So after sleeping until noon — I was quite tired — in my bid to recover from my New Orleans shenanigans this week, I realized that a) there were two semi-state games at Southport and b) thanks to the convenient location of my weekend stay in Indianapolis, I was less than a half hour away.
Pile into the girlfriend’s car, I did, (mine’s dead. again.) and trekked over to Southport, arriving just in time for the center-court party following Washington’s 56-37 win over Danville, with Cody Zeller towering over everybody. (Zeller, by the way, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.)
Bunkering down next to Dustin Dopirak from The Herald-Times, I got the chance to take in Purdue signee Terone Johnson and Indiana target D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera as North Central took on Bloomington South killers Jeffersonville.
First, about the game: It was a good one. North Central sped things up early, finishing the first quarter on pace for 100 points. But fouls, and the subsequent 12-5 disparity in made free throws in the first half, let Jeff hang around, though two Johnson 3-pointers right at the half’s end pushed North Central’s lead back up to eight.
The gap stayed fairly consistent through the second half. Jeff would make runs, pushing the lead down to maybe three or four, but North Central would find ways to respond every time, whether through turnovers or offensive rebounds or, simply, feeding their talent.
Johnson had a game-high 13 first-half points, triggering a decision from the Red Devils to switch to a box-and-one defense on the future Boilermaker. Which brings us to Smith-Rivera.
