IHSAA boys basketball What We Learned: Brebeuf-Guerin clash, big weekends, fewer unbeatens (2024)

Five things we learned from this week in Indiana high school basketball:

A tantalizing first Brebeuf-Guerin game

It felt like a sectional game Friday at Brebeuf Jesuit. Packed gym, familiar opponents and lot on the line between the Braves and Circle City Conference rival Guerin Catholic.

“It’s what it’s all about," Brebeuf coach Allen Glunt said. “It’s a game we know every year is going to be sold out and packed whether it is here or there. This is what you play for. With this group we’ve got, we’re thinking big picture and knowing we’re probably going to have to go through them again.”

Class 4A fourth-ranked Brebeuf won, 59-50, in a game that was played closer than that final score might indicate in the intimate setting of the Brebeuf gym (1,000 capacity). The Braves also won the regular-season meeting last year, though, before losing to Guerin Catholic in the Sectional 27 rematch. The Golden Eagles then used that momentum to reach the 3A state finals before losing 66-63 in overtime to NorthWood.

Insider: Brebeuf wins Act I vs. Guerin. Act II is 'top of mind.'

'Cannady for 3.' Cathedral junior sizzles, sets up City final showdown with Attucks

This second-ranked Guerin Catholic team, now 12-5 after Friday’s loss, is certainly capable of making a similar run. Guerin hosts the six-team sectional this season.

“This was a good barometer, gauge, tone-setter for us,” Glunt said. “What’s the first punch look like? And to do it in here with a sold-out crowd, it doesn’t get any better. There’s no better place to be on a Friday night.”

Brebeuf did it with an outstanding effort from senior Javawn Brooks, who led the Braves (9-4) with 19 points and six rebounds, all on the offensive end. Guerin did an impressive job defensively on Brebeuf leading scorer and Butler commit Evan Haywood, who finished with 14 points and three assists. But Glunt was pleased with how Haywood performed down the stretch, hitting 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and leading his team in other ways.

“He’s coming off a stretch where he’s been scoring it really, really well,” Glunt said. “He gets double-teamed, held, face-guarded every single night. We knew Guerin was going to have a plan for him and going to do it really well all the time. But for him, it’s such a big growth. We’re not always going to throw it to him all the time. We had some advantages in other places and the attention he got created things for us. His growth and maturity as a leader in our huddles and timeouts, that to me shows we’re learning about one another and growing.”

Brebeuf is a strong, physical and experienced team. Brooks (11.3 ppg, 3.7 rebounds) and Haywood (21.5 ppg, 6.7 rebounds) are both seniors, along with Reis Butcher (12.7 ppg, 2.7 assists), Quinn Warren (7.5 ppg, 3.9 rebounds) and Will Ryan (3.4 ppg, 2.6 assists). Sophom*ore guard Austin Ford (7.2 ppg) is also a key part of the rotation.

Guerin was coming off a 48-47 win over Cathedral six days earlier on a last-second shot by Bryson Cardinal, a 6-8 junior who has made significant strides since last season. Cardinal, who came in averaging 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds, did most of his damage in the second half to finish with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds. In an odd scheduling quirk, the Golden Eagles could have wrapped up the Circle City Conference championship in the six-team league, but instead finished league play at 4-1. It was Brebeuf’s first conference game.

“Our guys knew what was at stake with a conference championship on the line,” Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen said. “A sectional rival and a great win last week over Cathedral, which felt like a positive step in our development. We got (senior point guard) Jack Cherry back from injury and are finally able to start the five guys we thought we’d start at the beginning of the season. I’m still very confident in those guys but they should understand that if we aren’t going to finish possessions in the defensive end, we’re not going to beat anybody. They had more effort than us for 32 minutes.”

The next 32 minutes between the teams could help determine the 3A state championship. Until they meet again.

Great weekends for these five teams

These five teams had weekends to remember:

∎ Carmel coach Ryan Osborn was adamant he liked where his team was heading even after a 2-6 start. The young Greyhounds are starting to turn the corner after a tough overtime loss to Jack Benter and Brownstown Central last weekend. Carmel (6-9) picked apart Pike for a 72-42 win Friday night as Ben Bremer and Evan Harrell each scored 16 points and the team shot 11-for-20 from the 3-point line. Carmel made it two in a row when Alex Couto hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining for a 41-39 win at Brownsburg. Ryan Clevenger led the way with 14 points in that win. I don’t think I’d want to see Carmel in the sectional.

∎ Bethesda Christian upset Class 2A No. 9 Park Tudor 55-45 on Friday night and returned home Saturday to roll to a 56-37 win over Waldron. The Patriots (8-7) are back to full health and will be a contender in Class A.

∎ Franklin (12-2) avenged its Johnson County tournament loss to Whiteland with a 58-55 overtime win over the Warriors on Friday night, then won 81-67 at New Palestine on Saturday. Micah Davis went for 36 points in the win over Whiteland, including the game-winning 3-pointer, and 26 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals against the Dragons. On the negative side, second-leading scorer Wyatt Nickleson injured his ankle against Whiteland and did not play on Saturday.

∎ Hamilton Southeastern (11-5) knocked off Zionsville 42-35 on Friday and Mt. Vernon 48-44 on Saturday. Nathaniel Orr had 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals in the win over Mt. Vernon. Donovan Hamilton had 18 points and seven rebounds against Zionsville.

∎ Triton Central lost earlier in the week to Roncalli, but the 2A Tigers (11-4) bounced back with a 63-54 win over defending Class A state champion Lutheran on Saturday. Triton Central is going to a factor in the tournament in Mark James’ first year as coach, led by sophom*ore Eli Sego (16.3 ppg, 4.3 rebounds) and junior Silas Blair (13.4 ppg).

Undefeated teams fall

Are we going to get through the season with an undefeated team? The magic 8-ball says: “Unlikely.”

For reference, there have only been 14 boys basketball teams in the state to navigate through a season with an undefeated record. So, the odds are long for it to ever happen. But it has twice in recent years as Warren Central won the Class 4A state title with a 32-0 record in 2017-18 and Ben Davis did it last season with a 4A championship and 33-0 record.

In the class basketball era, other 4A teams to finish undefeated are 2002-03 Pike (29-0), 2005-06 Lawrence North (29-0), 2008-09 Bloomington South (26-0).

We saw a couple of unbeatens fall this week:

∎ Class 4A third-ranked Westfield, coming off a 58-54 win over No. 4 Noblesville two days earlier, lost 62-56 at Brownsburg on Friday night. The Shamrocks (12-1) rebounded with a 68-27 win over Tri-West on Saturday night.

∎ Tipton, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, lost 70-51 at No. 4 No. 10 Kokomo on Saturday night. Credit to both teams for scheduling that game. The Blue Devils dropped to 14-1.

∎ Class 4A No. 9 Richmond, after starting 16-0, lost 64-59 to New Palestine on Tuesday. Tougher games are ahead for the Red Devils, including at Anderson (Feb. 1) and Kokomo (Feb. 9).

That leaves us with four unbeatens, all in 4A: Lawrence North, Fishers, Greenfield-Central and Lake Central. Can one of those teams become No. 15 on the undefeated list? A closer look:

∎ Lawrence North (15-0) is ranked No. 2 in 4A and has survived some close calls, including a one-point win over Crispus Attucks in December and a 62-60 win at North Central on Friday. There are several tough tests ahead before a rugged Sectional 10, including a showdown at Fishers on Feb. 13. Speaking of which …

∎ Fishers (15-0), ranked No. 1 in 4A, had its closest call at Center Grove on Dec. 22, winning 66-65 in overtime. The Tigers have multiple difficult games ahead, including against Sectional 8 rivals Carmel (Jan. 27), Westfield (Feb. 1) and Zionsville (Feb. 16), in addition to Cathedral (Feb. 9), Lawrence North (Feb. 13) and North Central (Feb. 20). If all that was not enough, the Tigers will play in the O’Fallon (Ill.) Shootout on Feb. 3 against Homewood Flossmoor, which is 19-1 and ranked No. 1 in Illinois.

∎ Lake Central (13-0) is ranked No. 5 in 4A, coming off a 63-58 win over Valparaiso on Thursday. The Indians, led by 6-6 senior Jake Smith, have tough games ahead, including Portage (Tuesday) and Chesterton (Friday) this week and later against East Chicago Central and Crown Point.

∎ Greenfield-Central (15-0) is ranked No. 7 in 4A and owns victories over New Palestine and Mt. Vernon. Out of the group of four, the Cougars might have best chance to finish the regular season undefeated, though games against Pendleton Heights (Friday), Delta (Feb. 1) and Avon (Feb. 10) will be challenges. Junior Braylon Mullins is averaging 26.3 points per game.

I would not have anticipated having this many undefeated teams going into the final 10 days of January. But I would be surprised if any of those teams reached the finish line without a single loss.

How has it been 10 years?

It struck me looking up at the team photos and banners Saturday night at the City tournament semifinals at Tech that it has been 10 years since the Titans won the Class 4A state championship. How is that possible?

Cathedral coach Jason Delaney, who coached that Tech team, pointed out this is also the 20-year anniversary of the Class A Waldron team winning state. That was Delaney’s first year as a head coach.

“What that tells me is I’m getting old,” Delaney said. “Tre Granger (the Heritage Christian coach), I coached against when he was a player. I’m not a big fan of getting old, but it’s cool to hear from those Tech guys. I just talked to C.J. Walker yesterday. Trey (Lyles) and I talk, and I hear from a lot of them. The cool thing about those Tech guys is they still root for their old coach and even though I went to the enemy at the time, it’s still neat to hear from them and for me to hear what they are doing with their lives.”

That 2013-14 season remains an outlier for Tech, which has not won another sectional since. In fact, that is the only sectional title for the Titans since the Landon Turner era of 1977-78. But there are reminders everywhere in the shiny yet historic Tech gym, including Lyles’ Mr. Basketball honor.

“This is a special place forever for me,” Delaney said.

Final thoughts and observations

I don’t pretend to have all the answers but if you have made it this far, some random, quick thoughts and observations to leave you with:

∎ I heard a new one this week from a fan screaming “Are you high!!!” at an official. Multiple times.

∎ Brebeuf might want to block out Dylan Murans when the Braves see Guerin Catholic again. The Guerin senior had two highlight-reel tip-dunks and nearly had several more, finishing with six offensive rebounds. Who was blocking him out? “No one,” Brebeuf coach Allen Glunt said after his team’s 59-50 win.

∎ Unified sports might be my favorite thing about high school sports. The scene at halftime of the Noblesville-Westfield game on Wednesday night was so refreshing.

∎ If you are a guard who can’t make an open 3-pointer consistently, get to work. No one is born a great shooter. It takes work and mental toughness, just like any skill.

∎ It was cool to see Washington reach the City tournament semifinals as an 11 seed. Aaron Hogg is building the Continentals into a viable program again. We have lost a lot of flavor in the City with the closing of Arlington, Broad Ripple, Howe, Manual, Marshall and Northwest in recent years.

∎ Body language is so important. One of first things I notice is how a player reacts to a negative play by a teammate. Fair or not, that reaction is a window into that player’s attitude. You better believe college coaches are watching too.

∎ Let’s get back to taking cash for admittance at high school basketball games.

∎ Chesterton has two 1,000-point scorers on seniors Justin Sims and Tyler Parrish. How often does that happen?

∎ Congrats to New Palestine coach Trent Whitaker on becoming the all-time program wins leader in a 77-60 victory over Roncalli. Whitaker is now 127-86 to pass Brian Kehrt, who won 126 games from 1995-2005.

∎ Deric Cannady’s personal 19-point third quarter in Cathedral’s win over Heritage Christian was something. The way his teammates and coaches reacted also says a lot about how he is perceived as a team leader. There was nothing selfish about that performance.

Have a great week. I have a few stories I’m looking forward to sharing in the coming weeks. I can’t make any promises I can get to everything but let me know if you have any good story ideas for the homestretch of the season.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.