By John Groth, Cale Stephens
thepaper24-7.com
First-year Crawfordsville coach John Blackwell needed a moment before entering the team’s locker room.
He didn’t know how to address the Athenians’ eight seniors in his postgame speech Tuesday night.
After an Indiana High School Athletic Association first-round sectional game where they nearly toppled Class 3A No. 5 and Sagamore Athletic Conference rival Danville again, he knew they were heartbroken.
But Blackwell made sure they left with a positive message.
Danville junior and Purdue recruit Travis Carroll scored 27 points, while sophomore Tyler Hall added 17 and hit three key last-minute free throws, as the Warriors pulled away for a 60-54 IHSAA first-round Crawfordsville Sectional victory.
“Coaching those eight seniors, they’re some of the most phenomenal young men I’ve coached,” Blackwell said. “I was more worried about telling them to go out with their heads held high because these are darn good kids who represent the school well.”
Danville (17-4) advances to play conference foe North Montgomery (15-5) in Friday’s opening 6 p.m. sectional semifinal, while Western Boone (7-14) will face Lebanon (8-12) in the second semifinal.
Danville defeated North Montgomery 61-53 in a regular-season Feb. 17 match-up and has now won seven straight games.
Despite the loss, Crawfordsville (11-10) finished with its first winning season since 2003-04.
The Athenians placed fifth out of eight teams in the conference and gave each of the three conference co-champs – Danville, North Montgomery and Frankfort – some incredibly tight games.
They nearly knocked off Frankfort at the end of January, falling 65-63, and had chances against Danville until the Warriors pulled away in the late fourth quarter in each of their meetings – including a 71-59 Feb. 20 defeat.
They also stayed with county-rival North Montgomery for a half before the Chargers ran off to 13- and 17-point victories.
Once again, Crawfordsville kept Danville on edge – never letting the Warriors get above a nine-point lead and keeping the game within six points the entire second half.
The Athenians cut a 36-28 halftime deficit to just 46-42 at the end of the third quarter.
They got within one point twice in the fourth quarter.
Each time, the Warriors had a response.
With 7:12 remaining in the fourth, Crawfordsville freshman Caleb Rasmussen hit a three to cut Danville’s lead to 46-45.
Hall scored 30 seconds later and the Athenians missed three straight free throws over the next minute to give the Warriors some breathing room.
Danville pushed its lead up to five points before having it cut to 52-51 with 3:27 remaining on Crawfordsville senior Jordan Boykin’s inside shot.
But the Warriors hit their free throws down the stretch, going 8-of-12 from the foul line inside the final three minutes.
Senior Devin Mabbitt (five points) hit three of four foul shots in the final 50 seconds and also grabbed a key defensive rebound.
Crawfordsville finished just 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from the foul line.
“[Devin] is just a competitor,” Danville coach Brian Barber said. “He can score but he focuses on other guys first.”
One of those guys was Carroll.
Carroll dominated the first half, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the first two quarters.
With Boykin stuck on the bench with two fouls early in the second quarter, Carroll took advantage.
He scored 13 points in the second quarter, including three three-point plays.
Boykin stayed out of foul trouble in the second half and the Athenians shut down Carroll – limiting him to just six points on 2-of-8 shooting. Carroll finished with a double-double, pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
“Boykin was in the game [in the second half]. That helps a lot,” Blackwell said. “We didn’t do anything different. [Carroll] caught the ball underneath the basket too many times in the first half. We had a hard time squeezing the ball in the second half.”
Rasmussen sparked the Athenians with his play off the bench. He finished with a team-high 17 points, going 3-of-4 from three-point range. He went 7-of-10 from the field overall.
Sophomore Trent Crabtree added 11 points, while Boykin and junior Nolan Harris had seven apiece.
“[Caleb] hadn’t been much of a shooter. Tonight he was,” Blackwell said. “The kid sticks around after Senior Night when everybody else is at restaurants till 11 [p.m.] or midnight, shooting . . . He’s the hardest working freshman I know. He’s a fun kid to coach. They all are.”
Western Boone ends Southmont’s season for third straight year, 45-42
Southmont and Western Boone have met three straight times to open their Indiana High School Athletic Association sectional boys basketball tournaments.
It looks like the Stars have the Mounties’ number – at least in the postseason.
Western Boone capitalized on getting to the line in the fourth quarter, attempting 20 free throws to Southmont’s four, and rallied for a 45-42 victory in Tuesday’s first-round IHSAA Crawfordsville Sectional game.
It’s the third straight time the Mounties have lost to the Stars in sectional play.
“It’s deja-vu,” Southmont coach Dan Chadd said, referring to last season’s overtime IHSAA sectional tournament loss to Western Boone. “I don’t know what to say. I’m very frustrated. We made a great run in the third quarter. Western Boone did a good job of playing our guards really physical and really aggressive. We tried to adjust and put the pressure back on them. It didn’t turn out in our favor.”
Western Boone (7-14) will play Sagamore Athletic Conference rival Lebanon (8-12) in Friday’s second sectional semifinal. Class 3A No. 5 Danville (17-4) will meet conference foe North Montgomery (15-5) in the opening semifinal.
Southmont (6-15) used its aggressiveness to take the lead 40-35 with 4:18 to play.
But that idea backfired as the Mounties were called for 13 fouls in the fourth quarter.
Western Boone tried to take advantage but shot poorly from the foul line, hitting on only four of its first eight free-throw attempts in the quarter.
The average shooting kept the Mounties within striking distance.
However, Western Boone’s pressure defense amplified as the quarter wore on, limiting Southmont to just 3-for-11 shooting in the fourth quarter.
The Mounties went scoreless for the final 4:18 of the game, until senior Cody VanScoyoc beat the buzzer with a lay-up.
Western Boone hit on seven of its last eight free-throws to seal the deal.
VanScoyoc finished his last game in a Mounties’ uniform with 10 points.
Sophomore Trent Murray shot 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and added 10 points.
Junior Jordan Burkett and senior Nick Truncone finished with eight and six points, respectively.
Senior Scott Paris didn’t get many touches and finished with just two points.
“When they went zone, it was hard to get Scott the ball,” Chadd said. “They knew we struggled from the perimeter so they packed it in on him. They didn’t allow us to get a good touch in there. We had our chances. We just didn’t turn the corner and win the game.”
Vaughn led Western Boone with 16 points, while Poole added 10.
Southmont started out both halves shooting well from the floor.
Southmont hit 3-of-6 shots and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw lint to hold a 10-8 edge after the first quarter.
In the third, the Mounties shot 8-for-9 from the floor, all from inside the paint. The hot streak led to a 14-3 run and a four-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
“We’re losing four seniors that made a huge difference,” Chadd said. “These guys have set a great example for the underclassmen. They showed great work ethic and how to do it first-class and the right way. We’re just so proud of them. They’ll leave their mark at Southmont, that’s for sure.”
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