Hill triple double in Pike’s County win, sets up showdown with Lawrence North
With each blocked shot, Isaiah Hill’s smile grew wider.
By the end of the first half of Marion County’s tournament semifinal against Lawrence Central on Friday night, the 6-11 Pike junior had 10 blocked shots — and plenty of smiles.
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“They kept picking on me,” Hill said.
He continued to fend them off, finishing with a triple double. Hill’s 14 points, 10 rebounds and 13 blocked shots led the way in Class 4A No. 5 Pike’s 91-53 win over Lawrence Central.
“Special player, special talent,” Pike coach Jeff Teague said of Hill. “He’s at the very beginning (of realizing his talent). He’s got more room to grow as a player. He’s at the beginning, but right now he’s off to a really good start. He’s a really good player. That’s what’s exciting about him and I think a lot of colleges are seeing him. I’m excited to watch him grow.”
Pike’s victory in the second semi-final sets up a tantalizing clash in Saturday’s championship at Southport Fieldhouse for the county championship. The Red Devils (12-2) will face Lawrence North (13-1), sixth in Group 4A, at 7 p.m. The Wildcats got off to a hot start, leading by 17 points at halftime, then held off Park Tudor in the second half for a 61-48 victory.
Lawrence North had four players in double figures with Cam Webster’s 16 points leading the way. Duke Karnes added 14 points, Brennan Miller scored eight of his 12 in a crucial second quarter and Davis Baker scored 10 points.
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“We’ll have to do a much better job of half-court offense (Saturday),” Lawrence North coach Chris Giffin said. “But we’ve done a good job of being balanced. We have four guys averaging (double figures) and a few others in the 7 or 8 range. That makes it difficult to guard people and focus on one guy.”
Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rivals Lawrence North and Pike have not met this season. This will take place on February 20 at Lawrence North. The stakes will be high Saturday night. Pike hasn’t won a county title since winning three in a row from 2015 to 2017. Lawrence North is seeking its fourth title since 2020 and second in three years.
“It’s four games in five days and almost always, overall, these games are competitive,” Giffin said. “Even in games with a double-digit margin, like tonight, you don’t really feel comfortable using the bench. So you have guys that are suffering from wear and tear and attrition. And other than the state tournament, I think it’s the best tournament in the state. Overall, it’s a chore.”
Park Tudor (8-4) was led by 14 points from Keylan Smith and 13 from Carlos Lopez.
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Pike played with intensity and urgency against a Lawrence Central team that was coming off a 71-69 victory over Ben Davis on Wednesday. But the Bears (6-8) fell within a 14-point gap late in the first quarter and trailed by 21 points in the first half, shooting just 9 of 35 from the field at halftime.
Jahari Miller led Pike with 18 points. Joining Hill in double figures were TJ Davis (16 points, five assists), Landon Lampley (14 points, 10 rebounds), Kenneth Lampley (12 points, eight rebounds) and Bo Washington (10 points).
“We have a good group of guys and they all play for each other,” Teague said. “Those are the results we can get, but we’ve got to keep trying to build on that. We’ll have a good test (Saturday). It’s a great tournament. You play against all quality teams and we have a chance to play some really good basketball. That’s all you can ask for. It’s always fun to be part of the county and to have a chance to win one would be pretty cool.”
Other Super 25 results from a full Friday night of high school basketball:
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Plainfield eliminates Carmel
We’ll have a full story on this game, but 4A No. 7 Plainfield handed No. 3 Carmel its first loss, 50-47, in front of a big Carmel crowd. Harper Baker-Lands led the Quakers (13-1) with 24 points and DePaul commit Noah Smith added 15 points and eight rebounds. Julian Vogt was 4-for-5 from the 3-point line for Carmel and led the Greyhounds (9-1) with 12 points.
Other games to note
*Hamilton Southeastern defeated Westfield 57-54 behind a 24-point game from Luke Weemer.
*The Class 4A No. 1 Fishers beat Brownsburg 72-53 to improve to 13-0.
*Cathedral won at Evansville Bosse 74-67 as Julien Smith led the way with 24 points and Jaxson Delaney added 20 points and Keaton Aldridge Jr. 18.
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*How difficult is Silver Creek? Sheesh. The Dragons, top-ranked in 3A, won 78-36 over Brownstown Central to improve to 16-1.
*Riverside fell from the ranks of the undefeated, losing 52-29 to Scecina. The Crusaders (8-4) will be a team to watch in next week’s City Tournament.
*Triton Central beat Heritage Christian 58-41 to improve to 11-2.
*Jake Grissom scored 26 points and Hayden Rogers added 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Guerin Catholic beat Tri-West 72-64 in overtime.
*I’m going to go to the Buggy Bowl one day. Class A No. 2 Barr-Reeve beat No. 9 Loogootee 47-42 in the annual renewal of a great rivalry.
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Super 25 results
1: Fishermen (13-0): Defeated Brownsburg 72-53.
2: Crown Point (11-0): Defeated Merrillville 72-34.
3: Pike (12-2): Defeated Lawrence Central 91-53.
4: Carmel (9-1): Lost to Plainfield 50-47.
5: Mount Vernon (11-2): I didn’t play.
6: Lawrence North (13-1): Defeated Park Tudor 61-48.
7: Silver Creek (16-1): Defeated Brownstown Central 78-36.
8: Plainfield (13-1): Defeated Carmel 50-47.
9: Ben Davis (10-3): I didn’t play.
10. Cathedral (9-3): Defeated Evansville Bosse 74-67.
11: Noblesville (7-6): Lost to Zionsville 42-32.
12: Goshen (10-1): Lost to Warsaw 49-41 in overtime.
13: Northridge (11-1): Defeated NorthWood 56-43.
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14: Shelbyville (11-2): I didn’t play.
15: New Albany (8-3): Defeated Charlestown 63-60.
16: Pendleton Heights (9-2): Defeated New Palestine 64-59.
17: Penn (9-2): Defeated New Prairie 71-46.
18: Westfield (6-5): Lost to Hamilton Southeast 57-54.
19: Terre Haute North (9-3): Defeated Terre Haute South 72-59.
20: Chesterton (11-2): Defeated LaPorte 73-62.
21: Oak Hill (11-0): Defeated Eastbrook 67-37.
22: South Bend Saint-Joseph (8-4): Defeated South Bend Washington 101-45.
23: Brownsburg (7-7): Lost to Fishers 72-53.
24: Decatur Central (11-2): I didn’t play.
25: Columbia City (10-2): Lost to Huntington North 48-42.
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Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage delivered straight to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new YouTube channel IndyStarTV: Preps.
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Friday night Super 25 results, Marion County semifinals, more
