The North Daviess Cougars are state bound this weekend. North Daviess claimed the 1A Seymour Semi State Title on Saturday knocking off Jac-Cen-Del 60-47. One more game to go for the Cougars as they head to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first game this Saturday to face Lafayette Central Catholic. The Cougars are 26-3 while the Knights are 20-9. Tip off is 10:30 am Saturday morning and you can hear all the coverage on WAMW. Game two on Saturday will be the 2A championship between Providence and Central Noble.
At the Hatchet House on Saturday, Sullivan lost a heartbreaker in overtime 62-58. Sullivan ends a great year at 25-3. Beech Grove advances to the championship against Mishawaka Marian. Tip off is at 6:00 pm.
In the 4A game at the Hatchet House, Indianapolis Carhedral held on to beat Bloomington North 61-55. Cathedral will now face Chesterton for the 4A championship Saturday night at 8:00 pm.
On a day where the Big Ten saw three of its teams go down, the Purdue Boilermakers are headed to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The black and gold took 46 free throws en route to an 81-71 win over the Texas Longhorns. Trevion Williams led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting. It was a quiet night for star guard, Jaden Ivey, but the soon-to-be lottery pick knocked down a key three with just over a minute left to put the Boilermakers up by six. Matt Painter’s squad is headed to Philadelphia to take on No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the Sweet 16. While Purdue’s dance continues, Notre Dame fell to Texas Tech in a low scoring affair. The Fighting Irish lost 59-53 in a game that saw both teams shoot worse than 36 percent from the field. With just two minutes remaining, Notre Dame had a three point lead before the Red Raiders went on a 10-1 run to end the game. Mike Brey’s team finishes the season 24-11.
Scott McLaughlin led most of the race, but it was Team Penske Chevrolet teammate, Josef Newgarden that beat him in a drag race to the checkered flag to win the XPEL 375 in Fort Worth. McLaughlin led 186 of Sunday’s 248 laps in a dominating performance with Newgarden pacing the field for just three of the trips around the 1.5 mile oval. The win was Team Penske’s 600th win across all racing disciplines and team owner Roger Penske wasted no time celebrating. He handed his driver six crisp, 100-dollar bills in Victory Lane as a special bonus. Marcus Ericsson finished third leading Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing. He was followed by three teammates in Scott Dixon, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Palou. Johnson’s sixth place finish is his highest in IndyCar at a track where he’s won seven times in his racing career. Indy Car’s next race is April 10 in Long Beach, California.
The Indiana Pacers scored in bunches on Sunday beating the Portland Trail Blazers 129 to 98 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The blue and gold had seven players in double figures led by Oshae Brissett who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. A host of young players got plenty of playing time including Justin Anderson. The Pacers signed Anderson to a 10-day contract last week and he was in the starting lineup finishing the game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jalen Smith and Terry Taylor led the way off the bench combining for 34 points on 14-of-17 shooting. Rick Carlisle’s reserves contributed 56 points to the winning effort. As a team, Indiana shot 57 percent from the field and knocked down 15 of the 35 triples they attempted. With 10 games left in the regular season, the Pacers are 25-47 on the season.
