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GREENCASTLE REGIONAL: Danville gets past Lebanon for title
The Danville Warriors left Greencastle on Saturday night with a sweet taste of victory after winning the Class 3A Regional at Greencastle High School's McAnally Center.
The Warriors accomplished everything they set out to do, guaranteeing a new state champion with a victory over Indianapolis Crispus Attucks in the semifinals, then besting Sagamore Conference rival Lebanon 57-45 in the championship game.
"Our seniors did a good job. This was one of our goals, to get back here and win (the regional). We were embarrassed last year in the regional against (county rival) Tri-West. We got beat by 24 and that kind of left a bad taste in our mouth. So we just wanted to get back here," Danville coach Brian Barber said.
Just getting to the championship game was a grind for both teams. First the Warriors beat defending state champion Crispus Attucks (20-5), 64-55. Lebanon, who won its own sectional by defeating Greencastle, survived a seemingly endless, two-hour double-overtime contest with Edgewood (22-6), 64-56.
"We have to prepare all week for (Crispus) Attucks and then the second game that night you really don't get much preparation. You want the rest. You don't want to get too high and you don't want to get too low. So you got to keep even keel there (between games)," Barber said.
After a winning a full-court, up-and-down contest against Attucks, Danville had to completely shift gears against Lebanon. Unlike Attucks' Tigers, Lebanon's Tigers played a deliberate half-court game. Danville took a 10-9 lead on Lebanon at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again en route to its first regional championship since 2010. The Warriors, winners of the Beech Grove Sectional, led 25-17 at halftime and 39-29 going into the fourth quarter.
"Lebanon, they grind the game out. They make the game shorter. It's harder to play against that style sometimes. It's nothing for them to run a minute or minute-and-a-half off the clock before taking a shot. So you got to stay disciplined, stay aggressive, but you can't gamble or get out of position," Barber said.
Sophomore Dillon Ware led Danville's balanced scoring with 17 points, followed by junior Connor Jones with 11.
But it was Alec Burton's second double-double of the day that separated Danville from Lebanon. The 6-foot-6 Burton, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds against Attucks, scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Lebanon.
And Lebanon was led by Jaylen Washington with 24 points, hitting 4-of-8 from three-point range. The 5-11 senior had 21 points in Lebanon's double-overtime win over Edgewood in the semifinals.
Free throws continued to play a big role in Danville's tournament success. The Warriors, who hit 21-of-27 free throws against Attucks, hit 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter and 14 of 20 for the game against Lebanon.
"We've been making them, that's important. If we can continue to do that I like our chances (in the semistate)," Barber said.
Danville 64, Crispus Attucks 55
Danville rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit and hit 14-of-18 free throws in the fourth quarter to oust the defending Class 3A state champions in the opening game of the regional.
Danville forward Alex Burton, a 6-foot-6 senior who will play football at Ohio University, led the Warriors with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Connor Jones added 16 points and seven rebounds. Burton hit 11-of-12 free throws for the game and 7-8 in the fourth quarter with Attucks' Tiger nipping at the Warriors' heels.
Attucks was led Derrick Briscoe, a 6-4 senior, with 19 points and eight rebounds, Harold Bennett with 17 points and Micah Poole with 11 points.
In a contrast of playing styles, the smaller and quicker Tigers outscored the Warriors 15-4 in the second quarter to take a 32-21 halftime lead. But Danville turned the tables on Attucks in the third period, outscoring the Tigers 19-7 and taking a 40-39 lead into the final period.
After two lead changes and four ties, the last at 48-48, Danville took the lead for good on back-to-back baskets by Connor Jones and Burton. Over the final 2:07 of the contest, Danville hit 12-of-16 free throws to ice the game and improve its record to 21-4. Attucks finished the season 20-5.
Lebanon 59, Edgewood 56 (2OT)
It took two overtime periods to determine who would play Danville for the coveted 3A regional title and semistate berth.
In a halfcourt, deliberately-played contest, neither team ever controlled the momentum in this contest. The largest lead of the 40-minute game was eight points, 34-26, by Edgewood with 6:39 left in regulation play.
The score was tied 41-41 at the end of regulation play. Lebanon jumped out to a 50-43 lead in the first four-minute overtime period, but Edgewood closed the period with an 8-1 run on two buckets each by Chayton Howard and Caleb Norris, extending the game into a second overtime, knotted 51-51.
Lebanon sophomore Michael Reese hit a three-pointer to put the Tigers on top to stay 54-51 less than a minute into the OT. The Tigers hit free throws to take a 56-51 lead with 2:39 to play before Edgewood again rallied. The Mustangs closed to within two twice, at 56-54 and 58-56, but never tied it again.
Lebanon was led by Jaylen Washington, a 5-11 senior, with 21 points and six rebounds, followed by Reese with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Edgewood, closing the season 22-6, was led by Howard with 16 points and five rebounds, Norris with 12 points and five rebounds and Trevor Taylor with 11 points.
Championship game
DANVILLE (57) -- Burton 5-12 5-8 15, Ware 6-11 5-6 17, Comer 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 6-6 1-2 16, Cowart 1-4 3-4 5, Hiland 1-2 0-0 2, Thompson 1-2 0-0 2, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-38 FG, 14-20 FT, 57 TP.
LEBANON (45) -- Washington 7-15 6-7 24, Zimmerman 1-3 0-0 2, Reese 2-6 0-0 5, K. Burton 1-5 0-2 2, C. Burton 2-4 0-0 4, Jarrett 2-6 2-2 8, Welborn 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Rakowski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 FG, 8-11 FT, 45 TP.
Danville 10 15 14 18 -- 57
Lebanon 9 8 12 16-- 45
3Pt. FG: Dv 3-6 (Jones 3-3, Burton 0-1, Ware 0-1, Hiland 0-1), Leb 7-17 (Washington 4-8, Jarrett 2-4, Reese 1-3, K. Burton 0-2). Total fouls: Dv 13, Leb 18. Turnovers: Dv 10, Leb 9. Rebounds: Dv 31 (Burton 10), Leb 13 (C. Burton 5).
Next game: Danville (22-4) advances to the Class 3A Semistate at Washington and will play Evansville Bosse on Saturday. Lebanon finished the season 12-16, Crispus Attucks 20-5 and Edgewood 22-6.
First semifinal game
DANVILLE (64) -- Thompson 1-1 0-0 2, Burton 8-13 11-12 27, Comer 1-3 4-4 6, Cowart 3-8 0-0 6, Jones 5-12 5-8 16, Ware 3-4 1-3 7, Hiland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 FG, 21-27 FT, 64 TP.
CRISPUS ATTUCKS -- Poole 4-9 1-5 11, Briscoe 8-17 0-0 19, Edwards 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 2-5 2-2 6, Bennett 6-16 3-5 17, Lewis 0-4 0-2 0, Williams 1-4 0-1 2, Coe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 FG, 7-20 FT, 55 TP.
Danville 17 4 19 24 -- 64
Crispus Attucks 17 15 7 16 -- 55
3Pt. FG: Dv 1-8 (Jones 1-5, Ware 0-1 Cowart 0-2), CA 7-20 (Briscoe 3-4, Poole 2-5, Bennett 2-6, Harris 0-1, Lewi 0-2, Williams 0-2). Total fouls: Dv 16, CA 21. Fouled out: Poole. Technical fouls: Crispus Attucks bench. Turnovers: Dv 13, CA 11. Rebounds: Dv 32 (Burton 12), CA 29 (Briscoe 8).
Second semifinal game
LEBANON (59) -- Washington 6-12 7-11 21, Zimmerman 0-2 0-0 0, Reese 6-8 1-2 16, K. Burton 0-1 4-6 4, C. Burton 1-4 4-8 7, Jarrett 2-4 6-8 11. Totals 15-31 FG, 22-35 FT, 59 TP.
EDGEWOOD (56) -- Taylor 3-7 4-5 11, Howard 7-20 1-2 16, Norris 5-8 2-2 12, Banister 1-1 0-0 2, Kido 3-9 0-2 8, Collier 2-2 0-0 4, Harrington 1-3 0-0 3, Cowden 0-1 0-0 0, Holmes 0-0 0-0 0, Balcam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 FG, 7-11 FT, 56 TP.
Lebanon 10 4 12 15 10 8 -- 59
Edgewood 7 5 19 10 10 5 --56
3Pt. FG: Leb 7-15 (Reese 3-4, Washington 2-4, Jarrett 1-3, C. Burton 1-4), Ew 5-17 (Kido 2-3, Taylor 1-3, Harrington 1-3, Howard 1-7, Cowden 0-1). Total fouls: Leb 13, Ew 28. Fouled out: Taylor, Banister. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: Leb 17, Ew 14. Rebounds: Leb 31 (Reese 9), Ew 25 (Howard, Norris 5).