WEST SIDE — Well playas…I covered my first high school hoop game of the 2018-19 season tonight and it was a blast!! Pike traveled over to Ben Davis to get it in on a Friday night and it was Chris Brown up in that piece. “On and Poppin”.”
The Giants got out of the joint with a 75-67 win over the Red Devils after blowing a 15 point lead at the end of the third quarter. The final score was not indicative of the route that took place for three and a half quarters. BD jumped all over Pike initially as Jalen Windham led the Giants with 24 points. Cameron Maul dropped off 11 as both Jeff Clayton and Dawand Jones had 10 apiece.
Pike was led by Ahmoni Jones’ 21 points followed by Jalen Johnson’s 12. Give the Red Devils credit for the resilience they showed in the fourth quarter to get back into it. They were virtually out of it and showed some grit to make a game of it. Big shout to head coach Bill Zych for whatever he told his players going into the final period. If they could have simply hit their free throws it would have been a different outcome.
It was a sight for sore eyes to see Ben Davis letting the Young Thunder Cats get up and down the floor without holding them back. First year head coach Don Carlisle has these boys on the west side runnin’ and gunnin’ which is a far cry from what they did under coach Mark James. All due respect to James because he did win over there but it was like watching paint dry. In the past they would get up 10 points and he’d take the thoroughbreds and hook them up to a wagon instead of letting them run.
Carlisle allowed his young bulls to push it so it should be fun to watch as they mature as a team. They’ve got a load of cats that are willing to play hard and that’s half the battle. I’m excited about what Ben Davis can become this season. There’s so much talent in the M.I.C. and in my Bart Scott voice, “Can’t Wait!” Let’s Go!!