Memorial plays suffocating 'D' in first half, rolls to Class 3A sectional title
Branson Combs races to the hoop, Sam DeVault, defense lifts Memorial to first 3A sectional title since 2015
Memorial plays suffocating 'D' in first half, rolls to Class 3A sectional title Branson Combs races to the hoop, Sam DeVault, defense lifts Memorial to first 3A sectional title since 2015 Check out this story on courierpress.com: https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/03/02/combs-memorial-d-pave-away-first-sectional-since-2015/2952476002/
Gordon Engelhardt, Evansville Courier & Press Published 8:41 p.m. CT March 2, 2019 | Updated 10:03 a.m. CT March 4, 2019
Sam DeVault cuts down the net as Memorial wins its first sectional title since 2015. (Photo: Gordon Engelhardt)
BOONVILLE – When it was his turn to climb the ladder, Sam DeVault gave the net a playful flick of the wrist.
And why not? The 6-foot-10 senior, who has seen considerable action since he was a freshman, had helped lift Memorial High School to its first Class 3A sectional basketball championship since 2015.
"This means everything to me," said DeVault, who scored 12 points in the Tigers' 47-36 decision over Gibson Southern Saturday night in the Boonville Sectional title game. "It had been coming four years. It's been wonderful the whole time. It feels great to finally get it.
"Getting it as a senior has been the best."
There was no hint of a letdown, at least not defensively in the first half. Rick Wilgus wouldn't stand for it. Wilgus' Tigers played suffocating defense at the outset, rolling to an 11-0 lead and coasting to victory, one day after beating Bosse 69-57 in the semis.
"Bosse is a very good team," DeVault said. "We tried to come out tonight and play just as well."
Memorial won the "rubber match" against Gibson Southern. The Titans beat Memorial 65-52 in the 3A girls' basketball sectional semifinals and Memorial prevailed, 56-28, in the 3A football sectional title game last fall.
Branson Combs bulled his way to the basket, scoring all 12 of his points in the first half as the Tigers seized a commanding 25-10 lead. He gave kudos to DeVault, who has flourished in postseason.
"Sam has really stepped up the last few games in the tournament," Combs said. "He's our best player. He's moving on to play college basketball (at Austin Peay) and that's what we needed out of our best player. The way he's played the last two games have been very beneficial for us."
Memorial poses for a team picture after capturing the Class 3A Boonville Sectional title. (Photo: Gordon Engelhardt)
Memorial, which won its seventh in a row, improved to 16-9. The Tigers will play No. 6 Silver Creek (21-3) at noon CST this Saturday in the Southridge Regional. Silver Creek ousted Corydon Central 82-51 in the title game of the Charlestown Sectional.
Princeton (20-5) will meet Batesville (15-10) in the regional opener at 10 a.m. Batesville ousted No. 2 Greensburg 69-56 in the Greensburg Sectional final. Princeton routed host Washington 55-34 to win its first sectional title since winning the state championship in 2009.
Dawson Witte scored 12 points for Gibson Southern, which ended 7-18. The Titans defeated Memorial, 45-44, on Jan. 5 in Fort Branch, but the Tigers were without Michael Lindauer and Danny Dixon in that game.
"We're peaking at the right time," Combs said. "Throughout the year we had not been playing our best."
Lindauer and Dixon sustained injuries and it took time for Memorial to put it all together.
"We lost some games we should have won," Combs said. "This is the time of the year we wanted to be at our best."
Branson Combs on Memorial's first sectional title since 2015 pic.twitter.com/MC2IhuOVlq
— Gordon Engelhardt (@EngGordon) March 3, 2019
He pointed out that a lot of people didn't realize the Tigers lost to Gibson Southern during the regular season.
"People talked that the top half (of the bracket), if you get through that…But that was not the case at all," Combs said. "Gibson Southern had beaten us. They're a good team. We had to come out ready to play."
After Friday's win over Bosse, Wilgus told his team it could enjoy the game overnight. But once it was Saturday morning, it was time to concentrate on Gibson Southern.
"We did not take Gibson Southern lightly," Wilgus said. "You can throw the records out the window. This is Indiana high school basketball and upsets can happen. We dodged a bullet."
DeVault on the move, Memorial up 23-7 pic.twitter.com/hJ5JDVTg7e
More: Graham on fire from line, long distance as Memorial ousts Bosse in sectional semis
IHSAA Boys Basketball Regionals
All times Central
Class 4A at Seymour
Jasper (16-9) vs. Center Grove (19-8), 9 a.m.
Bloomington South (23-3) vs. Jeffersonville (19-5), 11 a.m.
Championship: 7 p.m.
Class 3A at Southridge
Batesville (15-10) vs. Princeton (20-5), 10 a.m.
Memorial (16-9) vs. Silver Creek (21-3), noon
Class 2A at Paoli
Linton (24-3) vs. Paoli (23-3), 9 a.m.
Southwestern (25-1) vs. Tell City (20-5), 11 a.m.
Class A at Loogootee
Lanesville (14-11) vs. West Washington (10-15), 9 a.m.
Day School (11-11) vs. Barr-Reeve (23-2), 11 a.m.
Championship: 6:30 p.m.
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