By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Beech Grove’s boys basketball team overcame its first loss of the season Friday against Park Tudor but rebounded Saturday with a hard fought 63-57 overtime win over Manual to remain undefeated on Matt English Court. “We were disappointed in losing the night before,” said Hornets cohead coach Mike Renfro, who was filling in for the ailing Matt English, who died Monday.

“For us to come back the way we did tonight says a lot about overcoming adversity. This was a game when the next man had to step up and that’s what happened.”

Indeed, Beech Grove junior Jajuan Allison, a 6-3 forward, battled the taller Redskins and came up with four crucial free throws in overtime on his way to a break-out 28-point night with nine rebounds. Allison had 14 points in the first half and had help from sharpshooting senior John Parker with 21 points, including 15 points in the second half.

“We kept fighting; we wanted to protect our home court,” Renfro said. “Jajuan came through for us, and our senior leadership came through for us.”

The lead changed hands six times and was tied eight times; the final time with 5.5 seconds in regulation on junior Romeo Echols field goal. In overtime, Allison’s four free throws and two more by Parker moved the Hornets (4-1) ahead 59-53 with 50 seconds left.

Each team had its share of foul trouble. BG’s 6-6 Josh Fryar and 6-5 Gavin Hess fouled out in the fourth quarter. Manual guard Montez McNair also fouled out, and 6-8 Jalen Johnson was saddled with his fourth foul with six minutes left in regulation. Johnson and Caleb Redman each scored 16 points, and McNair added 14. Manual (4-2) shot a 30 percent, 18-of-60, from the field.

“We missed our share of layups,” Manual coach Donnie Bowling said. “We had our share of foul trouble early, but this game boiled down to making shots.” Elsewhere, cold shooting also doomed Center Grove as Pike hit 75 percent from the field (33-of-44) and stunned the Trojans 84-44; Greenwood fell to Franklin, 52-36. In the Forum Credit Union Tipoff Classic at Southport, Frankton edged the Cardinals 49-47 in overtime and national powerhouse LaLumiere defeated Center Grove 62-48.

In Southside matchups, Greenwood Christian downed Lutheran 80-51, and Perry Meridian dumped Whiteland 41-33. Upcoming games (7:30 p.m.) – Friday: Center Grove at Whiteland, Zionsville at Franklin Central, Southwestern at Lutheran, Plainfield at Perry Meridian. Saturday: Avon at Center Grove, Speedway at Greenwood, Scecina at Roncalli. Tuesday: Beech Grove at Greenwood, Lawrence North at Manual.

By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Perry Meridian and Southport opened the 45th annual Marion County girls basketball tourney last week by advancing to the quarterfinals. Both teams dominated their first-round opponents with the host Falcons downing Beech Grove 49-27 and the Cardinals thumping Brebeuf Jesuit 46-22 Dec. 4.

In quarterfinal action Dec. 5, Perry Meridian challenged Pike but lost 46-42, and Lawrence North dominated Southport 69-49.

“That (Pike) was an opportunity to play against a very good opponent,” Falcons coach Mike Armstrong said. “It gave us the opportunity to see where we are versus that kind of competition. If we are ever going to win the sectional, we have to beat Pike or Ben Davis or teams like that.”

Perry Meridian’s balanced attack paid off against Beech Grove as seniors Ariana Booker and Caitie Baird, junior Savannah Pipes and sophomore Sally Mortensen each scored eight points.

Beech Grove countered with nine points from senior Alexianna Blakely and eight from sophomore Tia O’Connor. The Falcons used a pressure defense, jumped to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. Perry extended the lead to 44-16 at the end of the third quarter.

“We wanted to come up strong at home and thought we could put a lot of pressure on them,” Armstrong said after the Beech Grove game. “They are fast with Crawford, and we defended well inside.”

Perry Meridian’s Sally Mortensen, recouping from an illness, and Lexi Dale, recovering from a concussion, did not start but combined for 17 points coming off the bench. The young Hornets (2-5) showed signs of improvement on offense when they were aggressive, but they were plagued by cold shooting, 9-of-36 for 25 percent.

Southport’s Lexie Green led the Cardinals against Brebeuf with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven steals. Junior Kayden Casey added nine points. The Cardinals led 14-2 at the end of first quarter. In other first-round games, No. 2 North Central defeated Roncalli 68-50, Decatur Central downed Franklin Central 42-32 and Park Tudor dominated Lutheran 54-36.

Elsewhere, Center Grove (8-2) extended its winning streak to seven games by defeating Bloomington South 47-40; Greenwood Christian (6-4) downed Edinburgh 59-43 for its fifth straight win. Upcoming games (7:30 p.m., unless noted)

​Friday: Greenwood at Franklin, Roncalli at Brebeuf, Southwestern at Lutheran (6 p.m.). Saturday: Pike at Center Grove (1:30 p.m.), International at Greenwood Christian (1 p.m.), Perry Meridian at Whiteland (1:30 p.m.). Tuesday: Center Grove at Franklin Central.