Sectional Champs

Centerville set up a rematch with Winchester in the Regional Semis, with a convincing 67-48 win over Cambridge City Lincoln. 6'6" senior forward Bradley Siegel led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Senior guard Cory Noelker lead all scorers with 21 points. Centerville upset the Falcons of Winchester earlier in the year 56-48. I look forward to seeing how these two great ball clubs play on the Regional stage at the Spartan Bowl. Look for Neal Beshears to step up and try to not let the Bulldogs get revenge after being knocked out of the tournament by the Falcons last year. However, I am putting my faith in Centerville and their balanced offensive attack to move on to the Regional finals and face the winner of South Ripley and Park Tudor.

On a selfish note, this is my 5th sectional championship in my ten years as statistican at Centerville...I guess I am good at what I do!

Centerville vs. Winchester Recap

These two rivals really put the Hysteria in Hoosier Hysteria on Wednesday night. Centerville pulled off the upset, beating #7 Winchester 56-48. While shooting over 60% from the field did not hurt the Bulldogs, quite simply, they just outplayed Winchester. 6'4" Junior Guard Matt Schauss lead Centerville with 18 points, 14 coming in the second half. Matt showed good ball handling skills, as well as great body control inside while finishing many tough shots. Centerville's defense held 6'7" Neil Beshears to only 13 points. The Bulldogs 2-3 zone kept the Winchester offense in check, and forced Neil to take some tough shots. He did play a decent mid-range game and showed his ability to elevate over a defense, but overall I would have liked to see him take over down the stretch. This could be a turning point for Centerville, we will see how they come off this big win tommorow night at Connersville.

Centerville vs. Winchester

Powerhouse, and #7 ranked Winchester come to Centerville to face the Bulldogs tonight, in what shapes up to be the biggest game of the year for CHS. Hoosier Hysteria will be here to celebrate the 100th year of Indiana High School Basketball. Neil Beshears, 6'7'' senior small forward for Winchester looks to prove that he is the best player in the area. I look forward to seeing these talent packed teams battle it out tonight.

Wayne County Tournament Recap

Centerville (6-2) overcame a slow start and outscored Norhteastern by 20 points in the second and third quaters to win by the final of 54-32. Once again, junior guard Matt Schuass led the Bulldogs wtih 14 points and 10 rebounds. Centerville has now won 6 straight county titles. The Bulldogs face two tough opponents this weekend as they travel to Knightstown and Blue River.

Tournament MVP-Matt Schauss (Centerville)
First Team-Alex Houck (Hagerstown) Derek Blunk (Northeastern) Jacob Stewart (Centerville) Brad Siegel (Centerville) Chris Rea (Cambridge City).
Second Team- Will Claywell (Northeastern) Brett Singer (Cambridge City) David Roeder (Northeastern) Austin Robinson (Hagerstown) Cory Noelker (Centerville).

Wayne County Tournament

Northeastern vs. Centerville. These two teams always put it all on the line against each other, and tonight's stage, the Wayne County Tournament Championship will only make the game that much more intense. Northeastern (4-7), winners of two straight have improved each time I have seen them, and after an impressive performance agianst Hagerstown, Centerville certainly cannot overlook them. Centerville (5-2) is looking for a record 6th straight Wayne County Tourny title. Matt Schauss led the Bulldogs to a win over Cambridge City with 17 of his 20 points in the second half to bring Centerville back from a 12 point deficit. Northeastern lost by 21 points in their first meeting this year against Centerville, however their ability to hit from the outside always gives them a fighting chance. Centerville will also need to improve their rebounding in order to ensure that they will be lifting the trophy. They gave up 23 offensive rebounds against Cambridge Saturday night, that is the most I have seen in my 10 years as statistician. Centerville should be able to win comfortably, but as everyone knows, anything can happen in tournament basketball. I will have the game recap as well as the All-Tournament team after the game.

Centerville vs. Hagerstown

Centerville picked up there 4th straight win with a somewhat ugly 46-33 win over county rival Hagerstown. Just as I had been waiting for, Brad Siegel, 6'6" senior forward, dominated the game with 19 points on 7-10 shooting. He showed his ability to shoot from the outside, hitting a 3 early, along with a nice 15 footer, as well as his ability to score inside. In the second half he was scoring at will, normally getting the ball either in the post, or getting the ball on the left wing and taking it to the basket. Hopefully Brad will continue this performance for the remainder of our season. Alex Houck, a 6'2" junior guard lead Hagerstown with I believe 11 points. I was disappointed in his aggressivness, usually he is almost too agressive. However, later in the game hit hit a deep 3, followed by a solid drive to the basket where he finished well through contact. I think he could become a contributor at the NAIA level. Tomorrow night I will be at the Richmond vs. East Central game, I look forward to seeing junior guard John Trawick, who is recieving some D1 interest.

Thoughts on Hoosier Basketball Magazine

First off all, the Hoosier Basketball Magazine is a great publication, and I think that they do a great job with everything. As far as East Central Indiana is concerned, Neil Beshears was named First Team All-State as well as being featured on the side-bar of the cover. Jon Trawick was named to the Second Team, Zach Appolos was Third, Chandler Miller and Jon Thompson were Fourth. (I believe I am missing somebody from Connersville but I do not have the book with me at the moment.) For the most part I think that they got the All-State teams right. Personally, I think that Trawick deserved first team honors, but there is nobody who I would really want to take off of that team. I am glad to see that the Magazine has begun to factor in some AAU performances and just raw potential when making the All-State teams. For example, A.J. Hammons from Carmel was named First Team, however he only average about 5 points last season. Of course, we expect big things from him this year. Overall, I think they did a great job with the magazine, and I always enjoy reading it.