HS basketball notes: Tech's weekend and more
After Tech lost 68-64 to Bowman Academy on Thanksgiving weekend, coach Jason Delaney sensed there may be some people ready to jump off the Tech bandwagon.
After Tech's weekend, they might want to find a way back on.
The Titans went 2-0 at the Marshall County Hoop Fest on Saturday, defeating Louisville Ballard 87-84 in overtime and Huntington Prep (W.Va.) 54-51. Ballard is the No. 1 ranked team in Kentucky and Huntington Prep is nationally-ranked by several online publications.
Tech was scheduled to play Ballard on Friday, but weather concerns moved both games to Saturday.
"We looked at it as a regional format," Delaney said. "It was tough when it was all in one day, especially with the teams that we were playing. Ballard is really talented with Quentin Snider (Louisville recruit) and Kelan Martin (Butler recruit). And Huntington Prep is absolutely loaded. There's no way around it. We just kept battling and battling."
Tech 6-10 senior Trey Lyles (Kentucky) was named the most valuable player of both games, putting up 30 points and 19 rebounds against Ballard and 22 points and 14 rebounds against Huntington Prep. In both games, Tech had to rally late from behind.
"It's a testament to those kids," Delaney said. "We were down 18 to Bowman and came back to take a lead. A lot of teams, including us in the past, would have started to point fingers at one another. Not many people probably gave us a chance to beat Huntington Prep. We believe in this group of guys. We think we can play with anybody."
Delaney said seniors Jeremie Tyler, Mike Jones and Rashaun Richardson also played well on Saturday. Senior guard John Roberts also played in his first game and hit a huge 3-pointer late in the Ballard game.
Next up for Tech is rival Cathedral on Friday. The teams split four games last year, with the Irish winning the final two.
"It's one of those games you love because it's your rival and they push you to get better," Delaney said. "Even with all they lost from last year, they'll still be a very good team. (Cathedral coach Andy Fagan) does a great job with them."
Cathedral played its first game on Saturday, defeating Broad Ripple 56-31.
Injury scare: Promising Hamilton Southeastern freshman Zach Gunn received a scare early in the Royals' 78-40 win on Friday, suffering what coaches originally feared was a possible concussion or broken nose. HSE coach Brian Satterfield said neither appears to be the case now. The 6-6 Gunn, who scored 13 points in his debut against Fishers (an 80-71 win), will likely play in Friday's game against Noblesville.
Southport event: The four-game Tipoff Classic at Southport will feature several of the state's top teams and players. Bloomington South plays East Chicago Central at 2:30 p.m., followed by Columbus North vs. Cathedral at 4:15, Brebeuf Jesuit vs. Southport, 6 p.m., and Greensburg vs. North Central, 7:45. Admission is $10 for the day.
P.J. Thompson update: Brebeuf Jesuit senior guard P.J. Thompson missed Friday's 75-53 season-opening win over Herron as he recovers from an injury to his right knee. Thompson, an IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Star last season, is expected to return to practice this week for the first time this season. He'll miss this weekend's games against Lawrence North and Southport.
Immediate contributions:Perry Poindexter made an impact in his first game at Lawrence North, scoring 18 points in the Wildcats' 85-84 win at Marion on Saturday night. The 6-7 Poindexter, a former starter at North Central, transferred to Lawrence North just before the start of the season. Daeshon Francis, a Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit, also had 18 points for Lawrence North.
Mr. Basketball watch: Speaking of Marion, James Blackmon Jr. had 39 points in Marion's loss to Lawrence North. The 6-3 Indiana recruit is averaging 46.5 points through two games. Park Tudor's Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) scored 35 points in a win over Roncalli and is averaging 38 points and 14 rebounds through two games. Lyles is averaging 23.8 points and 14.5 rebounds through four games for the Titans.
Alex Meyer update: I caught up for a few minutes with former Greensburg/Kentucky standout pitcher Alex Meyer at Saturday's Batesville-Greensburg basketball game. Meyer, pitching in the Minnesota Twins organization, missed a couple months with an arm injury last season, but managed to go 4-3 with a 3.21 earned run average in 13 starts with Double-A New Britain. The 6-9, 220-pound Meyer, who struck out 84 batters in 70 innings, said his arm is healthy again.
"I went out to the fall league in Arizona for a month-and-a-half and threw pretty well," he said. "Now I'm back home waiting for spring training to get here. I'm not real sure (what will happen in the spring), but I got a big league invite last year to camp so I assume I'll get one again this year. Wherever they say I get to pitch, I'll pitch."
Meyer, 23, was rated as the No. 59 prospect by Baseball America going into the 2013 season.
"I had a little bit of scare last year when my shoulder was bothering me right in the middle of the season," he said. "I was lucky, though. My velocity came all the way back and I hit 100 (miles per hour) in the fall league. That told me everything was fine."
Harris does it again: Howe junior guard Harris Brown continues to put up monster numbers. After scoring 50 points in a 138-54 win over Irvington Prep last week, the Loyola recruit went for 51 points in an 87-53 win over Washington on Saturday. Howe (2-1) plays at Broad Ripple on Friday.