High school basketball previews

FRIDAY

Covenant Christian (8-14) vs. North Putnam (9-15)

Tipoff: 6 p.m. at South Putnam

Media coverage: WREB-FM 94.3 will broadcast the game on radio, and mtcsports.net will livestream the game via video.

The coaches: Collin McCartt is in his fourth year at North Putnam. Scott Flatt is in his 13th year at Covenant Christian.

Season recap: North Putnam has won two straight games.

Opponents’ records: North Putnam 286-271, Covenant Christian 287-219.

John Harrell prediction: Covenant Christian 61, NP 56.

Per-game averages: Offense – CC 55.8, NP 54.9. Defense – CC 66.1, NP 58.3.

Last sectional title: NP 2002, Covenant Christian 2011.

The history: North Putnam won 73-68 on its homecourt in December. Covenant Christian has won two of three games played between the teams.

Key players: Elliot Gross leads North Putnam with 15.9 points per game, while Andrew Pickel adds 12.5, Caleb Duncan adds 9.5 and Treyton Smith adds 8.7 per game. Senior Jordan Webb, the step-nephew of ex-Cloverdale standout Cooper Neese, leads CC in scoring at 23.1 points per game. Josiah Grant adds 13.2 points per game, while Trey Flatt adds 10.5.

Cloverdale (18-6) at South Putnam (11-12)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

Media coverage: WREB-FM 94.3 will broadcast the game on radio, and mtcsports.net will livestream the game via video.

The coaches: Patrick Rady is in his third year at Cloverdale. Greg Dean is in his fourth year at South Putnam.

Season recap: Cloverdale has won five of its last six game. South Putnam has won three of its last four games and five of its last seven.

Opponents’ records: Cloverdale 297-267, SP 268-281.

John Harrell prediction: Cloverdale 62, SP 49.

Per-game averages: Offense – Cloverdale 65.6, SP 48.2. Defense – Cloverdale 59.8, SP 50.5.

Last sectional title: Cloverdale 2015-17, SP 2003.

The history: Cloverdale won 72-53 on its homecourt in December. Cloverdale leads the series 29-26 over the past 30 years.

Key players: Cloverdale’s Jalen Moore leads the state in scoring at 37.9 points per game and is the 16th-leading scorer in state history. Jake Wilkes adds 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Allen Plunkett leads South Putnam in scoring at 18.5, followed by Dalton Scott at 7.9 and Thomas Fanning at 7.2.

Greencastle (16-7) vs. Crawfordsville (11-12)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. at Lebanon

Media coverage: WIMC-FM 103.9 will broadcast the game on radio.

The coaches: Bryce Rector is in his second year at Greencastle. David Pierce is in his eighth year at Crawfordsville.

Season recap: Greencastle has won its last three games. Crawfordsville ended the regular-season losing four of its last five games before defeating Benton Central 47-37 on Wednesday in sectional action.

Opponents’ records: Greencastle 279-258, Crawfordsville 277-248.

John Harrell prediction: Greencastle 59, Crawfordsville 52.

Per-game averages: Offense – Greencastle 54.6, Crawfordsville 58.7. Defense – Greencastle 50.2, Crawfordsville 59.5.

Last sectional title: Greencastle 2004, Crawfordsville 2014.

The history: Greencastle won 51-44 on its homecourt in November. Crawfordsville has a 20-12 lead in the series over the past 30 years.

Key players: Colin York leads Greencastle in scoring at 21.4 points per game, followed by Gavin Bollman at 11.1 and Brody Whitaker at 10.6. Cam Harris leads Crawfordsville in scoring at 21.1 points per game and is the only Athenian in double figures.