2006 IHSAA Boys Basketball Tourney Class 3A Plymouth Regional Bracket Sectional Overview A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (3-2-2006)

PLYMOUTH  (3-2-2006) In Class 3A, seven of the top 10 teams are in the southern half of the bracket for the 96th annual state basketball tournament, but a lot of eyes are on Plymouth, the school which had a state championship snatched away from them on a half court shot by Washington's Luke Zeller last March.

Plymouth lost almost all of that 2005 team to graduation, but they have come back strong and placed second to Elkhart Memorial in the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC).  Also, that Plymouth money is still good downstate (just kidding!), because the Pilgrims still have the sectional and regional on their old home floor on the southeast side of Plymouth.

A 59er-Plymouth game in Plymouth with the accompanying officiating debates could get uglier than Frank Thomas vs. Kenny Williams.  But it would play to a capacity crowd in the 'vintage' 4,000-seat Plymouth gym.

The closing of Horace Mann has left one of those uncomfortable 5-team sectionals at Gary West Side and with Andrean squeaking by Wirt 73-67 in the quarterfinals, the countdown is on for the meeting of Plymouth and Andrean.  There are several other teams here but look closely, nobody's killing anybody except for West Lafayette.  Andrean's upset loss in the regional semifinals denied us a Plymouth-Andrean game last year and we're going to have to call an investigation if those two don't play this year.

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(3A) CALUMET SECTIONAL 17  (CST)
Tue Gavit [12-9] vs. Hammond [9-11], Gavit 60-55
Tue Griffith [8-13] vs. Calumet [3-18], Calumet 45-40
Fri Winner Game 1 - Gavit [13-9] vs. Winner Game 2 - Calumet [4-18]
Fri Clark [14-6] vs.  Morton [12-8]
Sat = Championship (7:30 p.m.) CST

(3A) GARY ROOSEVELT SECTIONAL 18  (CST)
Tue Wirt [12-9] vs. ANDREAN [16-7], Andrean 73-67
Fri Kankakee Valley [5-15] vs. Gary Roosevelt [10-11]
Fri Lew Wallace [4-16] vs. ANDREAN [17-7]
Sat = Championship (7:30 p.m.) CST

(3A) PLYMOUTH SECTIONAL 19  (EST)
Tue    South Bend St. Joseph's [10-12] vs. New Prairie [5-16], St. Joseph's 60-46
Tue    Plymouth [17-4] vs. Knox [12-9], Plymouth 81-43
Fri    Winner Game 1 - St. Joseph's [11-12] vs. Winner Game 2 - Plymouth [18-4]
Fri    Culver Academy [10-10] vs. Mishawaka Marian [7-13]
Sat = Championship (7:30 p.m.) EST

(3A) FRANKFORT SECTIONAL 20  (EST)
Tue Frankfort [3-19] vs. Western [15-6], Western 53-48
Tue West Lafayette [17-5] vs. Benton Central [14-8], West Lafayette 49-34
Fri Winner Game 1 - Western [16-6] vs. Winner Game 2 - West Lafayette [18-5]
Fri Twin Lakes [11-10] vs. Maconaquah [13-7]
Sat = Championship (7:30 p.m.) EST

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HAMMOND  (3-2-2006)  Gavit and Calumet pulled mild upsets on opening night and that put even greater emphasis on the Morton-Clark semifinal game.  Morton lost four of their last six, but they beat Clark 57-54 in early January.  The Pioneers are bigger and have won 7 of 9.  But they closed the season with weak sisters Whiting, Lake Station and Morgan Township.  That's the essence of this game.

Clark has not played tough teams and Morton has.  Specifically, the only winning teams Clark has beaten are Gavit (12-9) and Wheeler (18-5).  Morton only beat three winning teams, but they closed the season with athletic squads Hammond and Lew Wallace.  Nobody's going down here without a fight, but Clark is going down by less than three points.

Calumet isn't really capable of beating Gavit, which has won 10 of their last 13 games.  The Gladiators upset Hammond in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, avenging a sectional defeat last year.  It's a long shot here, but whoever comes out of the Morton-Clark game will get beat by Gavit Saturday night.  I like Gavit to win the Hammond sectional for the second time in three years.

 

FRANKFORT (3-2-2006) West Lafayette bombed Benton Central by 15 in the quarterfinals and now will take on Western (16-6) in the semifinals.  WL is led by guard Andy Day (15.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and forward Brad Folta (16.0 points, 7.9 rebounds) and they beat Western 54-51 in December.  Western also has an inside-outside duo of forward Kyle Irwin (18.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists) and guard Wes Dickinson (17.8 points, 2.9 assists).  West Lafayette is 7-0 against other 3A teams and top coach David Wood seems to have them on the verge of a sectional title with 16 wins in WL's last 18 games.  Maconaquah should take out Twin Lakes, who have allowed more points than they have scored.

Maconaquah's 13-7 record is a little deceptive because they lost one game in three overtimes and another game in five overtimes.  But Maconaquah's schedule is always suspect.  Ten of their victories are against 1A and 2A teams and that kind of Mickey Mouse slate does not get rewarded in the post-season.  West Lafayette will win this sectional.

 

PLYMOUTH (3-2-2006) The tradition-rich (30 sectional titles) Pilgrims are led by sophomore guard Randy Davis (18 points) and 6-3 football quarterback Chad Clinton (11.4 points).  Plymouth whipped a decent Knox team (12-9) like they stole something 81-43 in the quarterfinals.

Plymouth has already beaten St. Joe by 17, which matters because St. Joe took out New Prairie 52-35 in the quarterfinals.  St. Joe and Plymouth are major rivals in all sports so an upset is not an impossibility Friday night.

Culver Academy and Marian are having tough times.  Culver is led by guard senior Tommy Bradford (19.6 ppg.) and Sergio Zemeno (10.8).  But Marian has played 11 Class 4A schools and the Knights, with 6-6 center Eric Chalko (10.8 points) should win here.

Plymouth and 500-win coach Jack Edsion are the gold standard in Class 3A in the South Bend area.  Class basketball was supposed to be a big boost for them and until last year, it really hadn't been, even though the Pilgrims have won four of the eight 3A sectionals since Class playoffs came in back in 1998.  You get the feeling they are on the verge of a big run annually in 3A and it won't stop here.  Even though they are a small team physically and relatively inexperienced, Plymouth wins the sectional title again.

 

GARY (3-2-2006)  Andrean's 73-67 win over Wirt in the quarterfinals was a match of the only two winning teams here.  Forward Luke Harangody (22 ppg.) has a bit of a knee injury and the 59ers will have to go three times in five days.  Guard Anthony Johnson has stepped up his scoring and 6-foot-8 forward Chris Kaba gives the 59ers a front line no one else here can match.

Wallace is fast but they lack power inside.  Roosevelt is just as quick as Wallace and has a little more size.  But Lew and Roosevelt have major match up problems inside and, unless Andrean suffers an injury here, the 59ers should survive.  This is shaky pick.  Andrean started the season at 8-0 and is only 8-7 since that time.  But the regular season doesn't matter and the 59ers may still sting from the regional upset, 58-56 by Twin Lakes last year.  Roosevelt came within five of Andrean in the season opener but that was four months ago.  The teams are different now.

Andrean has played a wide ranging nonconference schedule and they will respond here to sweep three games and win their third consecutive sectional crown.

 

PLYMOUTH (3A) REGIONAL

PLYMOUTH (3-11-6)  If it's Andrean against Gavit and Plymouth against West Lafayette, these will be excellent games.  Andrean has not played Gavit since December of 1999 so these teams will not know much abut each other.

Again, the size of Andrean will require Gavit to either stall or speed up the game.  The Hammond schools simply do not play the nonconference schedule that Andrean does.  The 59ers are well-prepared for this matchup and, unless they get overconfident, they should win easily.

West Lafayette has only lost to Class 4A schools, but they will be asking a lot to beat Plymouth on the Pilgrims' home floor.  The hosts spread the floor and get open distance shots.  This should be very close because WL knows Plymouth has little inside game.  But the Pilgrims are such excellent shooters and passers, they will limit West Lafayette's possessions and win in front of the home crowd.

Then the inevitable match of Plymouth and Andrean, one of the feature games of the state tournament.  Andrean could have changed the history of the 2005 tourney if they'd have gotten a shot at Plymouth.  It could easily have been Washington and Andrean in the state final.  The 59ers may have to come up with a smaller lineup for this game to play the perimeter against Plymouth, a precise shooting team.  Andrean cannot settle for three-pointers here as they have an overmatch inside that should be good for 25-30 from Luke Harangody.

The 59ers would have a lot to play for at Plymouth, but the game is at  Plymouth.  The Pilgrims are a better shooting team and Andrean would need a  better defensive game than they have shown this season.

When you play twice in one day, home court is a big advantage.  Especially at Plymouth's old basketball barn.

Plymouth 57, ANDREAN 52