Bloomington South walked into the gym to meet semi-state opponent and defending champs North Central as the underdogs and left one win away from a Class 4A State Championship.
Both teams had similarities (in addition to both being the Panthers)—led by two veteran coaches in J.R. Holmes (B.South) and Doug Mitchell (NC). The pair of teams are led by two players followed by a supporting cast. South has Xavier signee Dee Davis and Belmont signee Spencer Turner whereas North Central has juniors D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Ronnie Johnson.
Bloomington South outlasted North Central 76-66 to advance to their second state finals in three years, meeting Kokomo (who edged undefeated Munster 47-44) at Conseco Fieldhouse next Saturday.
Things were very even early on, with the exception of fouls. The officials had a fascination with calling North Central for fouls. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 17 but NC had eight fouls to just two. The officiating would be an ongoing problem for North Central.
North Central coach Doug Mitchell worked the officials all game as usual. But today they were deserving because of their inconsistency and uneven calls. South in the first half was shooting free throws about six minutes in. I’m surprised Mitchell wasn’t handed a technical foul.
Darius Latham and Patrick Ingram each fouled out for North Central. Latham’s situation was a wild one because he tallied his fourth foul, threw the ball a bit in disgust and was assessed a technical foul and he was done for the day.
Dee Davis took over for the Panthers of Bloomington South in the first half. He scored 20 of his game high 31, dialed in and slicing through the defense. Not only was he solid from outside, but hit contested layups. South led 34-32 at the break.
Bloomington South mixed up defenses on North Central to keep them on their toes. Much of the first half they defended with a rarely used triangle and two, guarding Smith-Rivera and Ronnie Johnson. In the second half they moved into a 2-3 zone forcing the outside shot which NC wasn’t hitting.
Spencer Turner was strong in the second half for Bloomington finishing with 24 points and knocking down 12 of 13 free throw attempts. He reminds me a lot of Jimmer and has deadly range. He’s the guy at the end of a game you do not foul. He was fouled and took advantage at the stripe.
Smith-Rivera finished with a team-high 19 points and tried to take over for North Central in the fourth quarter. It was obvious he didn’t get as many touches as he wanted. Point guard Ronnie Johnson add 17 points but it wouldn’t be enough for 22-3 NC Panthers to have a chance to repeat.
The Bloomington South Panthers will take on Kokomo for the Class 4A State Championship next Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Other games around the state:
In 2A, Park Tudor defeated Forest Park 57-45. Indiana commit Yogi Ferrell scored 25 points in the win as the Panthers will make their second straight state finals appearance.
In 3A, Washington beat Batesville 66-48. Indiana signee Cody Zeller had another stellar performance tallying 23 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, two steals and five blocks. Wow. IU coach Tom Crean, IU signee Austin Etherington and current Hoosiers Maurice Creek, Jordan Hulls and Victor Oladipo were on hand.
State Final tournament schedule
Session I
Class A | Triton (23-3) vs. Indianapolis Metropolitan (21-6) | 10:30 am ET
Class 2A | Hammond Bishop Noll (26-0) vs. Park Tudor (25-2) | approx. 12:45 pm ET
Session II
Class 3A | Culver Academies (19-6) vs. Washington (23-4) | 6 pm ET
Class 4A | Kokomo (23-2) vs. Bloomington South (25-2) | approx. 8:45 pm ET