IHSAA boys basketball: Northview sticks to its script in sectional final vs. Edgewood

SPENCER — Northview's boys' basketball team has grown up quickly this season, which for them is good news for the next two, not to mention this one.

The sophomore dominated Knights do not seem to be in the mood to wait around and win later, however. They're good at using their combination of quick guards to get to the bucket and the free throw line and athleticism and decent height grab offensive boards that lead to more of each.

A team that started 2-6 has now won 10 of its last 13, taking down Edgewood, 60-53, in the championship game of the Class 3A Owen Valley Sectional on Saturday and did so in near similar fashion to their first meeting on Feb. 13.

In that 64-56 road win, the Knights had 15 offensive rebounds and drew 22 fouls that resulted in 22-of-26 free throw shooting.

Fast forward to the rematch. Northview had just eight offensive boards but drew another 21 fouls, which turned into 22-of-27 at the line. Northview entered the sectional 255-of-373 from the line, 79 more attempts than their opponents and an average of 16 attempts per game.

"It's pretty hard (to stop)," Edgewood junior guard Carson Huttenlocker said. "They do a really good job of drawing fouls. But next year, we'll be prepared for them. We'll get it done."

Sophomore bundle of constant energy Brayden Goff led the Knights with 19 points while going just 4-of-14 from the field. He made up for it by going 9-of-10 at the line and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Edgewood's effort was there

Credit the Mustangs (14-13), who graduate two senior starters, for playing their shorts off two nights in a row, rallying in the second half behind a hot-shooting freshman Caden Jones, to absolutely stun Indian Creek in overtime in the semifinals on Friday.

"We've got to give it to Caden Jones," Huttenlocker said. "He's done a lot for us as a freshman. Our entire team contributed in those last minutes so that's all we can ask of us, giving it our all."

But a third slow start in three sectional games was just too much to overcome this time.

Down by as much as 15, Edgewood cut the deficit to six by the end of the third, then three, then four twice with under five minutes to play. The Knights panicked for just a moment, with a couple of turnovers on back-to-back possessions that gave Edgewood a chance to get within one with 2:30 to go.

But a 3-point attempt was off, as they were most of the night for Edgewood and Northview finished it at the free throw line, going 12-of-14 to go back up safely 56-47 with 40 seconds to go, enough to withstand two late 3s by Huttenlocker.

"They do a great job setting screens, in the corners, knocking down shots," Huttenlocker said. "So they're a pretty tough team and it's hard to play against them."

Mialin White led Edgewood with 20 points, all in the last three quarters, while Huttenlocker and Jacob Boggs had 10 apiece. The Mustangs were just 6-of-22 from behond the arc, though 22-of-43 overall, and got to the line just seven times.

The win earns Northview (14-11) a rematch with No. 1 Danville at regional. The Warriors won their matchup on Feb. 7, 79-58. Edgewood's loss ended a streak of Monroe County having a boys sectional champion every year dating back to 1995. Edgewood last won one in 2018.

Rough start from distance

Edgewood dug itself a hole in each of its sectional games. The first against Brown County was shallow and easy to get out of, while the deficit against IC was 14 after one period.

The Mustangs could not replicate the 3-point flurry that saved them in the semis. They were 0-of-7 on 3-pointers to start and watched Northview fly out to a 24-11 lead before White hit from distance.

The lead went up to 30-16 before Edgewood had a great finish to the half, getting a White layup with six seconds left then Nolan Reynolds drawing a charge call with 2.5 second to go, enough time to find White for a corner 3.

The Knights were having none of that, firing out in the third to go up 38-23. But again, Edgewood reeled them in with a 10-2 run, highlighted by a 3 from Jacob Boggs and a three-point play from White, to get within 41-35.

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Boggs hit another 3 to start the fourth but Edgewood could never get the stop it needed. Goff responded swiftly with a huge 3 and so on and so on, every Mustang point answered down the stretch.

"We showed the heart that the leaders have given to the entirety of Edgewood," Huttenlocker said. "Even myself, (seniors) Mialin White, Jacob Boggs, we've all put our heart and soul into this thing. Everyone has on our team. But we've got next year, for sure."

NORTHVIEW 60, EDGEWOOD 53

Northview (60): Fowler f 3-6 2-3 8, McCollom f 2-2 1-2 5, Fosdick f 3-6 5-6 12, Buis g 104 304 6, Goff g 4-14 9-10 19, Buell 1-2 0-0 2, Bryan 2-4 2-2 8. Totals 16-38 22-27 60.

Edgewood (53): Boggs f 4-7 0-0 10, Norris f 2-6 0-0 4, Reynolds g 0-3 1-2 1, Huttenlocker g 4-6 0-0 10, White g 8-14 2-5 20, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Ranard 4-5 0-0 8, McGovern 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-43 3-7 53.

Northview (14-11) 12 | 18 | 11 | 19 — 60

Edgewood (14-13) 7 | 14 | 14 | 18 — 53

3-point goals: Northview 6-13 (Goff 2-3, Buell 2-4, Buis 1-2, Fosdick 1-3, Fowler 0-1), Edgewood 6-22 (Huttenlocker 2-4, Boggs 2-5, White 2-5, Ranard 0-1, Reynolds 0-2, Jones 0-2, Norris 0-3). Rebounds: Northview 27 (Goff 12), Edgewood 18 (Boggs, White 5). Team fouls: Northview 14, Edgewood 21. Fouled out: Boggs, Buell. Turnovers: Northview 9, Edgewood 10.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X @JimGordillo

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Northview boys sticks to script in sectional hoops final vs. Edgewood