March 3, 2012
Class 4A Northview: Patriots roll into title game Andy Amey The Tribune-Star BRAZIL — The revenge dynamic at the Class 4A Northview Sectional for boys high school basketball changed dramatically as a result of Friday’s semifinal games. If Terre Haute North was hoping to avenge an upset loss to Martinsville two years ago, it will never have that chance. The Artesians, who won the 2010 sectional after a four-win regular season, were upset by Plainfield a year ago and dumped 66-53 by Mooresville on Friday. Now the Patriots, who handed Plainfield its 20th loss by a 73-44 score in Friday’s second semifinal game, play for the title tonight against a team looking to gain a double dose of revenge. “[Martinsville] beat us the last two years in our conference championship game,” coach Bob Carter of the Pioneers said after Friday’s first game. “We were 10-2 in the [Mid-State] conference the last two years, but they were 12-0. Obviously it was good to get them back.” Mooresville paid the Artesians back by jumping on them early and being tougher and more physical than a team that prides itself on those two things. It was Mooresville’s first win over Martinsville since the 2009 sectional — coincidentally, the last time the Pioneers beat the Patriots too. “They are a very good basketball team,” coach Todd Woelfle of the Patriots said in admiration of the Pioneers’ effort. “They can shoot it and they are tough and physical.” The Patriots could shoot it a little bit Friday night too, which gave Plainfield even less chance to pull an upset that the Quakers seemed primed to get early. North didn’t get a lead against its one-win opponent until after more than five minutes, when Matt O’Leary tapped an offensive rebound to Calvin Blank for a layup. That capped an 8-0 North run and put the Patriots ahead 11-9. A 3-pointer by Luke Jones of the Quakers had Plainfield ahead for the last time, but Steven Davis answered it for North — and that was the continuation of a 3-point deluge that quickly buried North’s foe. Blank added another 3-pointer before the first quarter was over — at which time North led 19-14 — and O’Leary drilled four in a row in the second quarter. Davis added two more of his own in the second period, and thoughts of a historic upset left the Quakers’ minds. North led by 30 by the end of the third quarter, and most of its regulars were relaxing by that time. “I thought we came out focused,” Woelfle said, “but [the Quakers] got off to a good start. We maintained our composure, which is a sign of good leadership from our two seniors [O’Leary
and Ross Sponsler] and our guys being confident in each other. “We defended much better in the second quarter and that got things going at both ends. We had an opportunity to get everyone in the game, and they all contributed.” O’Leary took just one shot after halftime and still led all scorers with 20 points. Davis had a career-high 19; Sponsler, Blank and Austin Lewis combined for 22 more points; and Casey Vickers handed out seven assists. Josh Courtney scored 14 and Luke Jones 13 for Plainfield. The Quakers’ lone senior, 6-foot-8 Marcus Mershon, had eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. It was a considerably less intense game than the opener, which had at least one bloody nose and end-to-end action throughout. After falling behind 6-2, Mooresville scored 14 points in a row, forcing 15 first-half turnovers with its 1-3-1 zone against a team that entered the game with a 19-2 record. The Pioneer lead grew to 30-13 in the second quarter, but then the Artesians scored eight points in a matter of seconds and the huge Martinsville crowd got involved. The start of the third quarter was a masterpiece, as could be expected from two teams with a combined 36-5 record. Mooresville hit four of its first five shots, yet lost two points off its lead because Martinsville had a pair of 3-pointers in its own 4-for-7 marksmanship. When Martinsville sophomore Aaron Tincher hit his second straight 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer, the Artesians were within 48-45. They got no closer. Although Martinsville got point guard Seth Dow back for the first time in a couple of weeks, it was without starting forward C.J. Cazee, who had broken his hand against Terre Haute South on Tuesday. After being above 50 percent from the field through three quarters, the Artesians were 3 for 16 in the fourth period and Mooresville pulled away with a game-ending 9-1 run. “[The Artesians] were short[-handed]. Not having Cazee made a big difference. But I still thought they played great,” Carter said. “They made some great runs — but we answered a lot of runs.” Sophomore center Jacob Johnson had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Mooresville, with Justin Kenney scoring 13 with eight steals and five assists, James Fields scoring 13 and Brandon Smalling scoring 12. Greg Spina had a game-high 18 points for Martinsville, while Jason Ray had 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds and Logan Barker scored 11. Dow, whose shooting hand was still heavily wrapped, didn’t score but had five assists and resumed his usual court leadership. North beat Mooresville 69-39 on Dec. 16, but Woelfle knows tonight’s game could be totally different. “We’ll need to take care of the basketball against their trapping defenses,” he said.
“We’ll have our hands full,” said Carter.
MOORESVILLE (66) — Smalling 5-12 0-0 12, Jo.Kenney 0-1 5-6 5, J.Johnson 7-8 3-5 17, Ju.Kenney 3-12 7-10 13, Fields 5-11 2-2 13, Stahley 3-4 0-0 6, Leap 0-0 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-0 0-0 0, Hurt 0-0 0-0 0, Rowland 0-0 0-0 0, Craig 0-0 0-0 0, Hibler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 FG, 1723 FT, 66 TP. MARTINSVILLE (53) — Barker 4-8 0-0 11, LaRue 1-1 0-0 3, Ray 6-11 1-2 13, Spina 6-12 2-3 18, Davis 0-2 0-0 0, Tincher 3-8 0-0 8, Dow 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 FG, 3-5 FT, 53 TP. Mooresville 18
16
14
18
Martinsville 10
14
21
8
—
66
— 53
3-point shooting — Mooresville 3-13 (Smalling 2-6, Fields 1-2, Ju.Kenney 0-5), Martinsville 1028 (Spina 4-6, Barker 3-7, Tincher 2-7, LaRue 1-1, Ray 0-1, Davis 0-2, Dow 0-4). Total fouls — Mooresville 14, Martinsville 18. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Mooresville 10, Martinsville 22. Rebounds — Mooresville 31 (J.Johnson 10), Martinsville 31 (Ray 16). Assists — Mooresville 18 (J.Johnson 6, Ju.Kenney 5, Fields 4), Martinsville 16 (Spina 5, Dow 5). Steals — Mooresville 17 (Ju.Kenney 8), Martinsville 6 (LaRue 3). Blocks — Mooresville 1 (J.Johnson), Martinsville 4 (Dow, Ray, Spina, Tincher).
PLAINFIELD (44) — Baute 1-3 0-0 2, Aldridge 2-3 0-0 4, Mershon 4-6 0-0 8, L.Jones 4-9 2-4 13, Courtney 5-7 4-6 14, Blevins 0-1 0-0 0, Jay 0-0 2-3 2, C.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Capraretta 0-0 1-4 1, Gulley 0-0 0-0 0, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-29 FG, 9-17 FT, 44 TP. TERRE HAUTE NORTH (73) — O’Leary 7-13 2-2 20, Lewis 2-2 2-4 6, Blank 3-7 1-3 8, Sponsler 3-6 0-0 8, Jahn 1-3 0-0 3, Vickers 0-5 3-4 3, Davis 7-14 2-2 19, Grady 0-3 0-0 0, Dillahunt 0-1 2-2 2, Low 0-2 2-2 2, Schenck 0-1 0-1 0, Paul-Bonham 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-59 FG, 14-20 FT, 73 TP. Plainfield
14
9
Terre Haute North
6 19
15 22
— 18
44 14 —
73
3-point shooting — Plainfield 3-5 (L.Jones 3-4, Baute 0-1), THN 11-24 (O’Leary 4-8, Davis 3-4, Sponsler 2-3, Jahn 1-1, Blank 1-3, Grady 0-1, Vickers 0-2, Low 0-2). Total fouls — Plainfield 15, THN 17. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Plainfield 22, THN 3. Rebounds — Plainfield 29 (Mershon 8), THN 33 (O’Leary 6, Davis 5). Assists — Plainfield 12 (Baute 2, Aldridge 2, Mershon 2, L.Jones 2, Blevins 2, Jay 2), THN 21 (Vickers 7, Jahn 4, Blank 3). Steals — Plainfield 1 (L.Jones), THN 10 (Lewis 2, Jahn 2, Grady 2). Blocks — Plainfield 1 (Mershon),
THN 1 (Davis). Technical foul — Plainfield bench. Next — Mooresville (18-3) and Terre Haute North (18-6) play at 7:30 p.m. today for the championship. Martinsville finished 19-3, Plainfield 1-20.
