Regional field set

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Cloverdale junior Craig Blair goes up for a jumper against Edgewood earlier this season while teammate Christian Cheatham looks on. The Clovers face Providence in the first round of the Southridge Regional on Saturday.

For the first time in 24 seasons, the Cloverdale High School boys' basketball team is playing beyond sectional competition.

After defeating Tri-West, 65-58, in the finals of the Class 2A South Putnam Sectional Saturday, the Clovers earned a trip to the Southridge Regional where they will face Providence in the first round.

The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and noon Central Standard Time.

Providence is 20-3 this season. The Pioneers defeated Eastern (Pekin) in the finals of Class 2A Sectional 47, 71-42, to advance to the regional.

Southridge (16-7) and South Knox (20-4) will play the first game, set to begin at 11 a.m. EST and 10 a.m. CST.

Providence is currently riding a 14-game winning streak, dating back to Jan. 6 when it defeated Shaw Memorial, 62-34. The Pioneers' last loss was a 34-33 five-overtime setback to Clarksville on Jan. 5.

Key victories for the Pioneers this season included a 63-49 win over Class 3A Silver Creek, a 38-28 win over Class 4A Floyd Central and a 40-38 win over Class 4A New Albany.

As well as the loss to Clarksville, Providence lost to Madison and Scottsburg this season.

The Pioneers are coached by Lou LeFevre, who is 58-10 in three seasons at the school and 344-154 in 19 seasons overall.

Cloverdale enters regional competition sporting an 18-6 record. The Clovers have won four straight games with their last loss coming on Feb. 21 to Edgewood.

Since then, Cloverdale has picked up wins over Eminence, Cascade, Monrovia and the Bruins.

Key victories this year for the Clovers included wins over Class 3A Southmont, two wins over Cascade and wins over Speedway and Tri-West.

Cloverdale suffered losses this year to Tri-West, Owen Valley, Edgewood, North Daviess and two to Greencastle.

The Clovers are coached by Pat Rady, who is 54-15 in three seasons at the school and 672-329 in 43 seasons overall.

Cloverdale is 11-1 against Class 2A opponents this season while Providence is 6-1.

Providence advanced to the regional last year as well. The Pioneers defeated Eastern Greene in the first round, 48-38, before falling to Forest Park in the regional finals, 59-53. Forest Park went on to defeat Harding, 61-55, in the Class 2A State Finals.

Neither team faced a common opponent this season.

Southridge advanced to regional competition after knocking off Tell City, 42-41, in the finals of the Southridge Sectional.

The Raiders sport an 8-3 record against Class 2A opponents this season. Southridge is coached by Gary Duncan, who is 241-130 in 16 years with the Raiders and 265-154 in 18 years overall.

South Knox advanced to the regional after beating Paoli, 85-52, in the finals of the North Knox Sectional.

The Spartans are 8-1 overall against Class 2A opponents this season and are coached by Joe Patton, who is 60-72 in six years with the team.

Both South Knox and Southridge have faced three common opponents this season. The Raiders sported a 3-2 record against those teams, having wins against Forest Park, Paoli and Northeast Dubois while losing twice to Forest Park. South knox had a 2-1 record against common opponents, with victories over Northeast Dubois and Paoli and a loss to Forest Park.

The regional final is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m.

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