INDIANAPOLIS — For most of two quarters they defied all the pollsters, the Conseco Fieldhouse onlookers and coach Jimmy Howell’s bigger and more talented Lapel Bulldogs. Tri-Central (0-5) supposedly had no business flirting with the Class 2A No. 10-rated Bulldogs (5-1) here Saturday in the second bout of the inaugural Ivy Tech Holiday Classic.
That Trojan defiance lasted all of two periods.
Lapel turned up the adrenaline at both ends, broke away from a 30-22 halftime edge to a pair of 16-point third-quarter leads, then coasted to its sixth win in seven contests, 62-41.
Simply put, TC went down for the sixth straight time.
“We never did get into our offense, but that goes back to cutting, screening and passing,” TC coach Jeff Layden said. “But you have to credit Lapel’s man-to-man defense that pushed us out on the floor and never let us get the ball to the middle as we had planned.
“We played fairly well in the first quarter, but we missed on a lot of open looks. They burned us in the third quarter, but we also had 23 turnovers to just six assists. We simply have to get more physical with the ball. But overall, I don’t feel like we played hard enough.”
The brightest Trojan moments came in the early going as they took leads of 2-0 and 5-2 on the efforts of sophomore Robby Howell and senior Austin Burton.
The Trojans, with Burton meshing 12 of his Trojan-high of 14 points, hung tough most of the initial 16 minutes in spite of icy 7-of-22 shooting and 15 turnovers. Lapel staged a 7-0 run to take over at 9-5 and was up at the first stop, 13-7, before Burton, sophomore Jake Robertson and senior Kevin Ray chopped the lead to 19-17 and 24-22.
A 6-0 Lapel run in the last 1:30 of the first half made it 30-22, and from there the Bulldogs ran the table with a 32-point, last-half siege and a defense that throttled the Trojans to seven baskets in 29 shots and 17 points.
The Trojans had few answers for 6-foot-5 Lapel junior Logan Ingle who canned 19 points and snared 11 rebounds, 13 of those tallies coming in the first act. Lapel’s Chandler Guion and Michael Pritchett then went the long-distance route in the third segment with a pair of dagger-like treys that broke it open.
Guion stung TC with 20 markers, 14 coming in the second half; Pritchett had nine key tallies and a pair of steals, and 10-of-15 last-half Bulldog charity work added to TC misery.
The Trojans were absolutely horrid afield going 2-of-11, 5-of-11, 4-of-14 and 4-of-15 by quarters (a total of 15-of-51, 24 percent), but six of their early misses came within 10 feet of the hoop. Lapel wasn’t exactly torrid, 20-of-55 (36 percent) that included a 6-of-18 second act.
Sports
HOOPS: Trojans tumble in Conseco matchup
No. 10 Lapel pulls away from TC in second half
- Sports
-
-
Rivalries are part of the Indy tradition
The Indianapolis 500 is known for many traditions.
The ceremonies at the start of the race are legendary. You have the Spectacle of Bands in all of their glory, the flyover of military jets, the balloons and flying start of 11 rows of three. The singing of “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” “Back Home Again in Indiana,” and the “Star Spangled Banner” are all are examples of the pageantry that kickoff the “Greatest Spectacle Racing.” And let’s not forget the famous words “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.”
-
Fritz, other friends help carry on Gabriel’s vision
Tony Gabriel was an easy pick for the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a four-sport standout at Taylor High School and later a seven-time state racquetball champion in singles and doubles.
-
Comets making progress
Much like any coach would expect in his first season leading a young team, Eastern baseball coach Nick Sale has helped his team deal with the growing pains that come with regime and philosophy changes.
-
Tipton survives M-G, savors softball sectional 3-peat
It looked like a blowout early and turned into a nail-biter late, but in the end, Friday’s Class 2A Eastern Sectional Softball final between Tipton and No. 3-ranked Madison-Grant turned out the same way as each of the previous two years.
-
Schubert wraps up standout collegiate track career
Megan Schubert could easily lament lost opportunities and think about ‘what if’ scenarios looking back at her track and field career at the University of Louisville.
-
Comets, Kats, Panthers sending athletes to state
After announcing his retirement late last week, Eastern boys track and field coach Paul Nicholson knew Thursday’s Kokomo Regional could be the final meet of his 43-year career. Senior Josiah Price and junior Grant Cole made sure it wasn’t.
-
New Western basketball coach is right at home
Bart Miller’s passion for Western basketball runs deep.
Miller, like his father and brother before him, played for the Panthers. He started and was the third-leading scorer on the Panthers’ 1990 Kokomo Sectional championship squad.
-
Tipton, Madison-Grant reach final of Eastern Sectional
Tipton’s softball team had enough to get past Elwood and into the championship of the Class 2A Eastern Sectional on Wednesday night. Friday night, the Blue Devils will need more to hoist the hardware.
-
Beeler, Hurst pitch Panthers into title game
Western softball pitchers Erika Beeler and Madi Hurst are getting their first meaningful postseason innings in the circle in this year’s Class 3A Twin Lakes Sectional, but unknowing spectators would never know.
-
Raiders hold off Wildkats
Kokomo and Harrison each had three hits after two innings of their Class 4A Lafayette Jeff Sectional game on Wednesday in Loeb Stadium.
Control problems for Kokomo starting pitcher Chase Hatfield allowed the Raiders to turn their three hits into four runs and they used those runs to earn a 6-5 win.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Rivalries are part of the Indy tradition



