The 7th grade Batesville Middle School Boys Basketball team opened up their season by bringing home a championship from the South Ripley Invitational Tournament.
Batesville scored the first 10 points of its first-round game against Jac-Cen-Del and the team would go on to win 45-13. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Rowan Maple with 12 points, Mason Tekulve with 6 points, Miles Lawrence with 5 points, Evan Bower and Isaiah Hernandez with 4 points each and Noah Martin and Kiyaan Patel with 3 points each. Paul Fullenkamp, Oliver Johnson, Charlie Deal and Colton Cox put in two points apiece.
In the championship game, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to start and overwhelmed the Greensburg Pirates by a 44-16 final score. Greensburg was held to no points through the four-minute mark of the second quarter. Leading the way for Batesville was Cristiano Barajas and Lawrence with 8 points each, Maple with 7 points, Tekulve with 5 points, Bower and Johnson with 4 points each and Cox with 3 points, Evan Greene and Hernandez totaled two points apiece and Patel rounded out scoring at one point.
Batesville (2-0) plays four games this coming Saturday as part of the South Dearborn Tip-Off Tournament. The Bulldogs open with a matchup against Connersville.