By Jeff Hodge
Contributing Writer
SOUTHPORT – Class 4A fifth-ranked North Central (Indianapolis) took 4A No. 2 Lafayette Jefferson out to the woodshed, and 4A No. 4 Lawrence North overpowered 2A top-ranked Fort Wayne Luers Dec. 13 at the Circle City Classic of Champions held at Southport Fieldhouse.
North Central dominated inside and held Jeff leading scorer Jesse Berry 30 points below his average in rolling, 90-70. Lawrence North, meanwhile, withstood a 31-point outburst from Luers standout Deshaun Thomas in the Wildcats’ 69-57 win.
Here’s a look at the Classic’s final two games (four other games took place earlier in the day):
4A #5 North Central (Indianapolis) 90, 4A #2 Lafayette Jefferson 70
Lafayette Jefferson should have known it was going to be a long night after the opening tipoff. Jeff’s top scorer, Jesse Berry, drove for what looked to be a layup and a foul on North Central.
But the trailing official – from about half court – called Berry for a charge. This official must have eaten his carrots all week long to have that incredible vision and superhuman powers to see through several players, including Berry, to make this call.
Berry, who came in averaging 38 points yet finished with only eight points on this night, seemed completely out of the game from that point on (the incredible defense played by North Central’s Trip McFall didn’t hurt, either).
McFall scored eight points himself while shutting down Berry. That effort drew praise from NC coach Doug Mitchell, who has has a lot of confidence in McFall’s abilities to defend the opponent’s top scorer after McFall shut down Pike’s Marquis Teague in the season opener.
“Trip doesn’t get lost in the shuffle,” said the 16th-year Panther coach. “When he’s supposed to be somewhere, he’s there.
“He’s been great for us defensively for us.”
North Central’s physical style appeared to stun the Bronchos as the Panthers came out pounding the boards and attacking the basket. North Central (5-0) scored 11 of the game’s first 12 points and led 21-7 four minutes into the game, building a 26-11 lead after one.
The Bronchos missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the first quarter, and they finished just 6 of 32 (19 percent) for the game. North Central standout Terone Johnson said the Panthers had planned to contest Jeff’s 3-point shooters from the start.
Jeff seemed to get some life back early in the second quarter after coach Scott Bunnell called a timeout in which he challenged the team’s effort. Jeff’s offense responded to the challenge, outscoring North Central 23-22.
But the Bronchos could not get any closer than 14 points, and they trailed 48-34 at halftime.
North Central shot a blazing 57 percent in the first half, led by D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera’s 12 points and senior Justin Reid’s 10 on 5-of-6 shooting. That duo two controlled the low post, where Jeff had no answer.
Jeff’s Shane Wyant led the Bronchos with 12 first-half points, while Brandon Williams added 10 (Berry had four).
The second half did not get much better for Berry, who went 2 of 10 for four more points (he would miss all six of his 3-point attempts), and it certainly didn’t for his team as North Central scored the first six points of the third period.
Late in the third quarter, it looked like Berry had taken himself out of the game as he was found standing around the half-court area and not looking to get involved in the offense. This led to Berry finding a seat on the Bronchos’ bench next to Bunnell.
Bunnell accepted the blame for the lopsided loss, saying he hadn’t adequately prepared the Bronchos (5-1) to play a team of North Central’s caliber.
“I’ve got to make sure that we’re ready to go, and we just weren’t,” said the fourth-year Jeff mentor.
The Panthers, who drove strong to the bucket all night and scored most of their points on layups, shot 59 percent for the game, including 6 of 17 (35 percent) from behind the arc.
Johnson, a Purdue recruit, scored 17 points while adding six rebounds and six assists. Reid earned most valuable player honors with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Smith-Rivera added 22 points and nine boards.
Williams led Jeff with 17 points and six assists, while Wyant added 15 points.
Next up for North Central is a Dec. 20 date at Hamilton Southeastern (4-1). Jeff plays a pair of games Dec. 19-20 before tackling 4A No. 6 Franklin Central in the Hall of Fame Classic Dec. 30 at New Castle, with Bronchos facing either Bluffton or Triton in the nightcap.
4A #4 Lawrence North 69, 2A #1 Fort Wayne Luers 57
Lawrence North had its hands full with defending 2A state champion Fort Wayne Luers in the final game of the Circle City Classic. The Wildcats held a 21-19 advantage after the first quarter, but Luers won the second quarter to tie the game 29-all at halftime.
Luers managed to make it a contest in the opening 24 minutes despite ice-cold shooting (the Knights hit just 8 of 36 for 22 percent from the field and were an average 5 of 15 from behind the arc. The difference was Ohio State recruit junior Deshaun Thomas, who had 18 points at the break.
Lawrence North (4-1) fared better from the floor, going 12 of 25 (48 percent) and hitting half its six 3-points attempts. Justin Martin made up for a slow start from Louisville recruit Stephan Van Treese (two points on 1-of-3 shooting) with 14 points.
After a similarly even third quarter, however, Lawrence North pulled away with a 23-13 fourth as their size and depth wore Luers down. Luckily for the Wildcats, 24 turnovers did not doom them.
“Our outlet passes were wide, and we couldn’t grab rebounds,” said LN coach Jack Keefer, who was amazed at how Luers attacked after missing a shot. “We made most of our errors on the other end of the court.
“Most teams get back and attack you – we just didn’t handle that. We had a layup waiting if we could get through the traffic.”
Thomas finished with 31 points on 10-of-29 shooting, including 5 of 12 from behind the 3-point line, for Luers (4-1).
LN’s Dominique Ferguson earned MVP honors with 19 points and six rebounds. Van Treese rebound to finish with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.
Next up for LN is a Dec. 16 home game against Indianapolis Arlington (3-1). The Wildcats then hit the road for a Dec. 20 game at Chicago Simeon before seeing what they have nationally speaking in the T-Mobile Invitational Dec. 29. LN will open with Seattle Garfield (WA), then face either South Atlanta (GA) or Duncanville (TX) the next day.
Luers will also hit the road next for Dec. 19-20 games before defending its Summit Conference Tournament title Dec. 22-27. Fort Wayne Wayne is this year’s conference tourney host.
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