Boys Basketball
There is little doubt that Homestead is the best team in the conference. The way they’ve been able to demolish their opponents by pouring in points and playing sound defense has made them a nightmare for any team to handle. But the question at the beginning of the year wasn’t if Homestead would be great this year. It was a matter of how great they could be. With each passing game and a 12-0 record, it has become clear that the Spartans aren’t just focused on dominating the SAC, but the state as well.
Now that’s a tall order, and it’s one that we’ll see if they’re up to as soon as Tuesday, but after defeating some very solid teams across Indiana already, the ceiling for Sparty could not be any higher.
On Friday the attack was led by the outstanding guard Fletcher Loyer with 30 points and Luke Goode not far behind with 26. These two alone have accounted for around half of Homestead’s points on any given night, even Friday when they hung 92 points on South Side. They’ll be challenged over the course of January with games against Blackhawk, Snider, and Lawrence North upcoming, but there’s a good chance that Homestead could still win all three of those games. That’s just how good this team is this year.
Elsewhere in the SAC, North Side was able to pull away in the fourth quarter against Wayne to earn their second conference win of the year. Though the Legends hadn’t played since December 18 when they lost to Snider, they played well enough to get the win. Brashawn Bassett led the Legends in scoring with 22 points, while Jordan Green and Brauntae Johnson weren’t far behind with 20 and 17 points respectively.
“In the first half I don’t think we played very good defense,” Coach Andrews said afterward. “I thought our defense was better [in the second half]. I thought we took our time.
Our kids are just getting more experienced and I thought our seniors gave us some good leadership. But our young kids are going to get better and better as the season goes on. We hadn’t played for three weeks so I thought we were a little rusty at times, but Wayne’s a good team and we found a way to win.”
North Side has very talented underclassmen who have stepped up for them this year and have become leading scorers. Don’t be surprised to see this team compete with some of the juggernauts as we get later into the season.
As for Snider, the Panthers got an unexpected test from Northrop. Karson Jenkins scored 22 points and Aidan Lambert had 16, just enough to will Snider to a 59-55 win. Snider has struggled recently and lost a couple of close games. It won’t get any easier for them though with Homestead next on the schedule.
Scores:
South Side 43 Homestead 92
Wayne 65 North Side 75
Snider 59 Northrop 55
Updated Standings (Overall Record, Conference Record):
- Homestead (12-0, 3-0)
- Snider (6-3, 3-0)
- Carroll (6-1, 2-0)
- North Side (4-5, 2-1)
- Bishop Dwenger (3-3, 1-1)
- South Side (3-5, 1-2)
- Bishop Luers (2-3, 0-1)
- Concordia (3-5, 0-2)
- Northrop (0-5, 0-2)
- Wayne (4-7, 0-3)
Key Upcoming Games:
(1/9) South Side at Marion, 7:30 pm
(1/12) Blackhaw at Homestead, 7:30 pm
(1/13) Bishop Dwenger at New Haven, 7:30 pm
(1/13) Huntington North at North Side, 7:30 pm
(1/15) Homestead at Snider, 7:30 pm
Girls Basketball
Carroll has continued to prove that they’re the team to beat in girls basketball. The Chargers overcame a slow start to blow out Dwenger after a strong third quarter. Kayla Gibbs led the scoring for Carroll with 18 points. This win gives them their tenth straight victory, a number they’d like to add to next Friday at Bishop Luers.
Speaking of the Knights, they came up just short in their game at Concordia. A game-winner by Annaka Nelson caped off a great game and gave Concordia a crucial conference win. The Cadets are now 3-1 in SAC play and hoping to make some more noise in the final weeks of SAC play.
Scores:
Bishop Luers 52 Concordia 55
Bishop Dwenger 45 Carroll 74
Snider 71 Northrop 52
Wayne 60 North Side 44
Updated Standings (Overall Record, Conference Record):
- South Side (8-3, 4-0)
- Carroll (13-2, 3-0)
- Homestead (9-4, 4-1)
- Concordia (9-4, 3-1)
- Snider (7-4, 3-1)
- Bishop Dwenger (4-14, 2-3)
- Wayne (5-6, 1-2)
- Bishop Luers (5-7, 2-4)
- North Side (1-14, 0-4)
- Northrop (4-7, 0-6)
Key Upcoming Games:
(1/9) Homestead at Lawrence North, 2:30 pm
(1/12) Bishop Luers at New Haven, 7:30 pm
(1/12) Homestead at Mishawaka Marian, 7:30 pm
(1/13) Huntington North at Wayne, 7:30 pm
(1/15) Carroll at Bishop Luers, 6:00 pm
(1/15) Homestead at Snider, 6:00 pm
