The end is near....

The Brownsburg baseball team lost to Fishers on Friday 9-2. The Dogs finished the regular season with a 17-8 record overall and 12-6 in the HCC, good for fourth place in the conference. BBurg will play in the sectionals on Monday, May 30th at 10am against the winner of Thursday's Ben Davis/Manual game. If the Dogs win that game, they play later on Monday night at 6pm in the sectional championship.

Brownsburg's softball team takes their 9-16 record to sectional play tonight. They play host Ben Davis and their 18-6 record. The two teams played in April with BD beating the Dogs 11-4. With only one senior on the team, the Dogs can use this tournament as a learning and growing experience for next year.

Ball State's baseball season mecifully ended this weekend. The Cards were 15-35 overall and 11-15 in the MAC. The team only loses three seniors, including Brownsburg's own TJ Baumet. Baumet had a solid career at BSU, starting in 197 of the 202 games he played. He ended his career with a .287 batting average with 33 HR and 119 RBI. He makes the all-time top 5 in a few categories, but only one of them are positive. TJ is fourth all-time in assists at Ball State with 494. He finished 4th all-time in strikeouts (163) and is the all-time leader in errors committed with 80. His career fielding percentage is .911. But, it takes quite a player to play at a Division 1 level for all four years and I applaud TJ for a great career at BSU.

It takes extra time, but Bulldogs stay alive in the HCC race

Brownsburg beat Zionsville 7-4 in 8 innings on Tuesday to stay alive in the race for the HCC baseball title. Avon beat McCutcheon last night, so that sets up two important series on Thursday and Friday. If Zionsville wins one of the two games against Avon, they win the conference. If Avon sweeps Zionsville, Avon will tie Zionsville for the conference title (although they would have the head-to-head tie-breaker). Brownsburg must win both games against Fishers and have Avon sweep Zionsville to tie for the title.

Bulldogs can't convert their chances in loss to Zionsville

The Brownsburg baseball team led 4-1 after three innings on the strength of a Sam Sampen two-run homer. In the fifth inning, a defensive lapse on a first-and-third situation allowed a run to score. The runner that went to second eventually scored and made it a 4-3 game after five innings. The Dogs held a 4-3 lead with one out in the seventh when catcher Tyler Hampton blocked a ball in the dirt. I'm not sure whether the ball hit him in the chest or the neck, but he looked a little shaken up. A minute later, he went to the mound to talk to pitcher Isacc Sampen, but didn't make it to the mound and passed out. He was taken to the hospital and gave the "thumbs up" as he was leaving the field. I do not have an update on his status.

After the delay, Zionsville tied the game with an RBI double. In the bottom of the ninth, BBurg had bases loaded and two out before Jeremy Jones flied out hard to right field to end the inning. In the 10th inning, the Dogs had bases loaded with no outs and lined into a triple play to end the inning. Zionsville scored three runs in the top of the 11th and held Brownsburg scoreless in the bottom of the inning to win 7-4.

The win puts Zionville 3 games ahead of Brownsburg, Avon, and McCutcheon in the HCC with three games left. If Brownsburg and Avon win out (Avon plays Zville on Thurs/Fri), they both will tie Zionsville for the conference title. Any Zionsville win will clinch.

Important week for Brownsburg Baseball

The Brownsburg baseball team has a big week of games in their fight for the HCC title. The Dogs are in second place, two games behind Zionsville with conference play ending this week. The two teams play each other on Monday and Tuesday. Brownsburg then plays Fishers on Thursday and Friday while Zionsville play Avon. McCutcheon is tied with Brownsburg in second place and Avon is three games behind Zionsville in fourth place. Any one of these four teams can come away with the title.

Crazy baseball, exciting softball, and respect for a few NBA players

The Brownsburg baseball team scored four runs in the top of the first inning on Tuesday against Center Grove. However, they gave up 11 runs in the bottom of the first to fall behind 11-4. The Bullodgs chipped away at the seven run deficit to tie the game at 11 at the end of 7 innings. The Dogs scored 3 in the 8th and held the Trojans scoreless to win 14-11. Bobby Carr, Sam Sampen, and David Oliger all had 3 RBIs in the win. Sampen and Levi Slawta threw 7-1/3 scoreless innings to give the Dogs a chance to win.

In Wednesday's game, the Dogs scored 6 runs in the first, 5 runs in the third, and 6 more runs in the 5th inning en route to a five-inning 21-1 thrashing of Harrison. Sam Sampen had 2 HR's and 7 RBI, while his brother Isaac had 4 RBIs. David Oliger also contributed with and home run and 4 RBI. Isaac Sampen and Mycah Whetstone shut down the Raiders on the mound. The Dogs are 14-5 overall and 10-3 in the HCC. They host Harrison tonight. BBurg is 2 games behind Zionsville in the HCC with 5 games left. However, two of those 5 games are against Zionsville, so there is still a good chance to win the HCC.

The Ball State softball team began MAC tournament play on Wednesday as the #4 seed. It took 8 innings and a walk-off home run by Jennifer Gilbert to come away with a 2-1 victory. Gilbert was 3-4 with both Ball State RBIs. Amanda Montalto was 4-for-4. Amanda Carpenter was the only other Cardinal to get a hit in the game. On the mound Audra Sanders was brilliant giving up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 9. BSU will play the #1 seed Western Michigan today at 130p.

I don't watch too much NBA, because it's not real basketball, but I did watch the last two minutes of the Heat/Celtics game last night. The Heat were down 5 with 4 minutes to go, but big shots by James Jones and Lebron James led the Heat to a 10-point win. James scored the last 10 points of the game as he went on a 10-0 run of his own in the last two minutes. After the game, most of the Celtics stormed off the floor, but a few stayed around to congratulate the Heat on their series victory. I have gained new respect for Ray Allen, Delonte West, and coach Doc Rivers for staying on the floor and showing respect for the players on the Heat. They shook hands and spoke to almost every player....you don't see that too much these days. I'm not sure what has happened to Kevin Garnett these last few years, but he has gone from a fun-loving ball player to an absolute jerk.

Random thoughts....

According to Ball State football coach Pete Lembo, sophomore Keith Wenning has a slight advantage over junior Kelly Page to be the starting quarterback. Wenning started 10 games last season and has lost 25 pounds to be quicker around the pocket. Whoever starts at QB will have to grasp the new "multiple no-huddle" system that coach Lembo has instituted. BSU opens the season at Lucas Oil Stadium against IU on Sept 3rd.

Brownsburg sophomore Stephanie Mavunga has been invited to the 2011 USA Basketball Women's 16U team trials. Twelve players will be selected out of the 35 invitees. Taya Reimer from Hamilton SE has also been invited the the trials.

The Brownsburg baseball team was 4-0 this week, sweeping Noblesville and HSE. The team is 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference. They play 4 straight games this week starting on Tuesday (at Ben Davis, at Westfield, home vs Westfield, home vs Pike).

The Brownsburg softball team was 2-1 this week. They lost to Avon and swept Edgewood in a double header. The team is 4-7 this season and 0-2 in the HCC. They play Monday at Mooresville, Tuesday at home vs Laff Jeff, and Friday at McCutcheon.

BSU's baseball team lost 2 of 3 to Central Michigan this weekend. They are 10-25 overall and 8-6 in the MAC, but only 1.5 games out of the MAC West lead. Their only games next week are the three games at Western Michigan on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The BSU softball team had a good week winning 3 MAC games (2 by mercy rule) and losing to a tough Morgan Melloh led (from HSE) IU team. The team is 30-17 and 10-3 in the MAC. Their 4 games this week are all MAC games starting with a double header at Toledo on Friday and single games at Bowling Green on Saturday and Sunday. BSU is a half-game ahead of Northern Illinois in the MAC West.

Long time between updates

Brownsburg's Stephanie Mavunga was named 3rd team AP-All state in girls basketball. She was the only sophomore named to the team. She led the Dogs in points, blocks, and rebounds and was second on the team in steals. Could she make a run for Miss Basketball in two years?

BSU baseball - After starting off slowly, the team has bounced back in MAC play. They are 10-23 this season, but a startling 7-4 in MAC play and half a game out of first in the MAC West. The Cards host 5 games this week. Butler comes to Muncie on Tuesday and Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday. CMU will play a Fri-Sat-Sun series at Ball Diamond.

BSU softball - Junior Amanda Montalto hit two home runs yesterday to set the school's all-time home run record. Montalto has 20 home runs in her career and 9 this season, and she still has one more year to go! The team is 27-16 and 7-3 in the MAC. The Cardinals play IU on Wednesday before hosting two MAC series over the weekend. They play Kent State in a double-header on Friday, then Buffalo in single games on Saturday and Sunday.

Brownsburg baseball is 3-3 this season and 1-1 in HCC play. John Moore and Isaac Sampen are leading the offense so far. Moore is batting .500 and Sampen leads the team with 3 HR and 6 RBI. Sampen (1.17 ERA, 18K in 12 IP) and Mycha Whetstone (1.11 ERA) lead a solid pitching staff. The Dogs have a tough week with 4 HCC games, 2 against a 6-5 Noblesville team on Monday and Tuesday and a battle with 6-1 HSE on Friday and Saturday.

Brownsburg softball is 2-7 this season and 0-1 in HCC play. The team has been outscored 58-28 this season. Sarah Callis leads the team with a .500 average. She also leads the team in hits and RBI and has struck out only once in 30 plate appearances. The problems are on the other side of the ball. The team has committed 30 errors in 9 games and the pitching staff has a 5.69 ERA. The Dogs have five games this week starting today against Danville. The rest of the week they play Avon (Tuesday), HSE (Friday) and two games against Edgewood on Saturday.

BSU softball has good weekend

The Ball State softball team went 4-1 in the Radford tournament, losing only to the host school. They recorded victories over Delaware, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Robert Morris. The offense got back on track with 30 runs over the 5 games while the pitching gave up 10 runs. BSU catcher Amanda Montalto was named tournament MVP while pitcher Audra Sanders and shortstop Alicia Barkley were named to the all-tournament team. The Cards host Dayton in a DH on Thursday. They travel to Miami (OH) for a 4-game tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The team is 15-11 on the season.

The BSU baseball team was swept this weekend by Belmont. They had a lead going into the bottom of the 9th on Friday, but gave up a run in the inning and a run in the 12th to let the game slip away. On Saturday, Belmont jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and never looked back, with the Cardinals losing 4-1. On Sunday, Belmont took the same 4-0 lead after three innings, but BSU bounced back to trail 5-2 at the end of six innings. However, three unearned runs in the 7th inning finished off BSU in an 8-5 loss. The team hosts IU on Wednesday before starting MAC play this weekend at home against Ohio. BSU is 2-16 for the season.

BHS Update

BHS basketball players Ryne Carr, Lindsey Dall, and Scott Hathaway were named IBCA Academic All-State honorable mention.

Girls basketball coach Amy Brauman was named All-West coach of the year by the Indy Star.

For the first time that I can remember, the BHS baseball team is not ranked in the pre-season baseball poll. They didn't even get a vote. Is the dynasty coming to an end? Having gone the last 5 years without a sectional title, I guess the writing has been on the wall. We will see when the season opens on April 5th at North Central.

BHS softball opens the season next week with games against Southport on Tuesday and Western Boone on Thursday. Both games are at BBurg and start at 5pm.

Ugly weekend for Ball State baseball, softball, and basketball

The BSU baseball team got their second win of the season on Friday as they beat Charlotte 7-1. Cal Bowling pitched a gem, throwing 6 2/3 innings and not giving up a run. The rest of the weekend, the Cardinals were outscored 14-4 in defeats on Saturday and Sunday. BSU is 2-13 (RPI 212) on the season and host Dayton (7-7, 144 RPI) on Wednesday in their first home game of the year. The team will travel to Belmont (7-9, 52 RPI) for a 3-game series over the weekend.

The Cardinal softball team had a terrible weekend, losing all 5 games by a combined score of 42-6. Most of those 42 runs were part of the 21-0 thrashing that #2 Florida put out on Saturday, but even with that, 21 runs over the other 4 games will not get the job done. The team is now 11-10 on the season. They will travel to Troutville, VA to play in the Radford tournament this weekend. The tourney consists of 5 games (2 FRI, 2 SAT, 1 SUN) starting with games at 1p and 5p on Friday.

The BSU basketball team lost to Kent State in the semi-finals of the MAC tourney on Friday night. The Cards were down 1 point with 7 minutes left, but a 7-2 run by Kent State put the game away. After a scorching first half in which both teams shot the ball well (KSU 60%, BSU 56%), each team cooled off in the second half. BSU shot 32% in the second half, including 1-10 3-point shots. The Cards finish the season with a 19-13 record. I do not believe that they have a chance for a post-season tournament, but you never know....

Ball State basketball wins, the baseball team....not so much

The Ball State basketball team beat Ohio in overtime last night 76-73. The Cardinals were down 9 points with 2:42 remaining, but two 3-point plays by freshman Chris Bond and a 3-pointer by junior Randy Davis tied the game at the end of regulation. BSU took the lead 15 seconds into overtime on a 3-point play by senior Malik Perry and never trailed after that. Freshman Jesse Berry had 20 points to lead the Cardinals. Davis had his usual good all-around game with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Bond had 12 points, all at crucial moments of the game. The Cardinals now face MAC #1 seed Kent State at 930p tonight. The winner of that game will play the Akron/WMU winner on Saturday in the MAC championship game.

BSU's baseball team has played three games this week and are 0-3 so far. They lost to #24 Coastal Carolina 10-2, played a close game with The Citadel (6-4 loss), and lost to #21 Charleston 12-1. The Cards are now 1-11 this year and travel to Charlotte to face the UNCC 49ers. Charlotte is 10-2 this year, but they have not beaten a team with a .500 or better record.

The BSU softball team is 2-0 this week after beating Monmouth and Central Florida on Tuesday. The team is 11-5 this year. They will play 5 games over the next 30 hours this weekend starting with games against Long Island and UConn on Friday. Saturday's schedule includes Quinnipiac and #2 Florida (19-0). Sunday's game is against St Joseph's.

BSU/Brownsburg update

The Ball State baseball team continues to struggle as they lost all three games this weekend to Coastal Carolina, Marshall, and Qunninpiac. The team is now 1-8 this season. The team has given up 10 runs or more in 7 of the 9 games this year. The team ERA is 7.83 and could be much worse, but the team has allowed 25 unearned runs on 21 errors in the 9 games so far. The offense isn't helping to much either as the team OPS is .677. BSU plays 6 games this week, starting with Coastal Carolina at 4pm today.

The BSU softball team was 3-2 over the weekend to bring their record to 9-5. The team is led by sophomore pitcher Audra Sanders and her 2.12 ERA. The offense is smashing the ball, led by senior Alicia Barkley (.457 avg) and freshman Jennifer Gilbert (.419 avg, 3 HR). Overall, the team is batting .322. The team will travel to Clearwater, FL to play 5 games this weekend in the Under Armour Showcase.

The Cardinals mens basketball team lost a big game to Western Michigan on Wednesday and had to settle for the #4 seed in the MAC tourney. They will play on Thursday night at 930p against the Ohio/Toledo winner.

The BSU women's team ended their season with a 82-73 loss to Buffalo in the MAC tournament. The Cardinals were the #11 seed and ended the season with a 9-21 record.

Brownsburg's boys basketball team ended their season last week with a 89-56 loss to Pike. The team finished the season 9-12, but only loses one player from their rotation. Next year should be a decent year for this group of Bulldogs.

Not a good start for Ball State baseball

Ball State started the 2011 season by getting swept at Kennesaw State. In game one, the Cardinals only had 3 hits in a 3-2 losing effort. Mitch Widau hit a 2-run homer to account for the offense. A missed suicide squeeze by the Cardinals in the 9th ruined a chance to take the lead before KSU rallied to win in the bottom of the ninth. Cal Bowling started on the mound for BSU and threw 4 1/3 innings and gave up 2 earned runs.

In game two on Saturday, KSU used a 12-run 6th inning to turn a 9-2 Ball State lead into a 14-9 KSU lead and went on to win 17-9. It was a very ugly game as there were 14 unearned runs in the contest. Cody Elliott had 4 RBI's to lead the Cardinals. Derek Grabner started on the hill and pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up 2 runs, both earned. The bullpen was not as good, giving up 7 earned runs (15 runs total) in 3 1/3 innings.

Game three was on Sunday where the Cards gave up runs in each of the first 6 innings in a 10-7 defeat. TJ Weir got the call for BSU and gave up 4 earned runs (6 total) in 3 1/3 innings. The BSU offense clicked with 13 hits in the game after only getting 10 hits over the previous two games. Stephen Claypool had 3 hits (2 doubles) and 2 RBI to power the Cards.

BSU travels to SE Missouri next weekend for a 3-game series. Friday's game is at 4pm EST, while the Saturday and Sunday games both start at 2pm EST. SEMO is 2-1 on the season.

Yeah! It's college baseball opening day!

The Ball State baseball team starts their season today at Kennesaw State. The Cardinals are coming off a year where they were 29-29 overall and 19-8 in the MAC. However, they lost 3 of their 4 starting pitchers and the entire heart of the batting order (spots 2-5). The top returnees are senior TJ Baumet (Brownsburg HS), who batted .337 and Blake Beemer (.328). The top returning pitchers are Cal Bowling (Yorktown HS), with a 6-3 record and the relief duo of Morgan Coombs and Aaron Hammons. The roster is very young with 15 freshman, 8 sophomores, 8 juniors, and 4 seniors. It looks like it may be a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, but the future looks very bright.

The Brownsburg basketball team has Senior Night tonight when they host Lafayette Jeff. The team has two seniors, Darayl Jordan and Scott Hathaway. Jordan has started all year and has been a steady presence in the paint. Hathaway has been injured most of the season. The Dogs are 8-10 this year. Their remaining game is at North Central next week, which should unfortunately be a very ugly game.

The Ball State basketball team (15-10) travels to Wofford (15-12) on Saturday at 7pm in their Bracket Buster game.

The weekend went as expected

After beating Tech and Decatur Central early in the week, the Brownsburg girls basketball team lost to a Ben Davis team that has won 79 straight games. They did not go down without a fight, as the game was tied with 7 minutes remaining. But, the signature run (13-0) by Ben Davis put the game away. I will have a season wrap-up later on in the week.

The Brownsburg boys team lost to Harrison on Thursday. They are now 8-10 overall and host Lafayette Jeff on Friday for senior night.

The Ball State basketball team lost to Bowling Green on Wednesday and Akron on Saturday. They went 1-5 against the MAC East after an 5-0 run the first time through the MAC West. The second round of the MAC West round-robin begins Tuesday against Toledo. The Cardinal are 14-10 overall and 6-5 in the MAC. They are a half game behind Western Michigan in the MAC East.

Good weekend for the Bulldogs

The Brownsburg girls basketball team took care of Brebeuf on Senior Night, winning 57-30. The Dogs led 28-19 at the half and held Brebeuf scoreless in the third quarter to take a 48-19 lead after three. It was the second time in two weeks that the Dogs have held a team scoreless for an entire quarter. Stephanie Mavunga led the team with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots. Morgan Miller had 8 points and 5 assists. Ryne Carr led the defense with 7 steals. The Dogs finish the regular season 18-4 and face Tech in the sectional on Wednesday at 6pm.

The Boys basketball team won both games this weekend. The Dogs used a strong second half to beat Westfield 55-45. After falling behind 22-18 at the half, BBurg outscored the Shamrocks 20-11 in the third quarter to pull away. Jaraan Lands scored 14 to lead the Dogs attack. Chase Dutra had a great all-around game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Mycha Whetstone had 11 points and 6 rebounds.

On Saturday, the boys hosted a pretty good Crawfordsville team and beat them 62-59 in triple overtime. The first half was a yo-yo affair as BBurg took a 15-8 lead after one quarter. But, the Athenians had a strong 18-8 second quarter to take a 26-23 lead into the half. The third quarter was even, but the fourth quarter was a defensive struggle. The teams combined for 11 points in the quarter. It was a great team effort as the Dogs had 18 assists on their 19 baskets. Jaraan Lands led the scoring with 19 points and had 8 rebounds. Mycha Whetsone had 17 points, 5 three-pointers, and 5 rebounds. Chase Dutra had 11 points and 6 assists, Jordan Reagan 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Darayl Jordan 7 rebounds.

The Dogs are now 8-9 this season and 2-5 in the HCC. They host Harrison on Thursday night due to the girls sectional games during the weekend. Harrison is 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the HCC.

Senior night for the Brownsburg girls basketball team

Tonight the Bullodgs honor the seven seniors that have put together 35 wins over the past two seasons. Lindsey Dall, Ryne Carr, Morgan Miller, Erica Lesch, Alaura McKemie, Elissa Hall, and Shelby Morphew have all made great contributions over the past four years. After struggling as sophomores, they put up a 18-6 record last year, the most wins a Bulldog team has had since the 2000-01 season. This year, they are 17-4 with a game against a 2-win Brebeuf team tonight and a sectional matchup with 5-12 Tech. The last four years included three county tourney wins and a two huge wins to take the Hall of Fame Classic. It has been a pleasure to watch this team over the past four years and I wish them luck!

The boys team travels to Westfield tonight. The Bulldogs are 6-9 and Westfield is 6-8.

Score predictions for tonight's games:

Girls - BBurg 64, Brebeuf 29

Boys - Westfield 63, BBurg 48

Lady Bulldogs win, Ball State loses a close one, and the Bulldog boys get pounded

Saturday night, the Brownsburg girls basketball team beat Fishers 57-43. The win takes their record to 17-4 and they finished fourth in the HCC with a 6-3 conference record. The Dogs drew Tech in the sectional and get a little break as Ben Davis is in the opposite bracket. This could lead to a showdown in the sectional final between the only two teams in the sectional with a winning record.

The Ball State basketball team fell behind Ohio and came back a couple of times, but could not finish the job in a 61-60 loss. It was a one-point game with 4 minutes left in the first half, but Ohio made a run to take a 33-26 lead. That lead was spread to nine points, 44-35, four minutes into the second half. A 12-0 BSU run put the Cards on top 47-44 before a 8-1 Ohio run gave the Bobcats a 52-48 lead. Not to be outdone, BSU put together a run to take a 55-52 lead with 5 minutes left. Ohio ended on a 9-2 run before a last-second three-pointer by Randy Davis cut the lead to one at the buzzer. BSU is 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the MAC. They lead the MAC West by one game over Western Michigan.

The Brownsburg boys basketball team lost to Noblesville 60-35 on Friday, and 80-33 against Hamilton SE on Saturday. They hung with Noblesville in the first half, only down 29-22 at the half. The second half was not pretty as the Millers put a 31-13 half together. Mycha Whetstone scored 13 for the Bullodgs and Chase Dutra had 6 assists. The Hamilton SE game was never in doubt. HSE led 42-16 at the half and cruised from there. Chase Dutra led the Dogs with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Brownsburg is 6-9 overall and 1-5 in the HCC.

Ball State rolls over and plays dead in loss to Kent State

The Ball State men's basketball team suffered its second straight loss this week, losing to Kent State 66-53. BSU fell behind early 24-14 after an 11-5 run by Kent. The Cardinals cut the lead to three at the half 30-27 and cut the lead to one at the 16 minute mark of the second half. However, a 10-2 run followed a little later by a 13-6 run pushed the Kent lead to 57-41, a comfortable lead for the Golden Flashes.

Kent State hit 7 three-pointers, 5 of them during their second-half run. They shot 47% from the field compared to BSU's 37%. Kent had 12 fast break points to BSU's zero. It looked like the Flashes had more energy than the Cardinals and that showed on the stat sheet.

BSU has had a difficult time over the last 5 games. They are 3-2 over that span, but their RPI has dropped from 86th to 159th. In the last 3 games, the team has shot a combined 37% from the field. Their offensive efficiency has struggled also. After averaging a little over a point per possession on offense prior to the last 5 games, they team has only 92 points per 100 possessions over the last 5. The defense has played well as the defensive points allowed per possession has stayed constant. The offense needs to get back on track on Saturday as the Cardinals host Ohio at 2pm.

Brownsburg's basketball teams face most of Hamilton County this weekend. The boys team hosts Noblesville on Friday and travels to Hamilton SE on Saturday. The boys are double-digit underdogs in both games. The girls host Fishers on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs are 20-plus point favorites in that game.

Bulldogs breeze by Beech Grove, BSU faces tough test tonight

The Brownsburg girls basketball team traveled to Beech Grove last night and cruised to victory with a great defensive effort. After taking a 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs held the Hornets scoreless in the second quarter and took a 30-11 lead at halftime, eventually winning the game by a score of 68-36.

The post players were very effective in the game. Center Stephanie Mavunga led all scorers with 19 points and forward Lindsey Dall scored 14. Ryne Carr, Elissa Hall, Erica Lesch, and Katie Reinhart scored 6 points each.

On Saturday, the Dogs host a Fishers team that is rebuilding after a great run of seasons. Fishers is 5-13 overall and 2-6 in the HCC. Brownsburg is 16-4 overall and 5-3 in the HCC.

In college hoops, the BSU men's team hosts Kent State tonight in a game that features two of the top teams in the MAC. Ball State is favored by 2.5 points, but the Cardinals have not beaten Kent since 2005. It will be interesting to see how BSU recovers from Monday night's game against Morehead State, a game that the Cards should have won.

Ball State cruises early, struggles late, gets beat by Morehead State

Ball State came out with a good defensive game plan in the first half against Morehead State, taking a 25-15 lead at halftime. The Cardinals stretched the lead to 11 a few minutes into the second half at 28-17. Over the next 10 minutes, Morehead went on a 20-4 run to take a 37-32 lead. During those 10 minutes BSU was 1-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from the free throw line, and had 4 turnovers.

Ball State cut the lead to one, 45-44, at the 4-minute timeout. The next Morehead possession put the momentum in the Eagles hands. Drew Kelly hit a three-pointer and BSU's Malik Perry fouled one of the forwards for Morehead, leading to an eventual 5-point possession that pushed the lead to 50-44. BSU clamped down the D after that as Morehead did not score the rest of the game. BSU's Randy Davis hit four free throws in the last two minutes to cut the lead to 50-48 and the Cardinals had the ball with 12 seconds to go. Davis drove to the hoop and missed a reverse layup as time expired to give the Eagles a 50-48 victory.

The loss snaps BSU's 7 game winning streak, bringing their record to 13-5. They host Kent State on Thursday and Ohio on Saturday as they start their MAC East schedule.

Ball State wins, but drops significantly in the RPI

The Ball State men's basketball team beat Toledo on Saturday, 70-60, to stay undefeated in the MAC. They are 5-0 in the conference after beating all of their MAC West opponents the first time through. They play the East division over the next three weeks before closing out the season with the MAC West opponents again. BSU is 13-4 this season.

The problem with the Cards is that they will need to win the MAC tournament to get a bid to the NCAA tourney. Their current RPI is 108th. They need to be in the top 45 to be in consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

Why did they fall from 90th to 108th over the past week when they won both of their games?

1 - They beat poor competition (EMU ranks 331st, Toledo 323rd in RPI)

2 - Their past and future opponents did not fare well. Butler lost to Wisc-Mil and Morehead State lost to Eastern Kentucky as double-digit favorites. Eastern Illinois and Valporaiso lost games where they were a slight favorite. The EIU game especially hurt because Ball State has played them twice.

3 - A poor conference in general. With conference play in full swing, the MAC is ranked 17th out of the 33 conferences. With the top team Kent State ranked 89th and Miami OH ranked 91st, the competition is not there for BSU to get to where they need to be. With 5 of the top 6 conference teams in the MAC East, BSU only plays them one time while feasting on the West division where the second highest team is ranked 215th.

If BSU wins the rest of their games (excluding the unknown Bracket Buster opponent), they are projected to finish 61st in the RPI, which merits consideration for an at-large bid. But, with a 1-3 record against the Top 100 RPI and a stunning loss to D-2 Alaska-Anchorage, that consideration will be minimal.

The trek begins tonight when the Cards host Morehead State. MSU is one of the tougher teams that BSU will face in their remaining games. Morehead State is 12-8 and is led by Kenneth Faried (17ppg, 14rpg) and Demonte Harper (16ppg). BSU is led by Jarrod Jones (16ppg, 9rpg) and Randy Davis (11ppg, 6apg, 4rpg).

Brownsburg's poor first half finally catches up with them

Since winning the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec 29th, the Brownsburg girls basketball team has struggled in the first half of their games. That did not change on Saturday against Westfield. After starting the game without 2 of their top 3 scorers on the floor, Westfield went to the locker room with a 33-13 lead. The Bulldogs cut the lead to 9 points late in the game, but ended up on the losing side of a 66-53 final.

If you take out the Zionsville game, the Dogs have been outscored by 29 points in the first half of the games since Dec 29th. The Dogs came back to win all but two of those games due to inferior opponents, but it is troubling to see a team that is this good get complacent in the first 16 minutes of play.

There are 4 games left in the regular season: at Beech Grove on Wednesday, home against Fishers on Saturday and home games with Lebanon and Brebeuf on Feb 2nd and 4th. They are heavily favored in these games, but if they don't figure out their first half woes, they could get a scare from these teams. I hope they figure this all out before the tournament begins in 3 weeks.

Brownsburg loses erratic game to McCutcheon

The Brownsburg girls basketball team lost to McCutcheon last night 59-52. Brownsburg had a rough start to the game. McCutcheon led 17-10 late in the first quarter, but a 7-0 run tied the game at 17 at the end of the quarter. The second quarter was much worse as the Dogs were outscored 17-4 and took a 34-21 deficit to the locker room.

The third quarter was the exact opposite of the second quarter as BBurg held McCutcheon to 0-of-10 from the floor in a 19-1 quarter. BBurg led 40-35 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, McCutcheon's top scorer and Indiana State recruit Jessica Valley hit 4 three-pointers and scored 17 of her 26 points in a late surge that led McCutcheon to the win. The Mavs were 7-of-10 in the quarter and hit 5 three-pointers. Valley ended up with 26, Amanda Neill 14, and Lakan Hasser-Smith scored 9 for the Mavs. Brownsburg was led by Stephanie Mavunga with 16 points. Erica Lesch scored 12, Ryne Carr 8, and Morgan Miller 7.

McCutcheon goes to 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference. They play Westfield on the 29th. Westfield is 5-1 in the conference with Fishers, Brownsburg, and McCutcheon remaining. If Westfield can beat Fishers and Brownsburg, the game against McCutcheon on the 29th will be for the HCC title.

Brownsburg falls to 14-3 overall. Their three losses are to teams that have a 41-4 combined record. The Bulldogs play their next three games on the road: at Zionsville Jan 19th, at Westfield Jan 22, and at Beech Grove on Jan 26.

Brownsburg girls basketball team faces another big test tonight

After winning the Hall of Fame Classic and the Hendricks County Tourney, the 4A #6 ranked Brownsburg (14-2) girls basketball team faces another big test when 4A #3 McCutcheon comes to town this evening. McCutcheon is 14-0 this season.

The series between the two teams has been erratic. The road team has won the last 4 games in the series, but both times McCutcheon has won at Brownsburg were the Bullodog teams that were 5-17 and 4-17 respectively.

The Sagarin ratings predict a 2-point win for the Bulldogs. Massey's ratings say the Dogs win 51-48. My own quick ratings say the Dogs win 50-46. Either way it should be a close game. Also, it is usually a physical game between these two teams as it always is when BBurg plays the Lafayette schools. A win by Brownsburg would create a 4-way tie for the conference lead. A loss by the Dogs would eliminate them from the conference title.