On night number one of the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament, North Decatur fought off the Indians of Milan to win 57-50 at 2A Sectional 44 hosted by South Ripley.
As heard Tuesday on WRBI, the Chargers held a 15-14 lead after the first quarter and a 23-21 edge at halftime.
During the first 16 minutes, North’s Kaden Muckerheide and Lance Nobbe both had nine points. Milan’s Ben Riehle scored seven and teammate Caiden Yorn put in six. The team stats were just as close as the intermission score indicated.
The Charger advantage reached 10 in period three but the Indians cut the deficit to 43-36 at the stop It became a three-point game in the fourth quarter with 20 seconds to go on a Riehle triple. But Muckerheide went to the line twice in the final few possessions and made four big free throws to help ND secure the seven-point victory.
Muckerheide actually hit his final seven freebies in the fourth frame and finished with a game-high 25 points. Nobbe followed with 14 and Blake Spears tallied 12. Xavier Adams was a major factor for the Chargers both defensively and on the glass.
Milan got a dozen points each from Riehle and Yorn. Kohen Rinear and MJ Hartman netted nine apiece.
Shooting stats from the field were nearly identical. North Decatur made one more deuce than Milan on 41 total field goal attempts each. The Chargers outscored the Indians at the line by five (ND 16-of-25, Milan 11-of-17). ND finished with a marginal edge on the glass (+2) and turnovers (-2).
Milan’s season ends at 3-18. North is now 13-10 and advances with its seventh-straight victory. The Chargers will play defending champion Triton Central (11-11) on Friday around 7:30 pm.