By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – The temperature outside was 60 degrees at game time, but
that was nuthin’ compared with the net-scorching efforts of Class 4A
top-ranked Bloomington South Feb. 26 in the unbeaten Panthers’ final
regular-season game against Decatur Central.
Bloomington South drilled six 3-pointers in the opening period, racing
out to 27 first-quarter points and a double-digit lead that was never
really threatened as the Panthers put a big ol’ exclamation point on a
perfect 20-0 season with their 84-72 victory.
(TO CHECK OUT PICTURES FROM THE CRAWFORDSVILLE-BATESVILLE GAME BY OUR OWN MARK GRICIUS, CLICK HERE!!)
In the process, 27th-year Bloomington South coach J.R. Holmes garnered his 600th career win. He’s 457-169 at South, where Holmes has led the Panthers to six regional titles and 11 sectional crowns. But that magical career includes neither a single semistate nor state title at the Bloomington school, begging the question:
Can this group of perfect Panthers survive four rounds of postseason play?
Based on the offensive output seen this evening (57-percent shooting, including an 11-of-23 bombs-away performance from 3-point distance), it will take a sledgehammer to sidetrack this balanced, cohesive, and highly talented group.
Then again, even a sledgehammer might not be enough.
Witness the moxie of the Panthers’ Mr. Basketball candidate, Jordan Hulls. After getting knocked out of the game with a blow to the face that very well may have broken his nose following a magnetic 12-point first quarter, the 6-foot senior guard spent portions of the second and third periods in the locker room before returning to action with 34 seconds left in the third stanza.
After watching Decatur Central 5’8”, 130-pound sophomore guard Brandon Ledford’s 3-pointer whittle Bloomington South’s lead to a perhaps-manageable dozen at 62-50, Hulls ended the quarter with a three attempt from the top of the key. The shot – not surprisingly – was off, but Hulls’ second effort certainly wasn’t.
With a nose jammed full of gauze, Hulls followed the shot, grabbed it in traffic in the paint, and made a gorgeous scoop shot just ahead of the buzzer to re-establish who was king on this night. Decatur cut the lead to nine to start the fourth quarter, but the powerful Panthers’ advantage was never in doubt as they instantly built the lead back to 17 before coasting.
About the only thing resembling a weakness on this night for Bloomington South, which enjoyed leads of 12, 12, and 14 points after the first three stops, was a putrid 38-percent effort (5 of 13) from the foul line.
Wanna know what an uphill climb the home-standing Hawks faced against this terror of a team? Decatur Central was 5 of 8 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort from behind the 3-point arc …and still trailed 27-15 after the first eight minutes.
Yeesh.
And it’s not like Decatur Central didn’t bring its “A” game, either. The Hawks shot exactly 50 percent from the field (25 of 50) and from behind the arc (9 of 18). Their free throw percentage was a vastly superior 77 percent (13 of 17), and they committed 12 turnovers compared with 11 for Bloomington South.
Still, the Panthers’ firepower and depth is daunting.
Hulls led all scorers with 21 points. He was joined in double figures by 6’3” junior Jake Mullinix (19 points on torrid 8-of-9 shooting) and 6’3” sophomore Spencer Turner (18 points featuring 5-of-9 sniping from treyland), while sophomore guard Darwin “Dee” Davis Jr. and 6’8” junior Erik Fromm added eight each for Bloomington South.
Decatur Central, the Mid-State Conference champion that concluded its best season ever under 15th-year coach Dave Oberle at 16-4, were led by the 19 points of senior guard Alec Dye, the school’s all-time assist leader. Six-five senior Blake Beasley, who pushed the Hawks out to an 8-5 lead on a pair of long jumpers in the game’s first 90 seconds, added 16, while senior guard Sean Gregerson had 12 and 5’8” senior Pat Sharpe 11.
Decatur Central will face Indianapolis Tech (3-16) next Wednesday, March 5, in opening-round action of Sectional 12 at Pike. Should the Hawks win that, there’s an excellent possibility of a semifinal rematch with defending 4A state champion Brownsburg, which Decatur Central nearly took out early last year in a narrow 37-35 defeat.
Next up for Bloomington South, meanwhile, is the bye game in the five-team Sectional 14 at Columbus North. But watch out for that potential championship bout with East Central, Panthers fans. It was just a year ago that the upstart Trojans shocked Bloomington South in the sectional, holding the high-powered Panthers to just 30 points in a 33-30 upset win.
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