By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Quietly, without self-congratulatory fanfare, without blaring trumpets and the white noise of an entourage, Floyd Central muscled its way to the top. The Highlanders now rule the Hoosier Hills Conference without defiance, and they have earned the distinction of pre-tournament sectional favorite for March.
Floyd Central is overlooked on the state stage, ranked No.18 in Class 4A, an afterthought for voters. The program is too far south to get its due attention. But be warned: the Highlanders might be the toughest out in the upcoming tournament.
Bedford North Lawrence got the up-close look, although it was more of a crane-the-neck glance rather than eye-to-eye level. The Stars would need a step ladder for that. Big, bold and tough, the Highlanders lumbered to a 53-36 victory over the Stars on Wednesday night.
Floyd’s victory, combined with New Albany’s 60-57 road loss to Jennings County, clinched the outright league title. It’s the fourth in the last five years for the program that went forever – 30 years – between conference and sectional titles. Now the Highlanders can’t seem to stop winning them. And they might be unstoppable in another month. Remember Bloomington North’s 1997 state champion? Same type of team. Nobody wanted to face them, nobody could defeat them when it counted.
With superior size, with sizzling shooting, Floyd pulled away from BNL in the second half. With all its interior bulk, it was perimeter firepower that created the separation against the Stars, who were hanging around, down four at halftime and trailing by only seven under two minutes in the third.
But then Floyd (13-2 overall, 5-0 in the HHC) hit three consecutive treys, and the margin hit 20 in a hurry. BNL, giving away so many inches against 7-footer Wesley Celichowski and his inside friends, had to choose what it would allow, and the Highlanders took it without argument. They hit 8 of 11 treys, and 19 of 29 total shots. That’s almost indefensible.
“We competed hard, we played hard,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “What did they miss, 10 shots all night? They have size, they have skills. You have to give something. We were concerned about the 7-footer, but they can also shoot it. They were able to score both ways. And if there had been a bench-press contest, it was 2-to-1 them.
“They have some talent and they shot the heck out of the ball. And they do that a lot of nights.”
On this night, with a sparse crowd for a game that was moved up 24 hours because of the winter storm threat, they were lethal. Brady Moore scored three times from the paint for a quick getaway, but BNL battled back with a Colton Staggs wing trey, with a Kaedyn Bennet cut for a layup, with a Colten Leach steal and basket. Staggs buried another bomb as the Stars scrambled within 23-19 at the half.
Then look out below. Kyle Poates popped a 12-footer, Celichowski powered to a post bucket and dished off to Caleb Washington for a layup. BNL found some footing with a Bennet bomb and Leach drive, but Floyd hit the three straight from deep (Washington, Cole Harritt and Max Tripure – sounds like a law firm). Moore went back to work inside for a floater and 46-26 lead, and the rest was cruise control.
“We got good shots,” Floyd coach Todd Sturgeon said. “We got some good, open looks and knocked those in, got it inside a couple of times. If you can get that ball posted or dribbled into the paint, that’s the old-school way. Play inside out.”
Washington totaled 12 points and Moore finished with 10. That’s the Floyd strength – no superstars like the past, but an equal eight-man rotation – and the Floyd problem. No respect, the Rodney Dangerfield of 4A. Somebody will pay for that later on. Weakness? Sturgeon promised to show them in a tape session, but they’d be hard to find.
BNL (6-7, 1-3) had many positives. Leach had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Staggs totaled 10 points, and the Stars had only four turnovers. Bennett added 8 points. Most nights, that would be a winning combination. Floyd had a 25-12 rebounding edge, because of size and because the Highlanders missed only 10 shots.
“We played pretty well,” Strugeon said. “But crying out loud, the other team has good players and a good coach. You’re not going to shut them out.
“Winning the conference is nice. Now we’re not going to cut down any nets or have any ceremony over this. We like to have it over so we can completely put it in the rear-view mirror and look toward the end of the month. It means something, especially now that we have a little tradition going.”
BNL is scheduled to return to action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Evansville Memorial.
FLOYD CENTRAL HIGHLANDERS (53)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Brady Moore, f 0-0 5-7 0-0 4 3 10
33 Caleb Washington, f 3-4 4-7 1-2 2 1 12
42 Wesley Celichowski, c 0-0 1-2 1-4 6 3 3
31 Cole Harritt, g 2-2 2-2 0-0 0 0 6
2 Kyle Poates, g 0-0 1-1 0-0 3 0 2
24 Tevi Ali 0-1 0-3 2-3 4 1 2
12 Max Tripure 3-4 3-4 0-0 2 0 9
21 Nathaniel Hoffman 0-0 1-1 2-2 0 1 4
4 Zack Sims 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
13 Austin Cardwell 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 1
41 Brock Conrad 0-0 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
Totals 8-11 19-29 7-13 25 9 53
BEDFORD NL STARS (36)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Kaedyn Bennett, f 1-3 3-5 1-2 0 3 8
34 Jett Jones, f 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
22 Colton Staggs,g 2-3 4-13 0-0 0 1 10
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
2 Colten Leach, g 0-0 6-12 2-2 7 3 14
14 Kole Bailey 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
10 Dylan Nikirk 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
3 Quincy Pickett 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Maddox Ray 0-0 2-3 0-0 1 1 4
23 Memphis Louden 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-11 15-39 3-4 12 12 36
Floyd Central 15 8 11 19 – 53
Bedford NL 12 7 5 12 – 36
Turnovers – Floyd Central 9, BNL 4
Field goal percentage – Floyd Central 19-29 (.655); BNL 15-39 (.385)
Free throw percentage – Floyd Central 7-13 (.538); BNL 3-4 (.750)
