider varsity coach Ted O’Brien, as he passed by Nolan and slapped him on the chest following the team’s practice last Thursday.

“They made first-team ballot.”

Ted O’Brien never expected to be watching the school’s lunchtime intramural games and find the guys who’d become his starting point guard (Bland) and a main reserve (Nolan O’Brien) for this season.

But both guys placed aside their status as intramural superstars for one they like better: varsity players with the chance to show their stuff on Friday and Saturday nights.

“I just missed it a lot. You only get high school once, so it was why I missed it,” said Bland, a senior who played on the school team his first two years before sitting out as a junior to focus on running. “You play in Memorial Gym on Friday and Saturday nights, it’s awesome.

It’s not even describable what it feels like. That’s what brought me back ... big gym, big environment.”

Something similar tugged at Nolan O’Brien, who last played organized basketball in fifth grade and opted to give it another shot as a junior. “I just thought I’d give it a try so I don’t regret anything after high school,” he said.

Plus, “I’ve had a lot of support coming out for the team,” said Nolan, a three-sport athlete who took time away from hoops because of growing pains as he sprouted into his 6-foot-2 frame. Some of that prodding to play is tough to ignore when it’s coming from family. Ted

and Nolan come from the same family tree as distant cousins, and Ted knew his varsity program could benefit from adding Nolan, who’s “one of the best athletes at Southridge,” Ted said.

Bland can fill you in on the rest of Nolan’s capacities from back when they were ruling the intramural circuit.

“I’ve never seen anybody that didn’t play basketball that just sat there and shot and shot and shot. I’m like, ‘How in the world?’”

Bland said with an incredulous laugh. “He really made me mad sometimes, because he’d just kind of stand over there in the corner, do his thing, and then catch, shoot, make it.”

Bland can play that game, too.

Last year’s intramural championship lasted all of about three minutes, because Bland and Neil Messmer (who played on Nolan’s team) kept trading 3-pointers and hardly missed. The first to 15 points won, and Messmer had the last answer in that battle, though the hypercompetitive Bland figures he left his impression on the intramural scene in more ways than one.

“It was fun. It was different playing with a bunch of guys who’ve never really played basketball before, and I think I actually taught them quite a bit, because at first, they just kind of stand there and just don’t do anything. You’re

like, ‘OK, you need to cut and stuff,’” Bland said with a laugh.

For sure, no one’s ever been pulled from a pickup basketball game because they fail to N. O’Brien hedge on a screen, box out on rebounds, or get low in a defensive stance. And while Bland had a headstart on all that since he’d played in the Southridge system before and played with the rest of the Raiders all summer, Nolan didn’t commit to joining the team until right after the school year began.

“Coming out here I kind of felt like the one left out because I hadn’t played for so many years, but my teammates helped me, and just learning each play and just repping through it helped me.

The staff helped me, gave me like a cheat sheet of the plays to learn.

And just repping them and learning them each day helped me.”

He was a quick study. Said Bland: “It was pretty impressive, not gonna lie. I was like, ‘Wow, I don’t know how Nolan knows all this stuff.’”

Nolan identified his biggest adjustments as getting back into

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the routine of games and learning that fouls are fouls and a lot of contact will go unwhistled.

Bland’s biggest obstacles were a matter of the mind.

“For me, I think it was just getting the confidence back. Not playing a year, I was kind of hesitant with everything (in games),” said Bland, who averages 7.4 points and a team-best 2.6 assists. “I think that was the hardest part of coming back, was just knowing, ‘OK, I earned this spot, so I can play with them.’”

For all the demands on Bland as a point guard and for all the brusque and honest criticism that Ted O’Brien has doled out to Bland the last few months, there’s also a litany of things that the Raider coach applauds Bland for improving at. His body positioning when handling the ball. Becoming more vocal in running the offense. Using his legs more on his shot. Becoming a more dedicated rebounder.

“During stretches of the season, he carried us offensively, which was a nice surprise,” Ted O’Brien said. “We knew he would be a good defender and someone

who could pressure the ball, but some of the offensive improvements from where he was this summer were great, especially early in the season.”

And with Nolan, the great thing is “he has had fun with it.

He hasn’t been negative, he hasn’t been a distraction, he brings energy every day,” Ted said. “He spends more time in the gym than anyone. He is a very hard worker.

That work is going to pay off in the future. When the confidence comes and things click mentally, he is going to be a tough player for us. You just can’t match what he brings athletically to our team.”

So now comes the question: After those casual intramural matchups last year, you ready to perform in front of a few thousand people this Friday at sectional?

“It’s going to be crazy. Like coach has been saying, it’s got an old-time sectional feel again,” Bland said. “I can feel it around the community. At school, everybody’s already talking about sectional. It’s a big deal right now and it hasn’t even started yet. I can feel the energy already.”

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THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 9

Variables keep Patriots in search for right mix

By BRENDAN PERKINS bperkins@dcherald.com This is like an algebra question come to life.

How many possible lineup combinations are there for the Heritage Hills basketball team? Well, there’s lot of players and lots of variables to deal with. Factor in youth, an injury, inHitz consistency, rising talent, and the need to occasionally motivate guys with bench time, and well, you’ve got a whole lot of potential permutations.

Ten, to be precise.

That’s how many different starting lineups the Patriots have trotted out this season. It’s not a settled picture, either. In the five games to close the regular season, there were five different starting quintets. The bad news: The Pats (8-15) are still trying to find themselves as Class 3A sectional play kicks off Tuesday. The good news: There have been all sorts of opportunities for the 10 Patriots who’ve been in the starting lineup at some point this season.

“If you’re 8-15, maybe you’ll trip on to something — a player will come in and give you a spark, you may sit a kid and him not like it, and he plays harder. We’re just trying to figure out the puzzle.

And when you’ve got a record like we do, you never get comfortable,” Patriot coach Matt Sisley said.

“If we were 17-5, we’d be locked in. It’s not worked like that this year. We’re trying to put the puzzle together to see what works, what doesn’t, and we’ve just basically not solved the puzzle yet. So that’s why we’ve had a lot of different lineups.”

There have been a couple anchors in the unit. Senior and leading scorer Mason Becher has started all 23 games, as has Dalton Selvidge. Sophomore point guard Mitchel Becher has started every game he’s been healthy, as an ankle sprain cost him five games earlier in December and forced the first round of experimentation.

In the third game of the season against Northeast Dubois, sophomore Carter Meunier made the most of open auditions after Meunier didn’t play at all in the first two games of the season.

“Coach decided to put me in for

ERICA LAFSER/THE HERALD

Heritage Hills sophomore Carter Meunier, center, and freshman Cade Jones, left, weren’t in the varsity equation when the season started, but both have worked their way into the Patriots’ rotation and even into the starting lineup at times. Ten different Patriots have started at least one game as the Pats have hunted for consistency entering Tuesday’s sectional opener against Gibson Southern. a little bit, take a little sample of me, and he liked what I did when I got in there,” Meunier said, “so after that I got to play a little more.”

Three games later, Meunier wiggled into the starting lineup.

Less than two weeks after that, Meunier collected 11 rebounds in the Patriots’ road win at Gibson Southern (13-11), the team the Patriots will meet again in the opening round of the Boonville sectional.

“That’s really important for me, because I’m the tallest kid on the team, so I always try to work on rebounding. (Sisley) doesn’t like it when I don’t,” Meunier said with a wry grin.

First and foremost, Meunier provides something tricky for opponents to shoot over, Sisley said as he raised his arms simulating the 6-foot-5 Meunier playing defense.

“He’s learning on the fly, which is tough; sometimes you want to take him out, but you’ve got to let him learn through the mistakes,” said Sisley, adding that the

more complex parts of Meunier’s game like footwork, post moves and defending are still works in progress. “But he’s got a basketball body with a basketball mind, and he’s competitive. I mean, that guy is competitive. Very competitive. Sometimes too competitive, to where it takes him out of moving forward sometimes. But that’s a good trait to have.”

Like Meunier, junior Gabe Hitz graduated from the outer bounds of the bench to the starting lineup in a couple games. And as the athletic Hitz improved his stock by providing all sorts of vigor in practice despite an earlier slump, “I’m like, ‘Hey, who’s this guy, we’ve got a new guy on the team.

Hey, we’ll get him in and give him some minutes,’” Sisley said.

Cade Jones, you’re the next one with a shot.

“To get more quarters and more playing time, it was just a surprise,” said the freshman guard, who’d seen just bits and pieces of varsity time until a couple weeks ago.

Jones’ baptism came within a road game at last year’s 3A semistate finalist Vincennes Lincoln, when Jones played more than 10 minutes as the Pats nearly engineered a surprise before losing by six points. Jones started the next game at Tell City. His heady play has ended up trumping Sisley’s stance that “I don’t like playing freshmen on varsity,” the Patriot coach said.

But Sisley knows Jones’ worth, because the freshman was on the floor with the Pats in peril in last Tuesday’s game against Princeton. Jones ended up hustling down a rebounding and assisting Alec Meunier’s game-winning 3-pointer, but even more than that gamesaving sequence, “his whole floor game kept us poised,” Sisley said of Jones, who had just one turnover in almost 20 minutes played.

“That’s basically how it goes: The harder you play, the more time you get to play,” Jones said.

“Just making smart plays and playing hard is how you’ll get to play and prove yourself.”

Marching forward into sectional, Alec Meunier and Kenton Crews are likely to be plugged in as the other two starters as the senior veterans have been in the starting five much of the year.

Nothing’s certain in the Pats’ merry-go-round of lineup options, but Sisley knows this: If something clicks with the Pats, they could have a little tournament fun.

“We’ve had three great quarters against good teams. Vincennes Lincolns and Jaspers, we’ve played three good quarters. It’s there,” Sisley said. “I’m just figuring out how to make this team run at a high level for four quarters. Because if we do, we’re going to beat some people, and they’re going to be like, ‘Holy cow, Heritage Hills just beat somebody.’ This basketball team can play at a high level. The Vincennes game, you couldn’t tell who was the better team, if you were just a fan showing up off the street. We’ve got some talented kids, we’ve just struggled all year with consistency.”

and it seemed like when we were younger it was year after year,” Forest Park senior Jaxon Cronin said. “When we were in grade school, we talked about, ‘That’s going to be us, that’s going to be us.’

“We just want to keep the tradition going.”

There’s no escaping it, either.

The state championship trophies are on display as soon as players and fans enter the east entrance to Buechler Arena. The Ranger locker room is painted with every sectional, regional, semistate, state and conference championship they’ve won, and there is a wall of champions with title teams from all the Forest Park sports along one of the back hallways at Buechler Arena.

“It’s something that’s talked about all the time,” Ranger coach Jeff Litherland said. “This is a very tight-knit community and the basketball program is even tighter. We have players come

back all the time. It’s really neat to see some of these guys come back and the different generations.”

“We had (Ranger assistant baseball coach Brian Partenheimer) on the bench (for last Tuesday’s game against Gibson Southern). When me and him were in high school, we were butting heads and he was throwing 95 mile-per-hour fastballs at me,” kidded Litherland, who graduated from Perry Central.

“Now, I’ve got his kid coming up through the program. It’s just a really neat place.”

This year’s team, though, has entered a rare era for Ranger hoops. Last year’s senior Damon Wilmes was the last Forest Park player to be a on sectional championship team. This year’s group was in eighth grade the last time the program claimed a title in 2012.

“They remember (2012 graduate) Ben Braunecker and those guys and that’s something that would be huge for us,” Litherland

said about winning a title, “just to get more interest in our youth program.”

“It’s always been a goal,” Cronin added. “We talk about it, we’re open about it, but we know we have to come out and play. It’s not going to be given to us. ... But that’s our ultimate goal is to cut down those nets.”

— by Joseph Fanelli

the full gamut of world history — that’s for later in the school day — but as the school gets set for its 90th year of state tournament competition pretty soon, Friedman ensured his guys knew when it all started.

“I think they were a little shocked,” Friedman said of his 1927 factoid.

For the Jeeps of the present day, class is in session.

Once a week before school, the Northeast Dubois Jeeps meet in the morning as a basketball team, first shooting free throws, then heading to a classroom. Each week there’s a different topic — teamwork, humility, leadership, for example. Yes, there’s even homework. Players are expected to research the week’s topic and then explain how it relates to basketball.

History (Continues from Page 2)

Forest Park Rangers: Mission to maintain No one on the Forest Park boys basketball team has to peer too far back to relive the glory days of Ranger basketball.

Because for most of the Rangers, it doesn’t feel that long ago.

Starting in the the early 2000s Forest Park collected championship after championship, including back-to-back state titles in 2005 and ’06. The contributors on those teams are gone, but the latest group of Rangers still can recall the faces and names.

“I remember as a kid, and I know everybody else does, watching those teams cut down nets

Northeast Dubois Jeeps: Class is in session What happened in 1927?

Calvin Coolidge was president.

Charles Lindbergh made the first solo, nonstop trans-Atlantic flight. And Dubois High School first participated in the IHSAA’s boys basketball tournament.

Terry Friedman didn’t cover

HISTORY concludes on the back page

PAGE 10 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Members of the Jasper boys basketball team are, from left, first row: Craig Shepherd, Justin Goebel, Peyton Gentry, Luke Foster, Alex Allen, Grant Theil and Hunter Gossett.

Second row: T.D. Nottingham, Justin Persohn, Adam Hedinger, Johnny Bounds, Jared Englert, Eric Nordhoff, Elliot Prange and Andrew Schmitt.

Members of the Forest Park boys basketball team are, from left, first row: Trever Zink, Noah Fleck, Collin Hochgesang, Sam Englert, Daniel Lusk and Garrison Tretter.

Second row: Aaron Meyer, Dylan Buechler, Jaxon Cronin, Ben Wendholt, David Lusk and Blake Mohr.

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 11

Members of the Southridge boys basketball team are, from left, first row: Jayce Harter, Braden Harding, Eli Lubbehusen, Gaage Fetter, Chase Bland and Matthew Price.

Second row: Nolan O’Brien, Ross Eckert, Harrison Steckler, Jaden Hayes, Jayden Montgomery and Payton Mattingly.

Members of the Northeast Dubois boys basketball team are, from left, first row: Chase Riecker, Alex Harder, Owen Fuhrman, Sidney Schott, Brandon Merkel and Alan Kerstiens.

Second row: Scott Betz, Kaden Quinn, Griffen Bauer, Keigan Meyer, Drew Jacob and Reece Helming.

PAGE 12 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Jasper Wildcats

Student managers for Jasper are, from left: William Giesler, Levi Eckert and Jordan Fischer.

Members of the Jasper boys basketball coaching staff are, from left: Cameron Harris, Eric Dall, Jeremy Wolf, Adam Schwartz, John Goebel and Jason Ahlbrand.

Jasper cheerleaders are, from left, first row: Kendall Russ, Olivia Ariens, Courtney Vennekotter, Madeline Springer and Brynn Sermersheim. Second row: Hailey Hurst, Jessica Mehringer, Kylie Seibert, Claire Mathies, Emma Cave, Grace Werner and Zoe Biggs.

SEASON RESULTS (15-6) OPPONENT W/L at Evansville Harrison L MOUNT CARMEL W EV. MEMORIAL W at Bed. N. Lawrence W FOREST PARK W NORTHEAST DUBOIS W EVANSVILLE CENTRAL L VINCENNES LINCOLN W MOUNT VERNON W WASHINGTON L at Southridge W

SCORE 59-55 62-37 63-50 71-68 70-53 60-31 60-52 62-31 84-72 66-64 52-33

STATISTICS

OPPONENT W/L SCORE at Boonville W 74-61 NORTHEAST DUBOIS W 68-44 at New Albany L 92-53 BARR-REEVE L 64-59 HERITAGE HILLS W 62-47 EV. MATER DEI L 72-63, OT vs. Pike Central W 57-50 at Princeton W 48-43 FLOYD CENTRAL W 54-46 LOOGOOTEE W 67-38

Forest Park Rangers

Members of the Forest Park boys basketball staff are, from left: assistant coaches David Welp and Phil Winkler, student manager Noah Hawkins, head coach Jeff Litherland and assistant coach Jordan Johnson.

SEASON RESULTS (17-5) OPPONENT W/L SCORE CRAWFORD COUNTY W 76-67 TELL CITY W 70-39 LOOGOOTEE W 70-58 at Washington L 74-36 at Jasper L 70-53 vs. Southridge W 57-48 vs. Boonville W 69-62 at South Spencer W 60-52 vs. Crawford County W 52-49 PERRY CENTRAL W 58-37 vs. Owen County (Ky.) L 72-54

OPPONENT at South Spencer NORTH POSEY TECUMSEH at Southridge at Ev. Mater Dei at Barr-Reeve at Wood Memorial at Heritage Hills PIKE CENTRAL GIBSON SOUTHERN at Northeast Dubois

PLAYER Alex Allen T.D. Nottingham Hunter Gossett Luke Foster Justin Goebel Peyon Gentry Craig Shepherd Justin Persohn Grant Theil Andrew Schmitt Eric Nordhoff Johnny Bounds Elliot Prange Adam Hedinger Jared Englert Austin Simmers

G PTS HI AVG FG 3PT FT-FTA 20 344 28 17.2 147 0 50-78 21 296 25 14.1 101 40 54-70 21 164 15 7.8 59 1 45-69 16 107 19 6.7 45 0 17-26 21 105 11 5.0 34 20 17-24 20 83 10 4.2 33 0 17-25 21 82 11 3.9 27 18 10-13 14 42 11 3.0 16 4 6-7 9 23 8 2.6 8 0 7-11 18 44 8 2.4 17 2 8-18 4 4 2 1.0 2 0 0-0 4 2 2 0.5 1 0 0-0 8 3 3 0.4 1 1 0-0 6 1 1 0.2 0 0 1-2 3 0 — — 0 0 0-0 1 0 — — 0 0 0-0

Forest Park cheerleaders are, from left, first row: Morgan Uebehlor, Payton Prechtel, Shelby Olinger and Kari Begle. Second row: Dana Hoffman, Auria Wilson, Riley Prechtel and Makenna Chumbley.

STATISTICS W/L SCORE W 58-51 W 67-41 W 64-46 W 50-35 L 69-57 L 45-37 W 45-32 W 60-42 W 57-51 W 62-51 W 58-41

PLAYER G PTS HI AVG FG 3PT FT-FTA Sam Englert 22 312 32 14.2 109 0 94-130 Ben Wendholt 22 299 23 13.6 92 38 77-96 David Lusk 22 247 20 11.2 94 29 30-41 Trever Zink 21 111 16 5.3 35 22 19-30 Daniel Lusk 22 105 16 4.8 35 0 35-51 Jaxon Cronin 22 92 15 4.2 32 13 15-29 Noah Fleck 22 67 10 3.0 22 0 23-43 Collin Hochgesang 20 31 9 1.6 12 6 1-8 Aaron Meyer 14 3 3 0.2 1 1 0-2 Blake Mohr 7 0 — — 0 0 0-0 Dylan Buechler 6 0 — — 0 0 0-1 Braydon Voegerl 3 3 2 1.0 0 0 3-4 Garrison Tretter 2 0 — — 0 0 0-0 Elliott Rothgerber 1 1 1 1.0 0 0 1-2

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 13

Southridge Raiders

Student managers for Southridge are, from left: Noah Stetter, Jenna Broeker and Chase Stetter.

Members of the Southridge boys basketball coaching staff are, from left: Brandon Hopf, Steve O’Brien, Ted O’Brien, Steve Rust and T.J. Montgomery.

Southridge cheerleaders are, from left, first row: Erica Buechlein, Jessica Hilsmeyer, Bailey Barrett and Ashley Folz. Second row: Haley Barnett, Justin Reed and Brittany Smith. Third row: Taylor Scott, Joscelyn Blanchard, Kyndall Seidl and Jenna Brock.

SEASON RESULTS (8-14) OPPONENT W/L SCORE CORYDON CENTRAL W 54-39 TELL CITY W 61-39 at Pike Central L 65-55 vs. Northeast Dubois L 57-52 vs. Forest Park L 57-48 at North Daviess W 42-40 at Tecumseh W 57-46 at Northeast Dubois W 56-48 PERRY CENTRAL W 54-39 JASPER L 52-33 at Paoli L 55-53

OPPONENT W/L at Heritage Hills L FOREST PARK L EVANSVILLE DAY W at Gibson Southern W at North Posey L WOOD MEMORIAL L WASHINGTON L SOUTH SPENCER L at Loogootee L CRAWFORD COUNTY L at Boonville L

STATISTICS SCORE 50-34 50-35 49-38 66-63 47-42 49-38 66-35 54-41 63-50 39-28 45-42

PLAYER G PTS HI AVG FG 3PT FT-FTA Harrison Steckler 22 269 23 12.2 87 9 86-113 Gaage Fetter 22 223 21 10.1 73 56 21-28 Payton Mattingly 22 190 16 8.6 67 12 44-62 Chase Bland 22 162 18 7.4 45 24 48-58 Jayden Montgomery 22 77 8 3.5 31 1 14-22 Jaden Hayes 16 27 7 1.7 11 0 5-9 Ross Eckert 22 30 8 1.4 13 0 4-10 Nolan O’Brien 22 28 3 1.3 10 5 3-3 Jayce Harter 19 17 3 0.9 5 1 6-8 Eli Lubbehusen 6 2 2 0.3 0 0 2-2 Braden Harding 10 0 — — 0 0 0-0

Northeast Dubois Jeeps

Members of the Northeast Dubois boys basketball coaching staff are, from left: Bruce Terwiske, Terry Friedman, Travis Schroering and Cody Ziegler.

Northeast Dubois cheerleaders are, from left, first row: Hannah Schepers, Gabbi Schepers, Makayla Jones, Jennifer Merkley, La’Kiegha Fawks and Paige Knies. Second row: Kristin Blessinger, Lauren Lorey, Hunter Thewes, Mackenzie Zehr and Kennedie Knies.

SEASON RESULTS (9-13) OPPONENT W/L SCORE PIKE CENTRAL L 82-48 SPRINGS VALLEY W 49-41 at Wash. Catholic W 55-49, OT HERITAGE HILLS W 62-58 at Orleans L 68-60, OT TECUMSEH W 53-46 vs. Southridge W 57-52 at Jasper L 60-31 BARR-REEVE L 52-30 VINCENNES RIVET L 63-56 at South Knox L 55-38

OPPONENT W/L SCORE SOUTHRIDGE L 56-48 at Paoli W 61-49 at West Washington L 77-42 at Jasper L 68-44 at Wood Memorial L 47-40 at North Knox W 60-40 PERRY CENTRAL W 55-39 at North Daviess L 51-39 SHOALS W 61-34 at Loogootee L 55-36 FOREST PARK L 58-41

Student managers for Northeast Dubois are, from left: Tyla Rasche, Kortney Quinn and Clare Mangin.

STATISTICS PLAYER Drew Jacob Keigan Meyer Alex Harder Alan Kerstiens Kaden Quinn Brandon Merkel Scott Betz Sidney Schott Griffen Bauer Chase Riecker Owen Fuhrman Reece Helming

G PTS HI AVG FG 3PT FT-FTA 22 260 23 11.8 84 41 51-82 22 234 21 10.6 90 0 54-85 22 216 17 9.8 79 17 41-72 22 133 15 6.0 47 19 20-24 22 88 12 4.0 26 2 34-57 21 61 9 2.9 17 14 13-20 22 29 8 1.3 9 0 11-20 19 25 8 1.3 6 0 13-29 20 12 4 0.6 5 0 2-7 12 5 3 0.4 2 1 0-0 12 4 2 0.3 1 0 2-5 3 1 1 0.3 0 0 1-2

PAGE 14 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Class 3A

@ Pioneer Stadium, Boonville Heritage Hills Patriots Record: 8-15 Coach: Matt Sisley (92-110 in nine seasons) Opponent: vs. Gibson Southern (13-11), 6 p.m. CST Tuesday Postseason history: 9 sectionals Probable starters: G Mitchel Becher (6-2 Soph.); G Alec Meunier (6-0 Sr.); G Dalton Selvidge (5-11 Jr.); G Kenton Crews (6-1 Sr.); F Mason Becher (6-3 Sr.) Team tidbits: Heritage Hills moves back to the Evansville-area sectional for the first time since 2006-07. This will be the Patriots’ seventh postseason encounter

Boonville Pioneers Record: 12-11 Coach: Steve Altstadt (84-162 in 11 seasons at Boonville; 121-216 in 15 seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Heritage Hills (8-15) or Gibson Southern (13-11), 6 p.m. CST Friday Postseason history: 24 sectionals, 2 regionals Probable starters: G Kyler Klein (6-1 Sr.); G Ryan Nance (6-0 Sr.); F Lane Kirkland (6-2 Sr.); F Lane Miller (6-3 Jr.); F Glen Rouch (6-5 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Boonville was 4-40 over the

Mount Vernon Wildcats Record: 7-15 Coach: Marc Hostetter (46-72 in five seasons) Opponent: vs. Evansville Memorial (7-14) or Evansville Bosse (13-10), 7:45 p.m. CST Friday Postseason history: 6 sectionals Probable starters: G Bryce Krizan (5-11 Sr.); G Luke Steinhart (6-2 Sr.); G Damon Collins (5-11 Sr.); G Blake Jackson (6-0 Jr.); F Walker Paris (6-2 Jr.) Team tidbits: Four of Mount Vernon’s starters average in double figures: Collins (14.7 ppg), Krizan (12.3), Steinhart (11.2) and

with Gibson Southern — they’ve played five times before in the sectional and once at regional. Each team has won three meetings. ... Mason and Mitchel Becher combine for 25 ppg, with Mason connecting on 40 percent on 3-pointers and 88 percent on free throws.

Keep an eye on: Maintaining momentum.

The Pats have played well in eventual defeats to teams like Jasper, Vincennes Lincoln, Washington and Pike Central but have struggled to assemble four good quarters.

They’ll also need three wins for their first sectional title since 2003.

Moment to remember: Meunier’s gamewinning 3 gave the Pats a 67-65 win over Princeton on their senior night last week.

Gibson Southern Titans

last two seasons but has regrouped behind an eight-man senior class. The Pioneers have won 10 of 16 entering the tournament. ... Behind 20 points from Nance, Boonville played sectional frontrunner Bosse nearly even in the first half of a 7059 loss Feb. 10. The Pioneers are 4-6 this season in games on their home floor.

Keep an eye on: If Heritage Hills advances to play Boonville, watch out for Kirkland.

He’s exceeded his usual scoring average against the Pats, scoring 18, 17 and 27 points in the last three meetings with them.

Moment to remember: In back-to-back games Feb. 4 and 9, Boonville beat Heritage Hills and Gibson Southern — the Pioneers will get one of the two in the semis.

Evansville Bosse Bulldogs

Paris (10). ... Steinhart, who averages 6.6 assists, is the son of Ron Steinhart, who played for Southridge’s Final Four teams in the mid-1980s. ... Mount Vernon has the longest sectional drought of any team in the field; the Wildcats last won in 1988.

Keep an eye on: Defense. You need it to win a sectional, but the Wildcats give up 71.5 ppg. Memorial, a potential first-round opponent, lit up Mount Vernon for 109 points in December.

Moment to remember: It wasn’t a win, but in an 84-72 loss at Jasper in early January, Collins erupted for 43 points, including 19 in the third quarter alone. Collins has drained a team-best 59 3-pointers on the season.

Evansville Memorial Tigers

Record: 13-11 Coach: Kyle Runyan (20-26 in two seasons; 40-96 in six seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Heritage Hills (8-15), 6 p.m. CST Tuesday Postseason history: 4 sectionals, 2 regionals Probable starters: G Chandler McKee (5-9 Jr.); G Mason Mockobee (6-2 Sr.); G Grant Allen (6-3 Sr.); F Wes Obermeier (6-6 Soph.); F Nick Sellers (6-2 Sr.) Team tidbits: Gibson Southern started the season 6-0 but is 7-11 since; the Titans have won back-to-back games just twice in

Record: 13-10 Coach: Shane Burkhart (118-74 in eight seasons) Opponent: vs. Evansville Memorial (7-14), 7:45 p.m. CST Tuesday Postseason history: 28 sectionals, 15 regionals, 6 semistates, 3 state titles Probable starters: G Mehki Lairy (5-7 Soph.); G Erik Bell (5-11 Sr.); F Jaidon Hunter (6-2 Jr.); F Ethan Thomas (6-3 Sr.); C Javier Langley (6-4 Jr.) Team tidbits: In a sectional full of offensive firepower, Bosse brings the most, averaging 71.3 ppg, the highest in the field. ... The

Record: 7-14 Coach: Rick Wilgus (177-131 in 14 seasons; 369-375 in 34 seasons overall) Opponent: vs. Evansville Bosse (13-10), 7:45 p.m. CST Tuesday Postseason history: 10 sectionals, 5 regionals Probable starters: G Dylan Penn (6-0 Soph.); G Rieser Wells (6-0 Jr.); G Joe O’Daniel (5-11 Sr.); F Alex Eberhard (6-6 Sr.); F Sam Devault (6-8 Fr.) Team tidbits: Memorial has five brand-new starters this season after all five graduated

that span. ... The Titans have gone one and done in sectional play in 11 of the last 12 seasons, including five years straight. ...

Runyan formerly coached at Pike Central and is a former Indiana All-Star from Madison-Grant who played college ball at the University of Evansville.

Keep an eye on: The big two of Allen (16.8 ppg) and Obermeier (16). Allen’s slashing and 3-point shooting complements the inside presence of Obermeier, who Heritage Hills coach Matt Sisley called “one of the better post players we see all year.”

Moment to remember: Gibson Southern’s strong start to the season included wins over Evansville Central (82-73), Evansville North (78-77) and South Spencer (66-58).

smallest Bulldog packs the biggest punch offensively, as the 5-foot-7 Lairy scores 18 ppg. Bell (12.6) and Hunter (10) provide backup, while Thomas and sub Jaylin Chinn (Soph., G) each add 8 ppg. ... Bosse went 4-0 in the regular season against fellow sectional opponents.

Keep an eye on: Bell. He solidifes Bosse’s attack with a whopping 9.5 assists per game and is the team’s second-best free throw shooter at 65 percent.

Moment to remember: In the first round of the SIAC Tournament in mid-January, Bosse swiped an 83-81 win over defending Class 4A state runner-up Reitz as Thomas hit the game-winning bucket at the buzzer and Lairy scored 25 points.

from last year’s bunch that made the regional final for the second straight season.

Devault (10.2 ppg) is one of two Tiger freshmen who’ve seen extended time, as Branson Combs (G) has been an occasional starter also. ... Memorial went 3-1 against sectional teams during the season, losing only to Bosse in a 72-66 decision on the road.

Keep an eye on: The big men. Memorial likely has the sectional’s best 1-2 punch of post players with Eberhard (13.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Devault, who are capable of ruffling opponents with their length.

Moment to remember: The Tigers ran wild in putting up 109 points on Mount Vernon in a December win, led by 17 points each from Combs and Andrew Cross (Soph., G).

Heritage Hills Patriots Heritage Hills cheerleaders are, from left, first row: Taylor West, Alexa Gengelbach and Rachel Winner.

Second row: Peyton Roedel, Sierra Schipp and Kayley Marchand.

Student managers for Heritage Hills are, from left: Jordan Heritage Hills boys basketball coaches are, from left: Schaefer, Reagan Lashley, Tiffany Brown, Shaylynn Smith, Nate Hawkins, Josh Wetzel, Matt Sisley and John Becher. Sydney Rube and Zach Bulleit.

SEASON RESULTS (8-15) OPPONENT at North Harrison EVANSVILLE DAY at Northeast Dubois NORTH POSEY at Hancock County MOUNT VERNON at South Spencer vs. Boonville vs. Corydon Central at Gibson Southern WASHINGTON at Pike Central

W/L L L L W W L L L W W L L

SCORE 66-59 43-40 62-58 55-51 66-57 71-54 56-52 77-60 76-26 63-60 73-62 69-57

OPPONENT W/L SCORE TECUMSEH L 54-50 SOUTHRIDGE W 50-34 EV. MATER DEI W 62-61, OT at South Spencer L 62-60 BOONVILLE L 66-56 at Jasper L 62-47 FOREST PARK L 60-42 at Vincennes Lincoln L 43-37 at Tell City L 50-49 PRINCETON W 67-65 at Perry Central W 56-45

STATISTICS PLAYER Mason Becher Mitchel Becher Dalton Selvidge Alec Meunier Kenton Crews Carter Meunier Cade Jones Grant Doyle Gabe Hitz Caleb Mulzer Casey Miller J.D. Hoover

G PTS HI AVG FG 3PT FT-FTA 23 341 23 14.8 99 31 112-128 18 184 18 10.2 65 3 51-77 23 189 18 8.2 73 35 8-16 22 174 19 7.9 61 30 22-30 23 161 22 7.0 61 1 38-69 21 65 11 3.1 28 0 9-13 7 20 8 2.9 7 2 4-9 22 61 14 2.8 23 7 8-16 21 29 6 1.4 13 0 3-10 23 39 6 1.3 11 6 11-15 10 8 6 0.8 3 0 2-6 10 7 4 0.7 3 0 1-2

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 15

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THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Forest Park continues rolling, so sleeves stay

By JOSEPH FANELLI jfanelli@dcherald.com Jeff Litherland is patiently waiting for that first slip-up. That one time his Forest Park boys basketball team finally goes and disappoints him.

Not because he wants a teaching moment, not to pat them on the back. No, Litherland just wants once and for all, to remove those ugly, stinkin’ leg sleeves.

“I’m just waiting for that one time and then I’ll take them off, just as a joke,” Litherland said, smiling.

Litherland has made a deal with the devil, or at least with a bunch of fashion-conscious teenagers. Leg sleeves — the compression sleeves with kneepads donned by a few Ranger players underneath their shorts — have popped up at every level of basketball, from the NBA to third-grade travel ball. There is no escaping the current craze of the basketball accessory, so much so Litherland made a treaty with his team before this season: If you play well, you can keep the sleeves on. But the first time you show up unprepared — gone. Poof. No more leg sleeves.

That was 22 games ago.

“They’ve earned them, they’ve been great kids,” Litherland admitted. “A great group that shows up every day and works hard, and I know the coaches, we have a blast with them. Just very proud of them.”

Even if he disagrees with their fashion choices.

So where exactly did leg sleeves sprout from? Just peer up at the game’s highest level. Wearing pads on elbows or knees are

Forest Park seniors Ben Wendholt, center, and Jaxon Cronin (20) have won out in their campaign to be able to wear leg sleeves during games. Ranger coach Jeff Litherland isn’t a fan of the leg sleeves that have become popular in basketball, but he made a deal with his players: If you play well, you can keep the sleeves.

The Rangers have won the agreement with 17 wins entering sectional play.

ARIANA VAN DEN AKKER THE HERALD

not new, but NBA All-Star Allen Iverson started the compression sleeve movement wearing them on his arms during his heyday with the Philadelphia 76ers about 15 years ago. From there, the sleeves moved downward, first as fulllength tights and, over time, as sleeves with knee pads attached.

As for their purpose, that’s up for debate. There’s some thought that the compression suppresses

swelling in the muscles and promotes stability, as leg sleeves are now popular with distance runners. Forest Park senior Ben Wendholt, one of the original Rangers who pushed for leg sleeves two seasons ago, said they protect his legs from bruises and scrapes.

“Last year, I’d come home after diving on the floor and I’d have strawberries that burned so bad,”

Wendholt said. “I don’t have any of them this year.”

“We played at Bloomfield this year the first summer game and Wendholt didn’t have them on and bumped his knee and goes, ‘Hey, if I’d have those knee pads I’d have been all right,’” Litherland added.

So there are actual practical benefits, even if Wendholt’s classmate Jaxon Cronin admits that “we just think they look good,” he

explained, smiling.

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SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 17

Class 2A @ Jasper High School

Forest Park Rangers Record: 17-5 Coach: Jeff Litherland (49-30 in four seasons) Opponent: vs. Tell City (7-16) or Perry Central (4-19), 6:30 p.m. Friday Postseason history: 10 sectionals, 5 regionals, 3 semistates, 2 state titles Probable starters: G David Lusk (6-2 Sr.); G Daniel Lusk (6-0 Soph.); F Ben Wendholt (6-4 Sr.); F Jaxon Cronin (6-4 Sr.); F Sam Englert (6-4 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Forest Park rolled in both regular-season matchups against potential

Ev. Mater Dei Wildcats Record: 11-11 Coach: Kurt Wildeman (114-96 in nine seasons) Opponent: vs. North Posey (6-18), 8 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 10 sectionals, 5 regionals, 2 semistates, 1 state title Probable starters: G Ben Wolf (5-7 Sr.); G Sam Oliver (5-8 Sr.); G Rob Bow (5-9 Sr.); G Devan Straub (6-2 Sr.); F Sam Fulton (6-4 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Mater Dei has reached the sectional championship or beyond in seven of Wildeman’s eight prior seasons as

North Posey Vikings Record: 6-18 Coach: Heath Howington (37-58 in four seasons) Opponent: vs. Evansville Mater Dei (11-11), 8 p.m.

Tuesday Postseason history: 1 sectional Probable starters: G Jacob Sanford (5-9 Soph.); G Austin Graves (5-9 Sr.); G/F Ethan Morlock (6-0 Jr.); F Noah Scheller (6-1 Jr.); F/C Grant Scheller (6-6 Sr.) Team tidbits: Grant Scheller (10.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg) shoots 58 percent from the floor, but the Vikings as a group connect on 43

sectional semifinal foes, handling Tell City 70-39 and Perry Central 58-37. ... Englert (14.2 ppg) tops the Rangers in scoring while Wendholt (4.3) is the top rebounder and David Lusk leads in assists (4) and steals (2).

Keep an eye on: The seniors. The Rangers are well-stocked for the future with a sturdy sophomore group, but the team’s elders have been motivated ever since letting last year’s sectional title get away in a loss to Mater Dei. Moment to remember: The Rangers picked up a signature win in late February in building a 12-point lead and finishing a 57-51 win over a Pike Central team ranked in 3A’s top 10. It also clinched the Rangers’ 11th conference title in basketball.

Tell City Marksmen

coach. ... The Wildcats staged a mini-surge at the end of the regular season, with wins over Forest Park and Jasper plus city rivals Central and Memorial. ... Fulton, the only non-senior starter, averages just over 10 points and almost seven rebounds.

Keep an eye on: Straub. The last time he visited Jasper’s gym in early February, he dropped 41 points. He averages 20 and is a threat from anywhere while being shifty and creative enough to deal with heavy defensive coverage.

Moment to remember: The entire last month may qualify. The Wildcats are 6-2 since Jan. 30 against a slate of solid competition that always has them tournament-tested.

Perry Central Commodores

percent of their shots. ... Graves (11.5 ppg is the top scorer for the Vikings, who went 0-13 until Jan. 15 but are 6-5 since then. ... North Posey’s first and only sectional crown came in 1966.

Keep an eye on: Graves. He owns North Posey’s school’s career record for 3-pointers in a career (143) and season as he drilled 72 of them as a junior in 2014-15.

He’s near that pace again with 71 this season as he shoots 33 percent from beyond the arc.

Moment to remember: Graves’ 3-pointer at the buzzer pushed the Vikings past Tell City 47-45 on Feb 20. as part of their lateseason rise. The Vikes also have a regularseason win over South Spencer.

South Spencer Rebels

Record: 7-16 Coach: Greg Arnold (11-35 in two seasons) Opponent: vs. Perry Central (4-19), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 34 sectionals, 5 regionals, 1 semistate Probable starters: G Gant Miller (5-11 Sr.); G Hunter Rowe (6-1 Sr.); G Reed Goffinet (6-2 Sr.); G Tretter Lyons (5-7 Fr.); C Braedon Beard (6-4 Fr.) Team tidbits: One more win will give Tell City its most victories since 2008-09.

The Marksmen, though, have not pieced

Record: 4-19 Coach: Matt Carter (11097 in 10 seasons) Opponent: vs. Tell City (7-16), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Postseason history: 4 sectionals Probable starters: G Trey Mullis (5-9 Sr.); G Ty Mullis (5-8 Soph.); G Luke Hubert (5-10 Jr.); F Lane Lynch (6-1 Sr.); F Jacob Kelly (6-3 Jr.) Team tidbits: Perry Central went 57-16 in a three-year run from 2011-12 through 2013-14 that included a pair of sectional titles and a regional runner-up finish. The

Record: 15-8 Coach: Tyler Phillips (29-17 in two seasons) Opponent: vs. North Posey (6-18) or Evansville Mater Dei (11-11), 8 p.m. Friday Postseason history: 8 sectionals, 3 regionals Probable starters: G Kobe Stephens (5-11 Sr.); G Dylan Kelly (5-9 Soph.); G Matthew Embry (6-3 Jr.); F Trey Toler (6-2 Sr.); F Jesse Stallings (6-5 Sr.) Team tidbits: South Spencer’s 5-0 start to the season featured a 76-47 blowout of potential Friday-night opponent Evansville

JUST TO BE ASKING: DYLAN BUECHLER MINUTES AFTER FOREST PARK SENIOR DYLAN BUECHLER CHECKED INTO HIS FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON JAN. 23 AGAINST TECUMSEH, HE WAS POPPED IN THE MOUTH BY A SWINGING ELBOW WHILE PLAYING DEFENSE. BUECHLER WIPED AWAY THE BLOOD WITH A TOWEL AND STAYED IN THE GAME. CONSIDERING THE ACL TEAR HE SUFFERED IN JUNE, ONE LITTLE SCRATCH WASN’T GOING TO KEEP HIM DOWN. What was that like against Tecumseh? You finally get back into a game, you’re super excited you’re back in, and immediately...

Well I guess it was a welcome back. It didn’t feel too good. It is what it is.

Obviously, getting a bloody mouth wasn’t fun, but after all you went through, going through rehab, what was that moment like?

It was surreal because right when I tore it and I heard about it, I was like, “OK, am I going to be able to play basketball this year or not?” So I was like, “I’m going to work my butt off and try to be back in five months.” Well, I came back in 51⁄2, back to practice. And I was like, “OK, I hit my goal pretty well. Now it’s time to get into the game.” I worked my butt off to be able to play.

What specifically did you have to do to get back?

Well, it was a lot of stuff. Let’s start with that. (laughs)

Pretty much up until the threemonth mark, it was non-weight bearing so I just did like leg lifts. Around the two or three (month) mark I could start doing weightlifting but I had to be cautious about it. After the three-month mark, they put me on a jumping program which started to gain my strength back.

And 51⁄2 months is pretty quick, right? Standard is like six months for ACL recoveries.

Any concern about coming back too early?

There was a little bit, it didn’t feel great at first, but then you’ve got to get back into the rhythm of it. It was tough, but it was worth it.

Do you feel comfortable on it yet, or is that still a problem?

It comes and it goes. I have my good days and my bad. It’s usually after a really tough practice, I’m sore the next day or two, but overall it’s pretty good now.

You mentioned before about the teammates being behind you. What were they saying to you during that process of trying to get back?

They motivated me as well as the coaches. Coach (Jeff Litherland) was always like, “You going to be back for the (PSC) Holiday Tournament?” I was like, “Well, I’m trying.” I’d always come back toward the end of practice, usually from working out my leg, and everyone seemed upbeat and it just helped motivate me to come back.

together two straight wins since early in the 2010-11 season. ... Rowe’s scoring average (13.3 ppg) is down slightly from last season, but he has a little more help from Miller (9.2) and Beard (11.8 ppg, 9 rpg), who is one of seven freshmen on the roster.

Keep an eye on: Defense. In its sectional losses over the last seven seasons, Tell City has allowed an average of 73.3 points.

Moment to remember: Behind 20 points from Rowe and 13 from Ty Smith (Fr., F), the Marksmen crept past Perry Central 5752 three days after Christmas in the PSC Holiday Classic. It broke a string of nine consecutive losses to the county rival Commodores, who topped Tell City 50-43 in the regular-season opener.

Commodores were 9-14 last season, and this year, they enter the postseason with an 11-game losing skid. ... Trey Mullis accounts for 10.8 ppg and poured in 24 in a recent defeat to North Posey.

Keep an eye on: Finding enough firepower.

The Commodores have scored more than 52 points just three times this season, and they shoot 37 percent from the field and 58 percent at the foul line.

Moment to remember: It came early for Perry Central, which opened the season with road wins at county foes Tell City (5043) and Cannelton (69-36). Ty Mullis and Lynch combined for 29 points in the Tell City game as the Commodores ended on a 19-10 spurt in the fourth quarter.

Mater Dei, a game in which Stallings netted 31 points and the Rebels were up 23-2 after one quarter. ... South Spencer has bowed out in its sectional opener in eight of the last nine seasons.

Keep an eye on: Which Rebels show up.

They’ve been touted as a promising group but have been a bit uneven, and they’ll need Stallings to be more consistent to be a sectional threat. They’ve found momentum entering the postseason, winning eight of their last nine.

Moment to remember: The Rebels earned a season sweep of county foe Heritage Hills, rallying 56-52 on Dec. 28 and then winning 62-60 on Jan. 30 thanks to Stephens’ three-point play in the final moments.

Rangers (Concluded from Page 16) handshakes. This year, the players reopened the leg sleeves issue, and they’ve yet to disappoint.

“It’s kind of a superstitious thing,” Wendholt explained.

Litherland is yet to become more lenient on other accessories: head bands and arm sleeves are out of the question unless for medical purposes. He’s only come to peace with one fad.

“Whatever, somebody makes a lot of money of them,” Litherland joked about the leg sleeves.

It hasn’t been a difficult deal, though. This year’s group has been diligent in their work habits, Litherland said. Practices from the start of the season have been crisp and intense. Litherland said the seniors have been quick studies in learning and then employing weekly gameplans — from the starters all the way to the last man on the bench.

“We’ve got one senior, Aaron Meyer, that sits over there and he screams out more stuff than I do on the bench,” Litherland said.

“He knows every set the other team does.”

The sophomores as well have come along and quickly bought

into a goal that’s now spanned a season and a half. The Rangers may look posh in their white leg sleeves, but they’re all business.

Since taking a 35-point beating against Jasper last season at the end of January, the Rangers (17-5) have dropped only six contests heading into the Class 2A sectional, which coincidentally moves to the Jasper High School gymnasium this season. With a first-round bye, the Rangers are one win away from revisiting the same stage their season ended a year ago, when they reached the sectional championship before falling 69-64 to Evansville Mater Dei. So, with leg sleeves on display, Forest Park aims to reach that level again.

“The Jasper game really motivated a big run toward the end of last year, and that ran short,” Wendholt said. “The Jasper game still burns on this year, but for me, it’s definitely that championship game; how we lost that (17-point) lead and that’s in my memory pretty good. I think that’s one of the main things for us to motivate us, because we were so close last year we could smell it.”

PAGE 18 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Jeeps’ senior survivors stand tall in guiding role

By JOE JASINSKI jjasinski@dcherald.com The 2015-16 boys basketball season hadn’t even kicked off and Northeast Dubois’ two seniors, Drew Jacob and Kaden Quinn, already had beef with Jeep coach Terry Friedman.

“You’re not as tall as me,” Quinn fussed to his classmate while Jacob inspecting the team’s initial roster, which had both players listed as 6-foot-1. Jacob ignored Quinn and continued talking about the team’s rebounding duties. Quinn wouldn’t have it.

“We’re going to have to talk to Coach about these heights. I’m actually 6-1 and Drew is 6-foot, so he mixed those up. We’re going to have to change that up. ... And you don’t weigh more than me either!”

Quinn: 150 pounds.

Jacob: 155 pounds.

“I’m definitely taller than you, man,” Jacob replied.

The banter is brotherly between the Jeeps’ elder statesmen.

Which makes sense considering, “Drew and Kaden, I’ve watched those kids start in fourth grade basketball together,” Friedman said, “and they’ve always kind of been joined at the hip.”

Height grievances aside, the Jeep duo has become the latest block in the program’s foundation; they reel off the names of guys they’ve learned from — starting with Bryce Huebner their fresh-

As their team’s lone seniors, Northeast Dubois’ Kaden Quinn (left) and Drew Jacob have helped guide the Jeeps through a season in which they’ve had to rely heavily on a crop of sophomores still adjusting to the varsity game.

ALISHA JUCEVIC THE HERALD

man year all the way to Jacob Gress and Eric Dodson and Tristan Linne last season and all the seniors in between — and “every year, they’ve passed down to us ways to lead the team, and I feel like, as the years have gone on, we’ve listened to them,” Jacob said.

Along with being the Jeeps’ statistical leaders in points (Jacob) and assists (Quinn), the role both seniors have undertaken to shape a sophomore class healthy in numbers and talent has perhaps been their defining mark,

Friedman said. Could the Jeeps have fared better than 9-13 (not far off from Northeast Dubois’ 9-12 mark entering the tournament before winning sectionals in 2012-13 and 2013-14)? Perhaps, Friedman surmised. What the Jeeps have been able to construct, though, stems from their senior base.

“They set the tone in practice,” Friedman said. “And some of our younger players aren’t used to that daily grind, with both the schedule and the practices. And I think Drew and Kaden have done a good job of

always coming prepared mentally and ready to practice every day and to set that tone and have helped these young kids along the way.”

While the words no doubt link with basketball, their impact on the squad’s lone junior, Scott Betz, and nine sophomores is far from confined to any sports arena, Friedman is quick to identify.

Jacob and Quinn have managed to set the benchmark in the community. They’re both active in their respective youth groups within the St. Isidore Catholic

parish, and Jacob even traveled with his group to a Catholic Heart Workcamp in Champaign, Ill., last summer. And in the classroom, it’s no different. Jacob (4.0 GPA) is in line to become one of about five valedictorians in this year’s graduating class, and Quinn figures to remain salutatorian with his GPA just a few hundredths below 4.

“I got one A-minus, you got me,” Quinn joked to Jacob.

See JEEPS on Page 19

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THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

SECTIONAL ■ PAGE 19

Class 1A @ Tecumseh High School

Northeast Dubois Jeeps Record: 9-13 Coach: Terry Friedman (114-116 in 10 seasons) Opponent: vs. Wood Memorial (16-8), 8 p.m.

EST Tuesday Postseason history: 9 sectionals, 1 regional Probable starters: G Drew Jacob (6-1 Sr.); G Alex Harder (6-0 Soph.); G Alan Kerstiens (6-2 Soph.); F Kaden Quinn (6-1 Sr.); F Keigan Meyer (6-4 Soph.)

Team tidbits: The Jeeps lead 11-8 all-time against Wood Memorial; their first meeting as conference opponents came in 2001-02

Tecumseh Braves Record: 9-13 Coach: Kevin Oxley (297265 in 24 seasons) Opponent: vs. Cannelton (4-18), 6:30 p.m. EST Tuesday Postseason history: 12 sectionals, 2 regionals, 1 semistate, 1 state title Probable starters: G Jackson Fowler (5-9 Sr.); G Jon Jenkins (5-9 Jr.); F Keenan Lautner (5-11 Sr.); F Grant Pemberton (6-0 Sr.); F John Dossett (6-5 Sr.) Team tidbits: After going 13 consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better from

Cannelton Bulldogs Record: 4-18 Coach: Michael Snyder (5-40 in two seasons) Opponent: vs. Tecumseh (9-13), 6:30 p.m.

EST Tuesday Postseason history: 6 sectionals Probable starters: G Damon Powers (5-9 Sr.); G Caleb Cravens (5-10 Sr.); F Logan Northerner (6-2 Sr.); F Jacob Pearey (6-1 Jr.); C Ethan Melton (6-3 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Cannelton has managed just one sectional win since 2000, which came in 2012 against now-defunct New Harmony.

when the Trojans moved from the PAC. The teams have met four times in the postseason, with each team winning twice. ...

The Jeeps have won at least one sectional game in five of the last seven seasons.

Keep an eye on: Making shots. Sounds simple, but the Jeeps shot 37 percent in the regular-season clash with Wood Memorial, when they fell behind 29-15 at the half and lost 47-40. They’ll be tested by a Trojan defense that allows 46.3 ppg, the best mark in the sectional.

Moment to remember: In back-to-back games in December, the Jeeps upended sectional foe Tecumseh then rallied from a double-digit deficit to edge Southridge 5752 in the Dubois County Hoops Classic.

Wood Memorial Trojans

1996-97 through 2008-09, Tecumseh has not had a winning season since. Still, the Braves have reached the sectional final three times in that sub-.500 span, winning it in 2010 and losing twice to Northeast Dubois. ... Fowler and Dossett both average near 11 points per contest; Fowler adds 2.5 assists while Dossett claims 7.5 rebounds per game.

Keep an eye on: The number 50. The Braves are 9-0 when they’ve scored 50 or more. They’re 0-13 when they score 49 or less.

Moment to remember: In the first six days of February, the Braves scored wins over sectional foe Evansville Day (60-59) as well as Lanesville (54-49), which has 17 wins.

Evansville Day Eagles

... The Bulldogs won a sectional title in the first year of class basketball (1998); their other sectional titles came back in 1933, ’36, ’46, ’48 and ’52. ... Cannelton has won four games this season after managing just three total over the last two seasons.

Keep an eye on: Powers. He averages 20.9 points a game and is responsible for nearly half the scoring output of a Bulldog team averaging 43.7 ppg. Powers also tops the Dogs in rebounds (6.2 per game), assists (3.8) and steals (3.2).

Moment to remember: A putback at the buzzer by Cravens gave Cannelton a 64-62 win Dec. 18 over Fox Creek Christian (Ky.) — it also gave the Bulldogs two consecutive wins for the first time in four seasons.

Springs Valley Blackhawks

Record: 16-8 Coach: Josh Thompson (49-50 in four seasons) Opponent: vs. Northeast Dubois (9-13), 8 p.m.

EST Tuesday Postseason history: 6 sectionals Probable starters: G Paxon Bartley (6-2 Fr.); G Tristan Vickers (6-0 Jr.); G Tyler Fleisher (6-4 Jr.); F Jacob Jarboe (6-2 Sr.); F Walker Nurrenbern (6-2 Soph.)

Team tidbits: Bartley, whose 12.5 ppg leads the team, is the son of Johnnie Bartley, who once held the National AAU Junior Olympic

Record: 12-11 Coach: Kelly Ballard (201228 in 19 seasons) Opponent: vs. Wood Memorial (16-8) or Northeast Dubois (9-13), 8 p.m. EST Friday Postseason history: 1 sectional Probable starters: G Humaad Khan (5-9 Jr.); G Levi Willis (5-9 Soph.); G Trey Waller (5-10 Jr.); F Joey Ballard (6-2 Sr.); F Patrick Cinelli (6-4 Sr.) Team tidbits: Day School’s lineup changed complexion at the beginning of February when star sophomore forward Rilee Epley

Record: 11-11 Coach: Rick Scholl (17-28 in two seasons) Opponent: vs. Tecumseh (9-13) or Cannelton (4-18), 6:30 p.m. EST Friday Postseason history: 12 sectionals, 2 regionals, 1 semistate Probable starters: G Zach Carnes (5-7 Soph.); G Josh Weddle (6-0 Jr.) F Isaac Brown (6-0 Sr.); F Braden Whitaker (6-2 Soph.); C Reece Walker (6-4 Sr.) Team tidbits: Springs Valley is a newcomer to the sectional field this season. The

JUST TO BE ASKING: GRIFFEN BAUER THE NORTHEAST DUBOIS SOPHOMORE HAS TAKEN ON AN OLD-SCHOOL NICKNAME AS HE’S BATTLED AGAINST FELLOW BIG MEN IN THE PROGRAM. With your nickname, “The Fonz,” how does a kid in 2016 get a nickname of a TV character from the 1970s?

It all started last year when coach (Dwayne) Knies joked with all the JV players that, since I’m a socalled ladies man, they should call me that because I guess back in his day that was the important sexy guy.

What are your thoughts on the nickname? Is it one you’ve grown to like?

Well, at first I didn’t really like it until Dwayne told me about how they just called him that because he got all the ladies, and it kind of grew on me. I don’t mind. (laughs) So it sounds like you needed him to explain the back story to you?

Dwayne sat all of us down and he kind of explained it to us in a huddle and everybody just kept calling me it.

That’s great. And I’ve heard Coach Friedman has even called you The Fonz a few times this year, so it must be official now.

Yeah, he likes to get in on our jokes and everything.

Switching gears ... I love the sport goggles you wear. Was that a decision because contacts hurt your eyes or did you want to bring back

the old-school look? (laughs) Well, we tried contacts but I couldn’t put them in, so Coach Friedman said the other way would be to wear the goggles, so that was kind of the last resort. ... At first, they were kind of really strong because they were so close to my eyes but I’m getting used to them and now I’m playing better.

Have you been getting compliments from other people on them?

Yeah, everybody says me and (Jeep JV player) Malachi (Baumeister) look the same, but I don’t think he’s Fonz material.

You’ve had to go against some big guys in practice the past couple years in Eric Dodson (2015 graduate) and Keigan Meyer. Are the goggles almost like throwing on your armor before duking it out with them in practice?

In practice, if you get hit in the face with the goggles on, it hurts probably two times more. So...

What’s it been like going up against those guys?

Well, with Eric Dodson (6-foot-7, 250 pounds) it was usually me and another JV player both having to guard him, so it was intense.

Going up against those guys has to be great competition. Do you feel your game has improved because of those daily battles?

Oh yes, they improved drastically over the past year. ... But yeah, Big Ed (Dodson), he would dominate two guys 6-4 and dunk over us.

high jump record with a leap of 7 feet, 0 inches. ... Nurrenbern adds almost 12 ppg for the Trojans, who were 3-0 against other sectional teams in the regular season.

Keep an eye on: This team — and for a while, too. The Trojans are the favorite to repeat as sectional champs and are wellstocked with young talent. They’ve thrived this season even without one of their top players, sophomore guard Lathan Falls, who’s out for the year with a knee injury.

Moment to remember: The Trojans enjoyed new scenery playing games in January at the Frankfort (Ky.) Civic Center in the KentuckyIndiana Challenge, then at Knightstown’s Hoosier Gymnasium, the home floor of the Hickory Huskers in the movie “Hoosiers.”

(20 ppg) faced a disciplinary issue and is no longer with the team. Still, the Eagles have won five of eight in Epley’s absence. ... Day School’s regular-season schedule featured seven 3A or 4A teams.

Keep an eye on: Everyone. Though the Eagles no longer have Epley, they’ve averaged better than 62 ppg without him and have compensated with offensive balance.

Moment to remember: Even though it wasn’t a win, Day School pushed sectional frontrunner Wood Memorial to the wire before falling 61-55 in overtime on Feb. 16 as Willis netted 19 points and Cinelli added 18. The result also served as a signal that Day School could challenge for the sectional crown even without Epley.

Blackhawks play just two other sectional squads in the regular season; they lost 49-41 to Northeast Dubois and beat Cannelton by 18. ... The Blackhawks ended the regular season with a bang with their two highest-scoring games of the year — 77-39 over South Central (Elizabeth) and 74-59 over Eastern (Pekin). Whitaker averaged 13 points in those victories.

Keep an eye on: Valley has a big weapon off the bench in O’Brien Selby (Jr., G), who totaled 35 points in the final two regularseason games and lit up Loogootee for 33.

Moment to remember: Valley’s best win was a 71-56 takedown of Loogootee before New Year’s as the Hawks closed that game with a 30-19 run in the final quarter.

Jeeps (Concluded from Page 18) There’s respectability and grit with the two. Like the bow tie Jacob sports as he carries bags working at Holiday Foods and the hardiness Quinn needed from Day 1 working at a chicken house. His first day on the job, he had to remove all dead birds from the heap, “and the first chicken I come to had probably been in the cage for two to three days,” Quinn recalled. “I almost vomited right there. It was the grossest thing.

But a couple weeks in, you just pull them out and you don’t even smell it. You just get used to it.”

Similarly, the two learned to shrug off the skeptics entering this season, after the Jeeps lost roughly 60 percent of their scoring from last year. And even as the Jeeps dropped eight of nine games midway through this year’s campaign, they responded by finishing .500 in their last six contests.

“Coming into the year, people were saying that we wouldn’t have a chance, we’re too young and wouldn’t go far, and I think this year’s shown that we’ve come together as a group. And even though we have a pretty young team, I think they’ve done a good

job of stepping up and filling the varsity role,” Jacob said, as this bunch replicated last year’s record heading into the tourney.

“And that’s good for them to get that experience this year so they can bring it for next year and the year after that.”

As they sit on the precipice of their final sectional, “It’s been a long ride, it’s been a great ride,” Jacob said. When sophomore teammate Keigan Meyer chucked one of Friedman’s dryerase markers while coaching an intramural game last week, it rehashed memories for Quinn and Jacob of when Cody Ziegler did the same thing as the pair’s eighth-grade coach. Quinn was sitting on the bench, “and all of a sudden, all I see is an Expo marker go flying past,” he remembered with a laugh.

From that team, only Jacob and Quinn are still playing, “and it just shows the commitment we’ve both put into the game, how much we love the game,” Jacob said. “It’s been great playing with him the past couple years and I’m really going to miss it.”

“Perfectly said,” Quinn added.

Now there’s something Jacob (6-foot-1) and Quinn (6-foot-1) can agree on.

PAGE 20 ■ SECTIONAL

THE HERALD ■ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Members of the Heritage Hills boys basketball team are, from left, first row: Caleb Mulzer, Grant Doyle, Dalton Selvidge, Alec Meunier, Cade Jones and Mitchel Becher.

Second row: Casey Miller, Gabe Hitz, Carter Meunier, J.D. Hoover, Mason Becher and Kenton Crews.

History (Concludes from Page 9) In January, one of the sessions centered on legacy. That’s when Friedman educates the current Jeeps about the ones who came before them: that first ’27 team; the nine prior sectional champion teams (including the 1988 group that was the only Jeep sectional champion team to knock off all three other county schools en route to a title). Then, Friedman shifts the concept of legacy to the present day and poses the question to his players: What legacy do you want to leave?

For several players who formerly wore the Jeep blue, the legacy is ongoing. Every coach in the system — from the first-grade level through the head coach — is a product of the Jeep program.

From Friedman (who played for the 1977 squad that came one game away from the Final Four) to Bruce Terwiske (who likewise played on a regional champion squad in ’84) to Cody Ziegler (a reserve on the regional champion squad from 2000), the current Jeep leaders are full of germane experience for the next generation.

Jeep senior Drew Jacob has heard Terwiske recount snippets from that ’84 team, which seemed to contain one of those vital ingredients.

“He was just saying about the chemistry that they had there, and how they worked hard, and that we just need to work as hard as they do,” Jacob said. “They just played team ball, and that’s what we want to integrate into our team.”

Before a recent game against Shoals, Friedman posed the question to his guys of which former Jeep they looked up to most.

Jacob’s answer was Josh Gordon — who hit the buzzer-beater against Orleans to win the 2009 sectional when Jacob was a fifthgrader watching from one of the first couple rows as Jeep students

rushed the court at the end. And sure, wins and championships stick out, but Friedman always stresses that legacy contains more layers.

“I always remind them that the legacy isn’t always about who scored the most points or who won the most games,” Friedman said.

“I said our fans here at Northeast Dubois want to see a team that plays hard, plays together and gives it everything they’ve got.

And if you do all those things … you leave the right legacy behind.”

— by Brendan Perkins

Heritage Hills Patriots: Space to add legacy When Heritage Hills coach Matt Sisley paid a visit to Southeast Missouri State where he used to play hoops, the team had made an addition to its locker room. Painted on the wall were the words “Home of Champions,” with the display also including years marking the program’s conference titles and other achievements.

Sisley took out his phone and snapped a picture. When he became Heritage Hills’ head coach in 2007, Sisley borrowed the idea to install in the Patriots’ locker room. You can’t miss it: the white banner that hangs above the lockers, stretches almost 20 feet long and reads “Home of Champions” in red-and-blue script.

“That was the first thing I bought. That, and basketballs,” Sisley said. “Beause it means a lot to me, it really does.”

At Heritage Hills, talk about history tends to be framed more in the future tense instead. Sisley’s emphasis has been on creating a history, crafting a culture.

The message may be sinking in, because ask senior Kenton Crews about how the program’s history is emphasized to the players, and here’s the first thing he mentions: “There’s a banner up in our

The “Home of Champions” banner hangs in the Patriot locker room. locker room that has all of our PAC championships and sectional championship from all the way back,” Crews said. “We look up there all the time, hoping that we can put one up there someday.”

The banner’s placement is calculated: directly across from the varsity players’ lockers, so they see it every day. And any time a kid comes into the coach’s office, Sisley’s desk is in the corner with sectional championship basketballs decorating the area nearby.

“They see it. They know what that is,” Sisley said.

The mission is to make additions. Listed on the Patriots’ “Home of Champions” banner are the years of their 14 conference titles on the far right side, and years of their nine sectional crowns on the far left. In the middle, there’s a section reserved for regional championships. No additions yet.

Says Sisley: “It’s so blank, it stands out like a sore thumb.”

But he figures that gives the program something to chase. So the Pats will keep pushing.

With the Pats returning to Boonville for the sectional this year, that’s been a topic of conversation lately among the Patriots, since that’s where all nine of their prior sectional titles have been won. Three members of the Pats’ coaching staff — Sisley, Josh Wetzel and John Becher — all tasted sectional glory at least once at Boonville in the 80s.

Crews has heard some stories about other Patriots from that era like Donnie Jones and Ken Mulzer (the fathers of current Patriots Cade Jones and Caleb Mulzer), though Sisley’s careful not to lay on the “back-in-my-day...” tales to his present players.

Sisley does want to emphasize

other history-related threads.

When he was first coaching, he found a box of old VHS tapes and converted them to DVDs to show his players when they’d come over to his house for spaghetti dinners.

“I’d just show them: ‘Hey look,

this is the old rubber floor (at Heritage Hills). Hey look, there’s nowhere to sit, it’s packed in here.’ This place was a basketball madhouse back in the 80s. Just to show them. ... That’s history.”

The Pats are working toward some of their own. There’s room for it.

As Sisley has told his team: “Hey, if you guys can get after it and get something done, people will follow. They will follow in here to see some exciting stuff and some winning basketball.”

— by Brendan Perkins

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