High school basketball: Hibbard the hero again for regional champion ECA

Aiden Hibbard has some flair for the dramatic.

The Elkhart Christian Academy boys basketball star helped his team make history Saturday with yet another clutch final shot.

Hibbard, for the second straight game, played the hero's role to perfection. The senior hit a running layup just before the final horn to lift the No. 15 Eagles past Tri-County 58-57 in a Class 1A regional contest at North Judson High School.

ECA, now 17-9, claims the first regional title in program history. The Eagles advance to the semistate next Saturday.

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Pairings for the semistate games will be made Sunday at 3 p.m. by the IHSAA. The North Semistate hosts are Elkhart (North Side Gym), Michigan City, Logansport and Lafayette Jefferson. Each regional site with feature four teams with two semifinal games and then a title game. The semistate champion advances to the state championship contest March 31 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Hibbard continued his torrid postseason play to carry the Eagles to the win. The senior standout poured in 32 points, including scoring 13 of his team's 16 points in the fourth quarter. His final bucket of the contest on a driving layup was his second game winner in a week, coming after he hit the final shot in an 47-45 win over Lakewood Park Christian last Saturday to win the Bethany Christian Sectional championship game.

Hibbard, whose father Chad coaches the Eagles, hit 12-of-15 free throws. Hibbard, who entered the game averaging 22.6 ppg., poured in 86 points last week in three sectional wins. He also hit the game winning shot in the sectional final win to send ECA to the regional for the first time since 2018.

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The Eagles led 22-16 after the opening period and 34-27 at halftime Saturday. Tri-County, which finished at 14-12, cut the gap to 42-39 at the end of the third period.

The Eagles were without standout guard LJ Bevier. The senior, who ranks second on the team in scoring at 7.8 ppg., injured his ankle in the sectional.

ECA outscored Tri-County 14-9 from the free throw line. The Eagles hit 14-of-19 from the stripe, while Tri-County was just 9-of-22.

Senior Koby Bahler led three players in double figures with 17 points for Tri-County.

Michigan City Marquette repeats

Michigan City Marquette, which started three sophomores and two freshmen, improved to 12-15 with its runaway victory in the boys basketball Class 1A-Regional 25 championship over Demotte Christian, 57-32, for coach Ray Tarnow at South Bend Washington High School.

It’s the second consecutive regional title for the Blazers and the fifth in school history.

Marquette Catholic, which shot 67.7 percent (21 of 31) from the floor, avenged a 73-64 road loss on Feb. 6 to the Knights (19-8) as 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard Aleks Pecoski scored a game-high 17 points, 6-foot-6 sophomore Colson Dobre had 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, and freshman guard Josiah Mays added 10 points, one more than sophomore Nate Bakota.

DeMotte Christian led 5-2 early, but Marquette Catholic finished the first quarter on a 9-4 run and then outscored the Knights 14-5 in the second quarter for a 25-14 halftime lead. Pecoski had a reverse layup as part of a 3-point play to give the Blazers a 30-16 lead on way to a 38-18 advantage heading into the final quarter. Dobre sandwiched two baskets around a Pecoski 3-pointer for a 7-0 start to the fourth for Marquette Catholic.

DeMotte Christian, which shot 31.7 percent (13 of 41) for the game, got a team-high 10 points from sophomore Tony Bos.

Fairfield claims crown

Fairfield used its familiar recipe of defense and scoring balance to cook up the program's second regional championship.

The No. 12 Falcons built a big lead and then held off No. 11 Hammond Bishop Noll 41-39 to win the Class 3A Triton Regional championship.

Senior Tyson Frey, who led the Falcons with 10 points, hit the winning shot on a driving layup with just over three seconds to play. A desperation 3-point try by Caleb Parks of Noll was off the mark at the final horn.

The Falcons, whose other regional crown came in 2007, built a 17 point lead before the Warriors rallied. Noll trailed 36-27 entering the final period before their comeback fell just short.

Fairfield, which beat defending state champion NorthWood in the sectional final last week, held the Warriors to a season-tying low for points. Noll was averaging 62 ppg. while Fairfield entered play Saturday allowing just 41 ppg.

Fairfield led 15-6 after the opening period and 26-11 at halftime of the contest.

Noll, which had won 13 of its last 14 games prior to Saturday, shot just 1-of-9 from 3-point range and 10-of-21 from the free throw line. Fairfield went 18-of-33 overall from the field, including 3-of-7 on threes and finished 2-of-2 from the line.

Frey, one of four seniors, led Fairfield with 10 points. Carson Smith, who had 16 points in the sectional win over NorthWood, added seven points. The trio of Brooks Custer, Mitchell Miller and Brant Garber each scored six points.

Senior Parks led Noll with 17 points.

Fairfield improved to 20-6 and Noll finishes at 20-8.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: A trio of area boys basketball teams claimed regional titles Saturday