South Ripley Raiders and Jac-Cen-Del Eagles advance to final 8 before falling

Gary Franklin
SPORTS EDITOR

Raiders pull off 57-56 win in first game; lose to Linton Stockton 61-46 in final round
An opening IHSAA Class 2A Boys Basketball Regional game victory at Shortridge HS in Huntingburg on Saturday morning, March 14, could be described merely as a “meant to be” as the South Ripley Raiders were trailing by four with 11 seconds remaining before they pulled off a one point, 57-56 buzzer beater victory at the final horn, launched by sophomore Cory Walker (5) from the top of the key.


GARY FRANKLIN PHOTO
Pictured left, SR Raider junior Ty Tucker (30) drains a pair of FTs to help propel his IHSAA Class 2A team to the night game against Linton-Stockton, after collecting 26 points as the top producer in their game against the Eastern (Pekin) Musketeers. To his left, sophomore teammate Cory Walker (5), who nailed the needed and impressive three-point delivery with 1.4 seconds remaining, sealing the Raiders’ advancement via the 57-56 one point victory.


The Raiders trailed by three at the end of first period action, 16-19, in spite of junior Ty Tucker’s (30) opening game scoring with a FG. Tucker basically kept the Raiders in a rock’s toss of the lead with his production of 11 points during the first period, including SR’s first nine points scored. Adding points in the first for SR were teammates junior Elijah Roepke (35) with a three-pointer, junior Brady Meyer (11) with a FG and a huge three-point delivery by sophomore Derek Turner (10) to give SR the three-point advantage at 19-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Over the second period, SR found themselves on the short side of the score trailing by five at 24-29, heading to the locker room for the halftime break. Results of third period action found the Raiders dead even at 40, following a FG score by junior Kaleb Riley (15) to end the period.

On the onset of the fourth and final quarter, Raider Riley (15) deposited another FG score to give SR the two-point edge at 42-40; however, ensuing play found the Musketeers gaining the edge, until a Tucker (30) FG/FT combo knotted the game at 46. Again, the Raiders found themselves on the short side of the scoreboard to the tune of a six-point deficit at 46-52 with just over two minutes of regulation remaining. A Tucker (30) FG at 1:25 pulled SR to within one at 51-52. Three for five FT shooting by the Musketeers at the time of desperation for SR allowed a glimmer of hope to still pull this one out. With 11.6 on the scoreboard clock, Raider junior Elijah Roepke (35) nailed a three-pointer for 54-55. The following foul immediately committed by Roepke sent Eastern to the charity stripe where they only added one of the two taken. All the Raiders needed to send the game to overtime with no time to waste, was a FG score or a pair of FT connections. At 1.4 seconds, sophomore Cory Walker (5) (Mr. Ice-water in his veins, as he has been called) squared at the top of the key and launched the bell ringing three-pointer for the one-point SR edge and victory at 57-56 sending the Raiders to the Regional Championship against the Linton-Stockton Miners.


Jac-Cen-Del wins first round 53-36 against Indy Lutheran Saints; falls to Clay City Eels 61-43 in championship
The Eagles opened IHSAA Class 1A Boys Basketball Regional action with a 53-36 victory over the Indianapolis Lutheran Saints at Martinsville High School March 14 in the John Wooden Memorial Gym.

The one-point edge of 9-8 by the end of first quarter action against the Saints would have essentially secured all the points really needed to move on to Regional championship action. By the halftime break, that one-point edge remained in tact at 18-17. The third period, however found JCD expanding their margin to an even dozen at 32-20, before concluding the game to a final dominating 17 point victory at 53-36. Stepping up large and in charge for the Eagles were senior Alex Pilz (52) with 19 and junior teammate Evan Borgman (40) with a 17-point contribution. Remaining Eagles scoring were senior Allen Hooton (30) six, junior Tyler Huff (12) five, junior Devon Wilson (24) three, senior Bo Kaiser (14) two and junior Derick Ritchie (20) one.

For detailed stats from both teams, pick up a copy of the Osgood Journal at your local newsstand.


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• South Ripley and Jac-Cen-Del championship game stats (page 5)
• Jac-Cen-Del Eagles Winter Sports Awards Program date set (page 5)
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