There's now effectively a three-way tie in the SIAC basketball standings following Bosse's win at North Tuesday night.
EVANSVILLE — There was nowhere to go the rest of the season but up.
That's the only thought Bosse coach Shane Burkhart allowed himself to have following his team's last game. He still didn't sugarcoat his feelings. The Bulldogs had "zero desire and zero energy" in a stunning loss at Castle last week. A result which knocked Bosse out of a tie for first place in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference.
Such a loss could send a team in one of two directions. Bosse provided its answer on Tuesday, Feb 10.
The Bulldogs defeated North 65-60 to regain their footing atop the SIAC standings ― three teams have one loss each heading into the home stretch of the regular season. What could be more important moving forward was the victory itself.
Bosse (11-7) is on a positive trajectory once again with less than month until the postseason.
"We deserved everything that we got," Burkhart said of last Thursday. "Now, we have to be perfect, and that's a great thing going into the sectional. (That) is one-and-done if you don't do it right. It's a perfect opportunity for us to do it right."
There were significant stretches where the Bulldogs did exactly that.
Senior Dorion Bowen received two quick technicals with 3:22 left in the opening quarter and will miss the next game as a result. Bosse flipped the script in a hurry, though, scoring 26 points in the second quarter with six made three-pointers. The Bulldogs led by 15 at the break and maintained a double-digit advantage into the fourth quarter.
North (14-5) fought within one possession twice over the final eight minutes. It never got closer than three. A complete change in effort and execution from the last time Bosse saw the basketball floor. One could assume a needed wake-up call with the postseason looming.
"We learned to play together," senior Marrius Harris said. "When it comes to big games like this, we're expecting to win from how hard we work in practice to prepare for those types of situations. Preparation and staying focused. (That's) the main goal."
This result also proved, if it was a doubt at all, how deep the Bosse lineup could be.
Harris was the anchor throughout with a game-high 16 points. What separated the Bulldogs was help beyond their potential SIAC Player of the Year. Ethan Hampton had 14 points off the bench in extended minutes. Elijah Chinn added 11 with a trio of three-pointers. Landon Hardy recorded 10 points and eight rebounds, all necessary as the Huskies made a late push.
That potential for offense at multiple spots, paired with perimeter shooting that netted 8 treys, makes Bosse a strong contender in the early rounds of the tournament. That didn't include strong defense from Elijah Eastwood and others.
"Ethan was amazing," Burkhart said. "Tonight, he gets to play 24 or 25 (minutes) and made the most of all of them. The guys who came off the bench to solidify us played really well. It's an unfortunate scenario, but we did answer a call. We made a lot of shots. They all stepped up to make sure they couldn't just take one away from us."
North could view this as a missed opportunity. The Huskies haven't won the conference title in 22 years and must run the table now to guarantee a tie, at minimum. That's no guarantee with rival Central coming to Husky Arena this weekend, in addition to Castle and Memorial.
The positive was how North responded to the double-digit hole. Such a sequence in the middle quarters though isn't conducive to winning against a talented team. Greg Pieterek (15) and Bryson Chapman (14) finished in double figures.
"I thought our kids played a nice second half," North coach Jason Roach said. "We just had a second quarter ... you can't spot a team 15 points like that. We're still at the top of the SIAC. Everybody will try to bring their best game for us. I like where we are at. I think we've got a lot of pieces. We just want to keep getting better."
There is effectively a three-way tie atop the SIAC standings between North (5-1), Bosse (5-1) and Harrison (4-1). Reitz (5-2) and Jasper (5-2) are also one-game back in the loss column. Among the biggest upcoming games: Harrison at Reitz on Feb. 13, Bosse at Harrison on Feb. 20 and North at Castle on Feb. 20.
Princeton took control of the Pocket Athletic Conference with a 53-47 win over Boonville. The Tigers (15-3) trailed to start the fourth quarter but received a big game from Edwin Holmes. The senior unofficially had 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Princeton leads Boonville and Heritage Hills by two games with four left.
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Bosse basketball creates a tie in SIAC standings with win at North
Category: General Sports
