Wednesday night on the Sports Voice, WRBI presented the first round of the Boys Ripley County Basketball Tournament from Batesville. The host Bulldogs knocked off defending champion South Ripley while Jac-Cen-Del fended off a good effort by a Milan team still in search of its first win.
In game one, Batesville got off to a fast start and led 14-8 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 in the second stanza before settling on a 30-21 advantage at the half.
Thomas Raver’s 12 points helped BHS to a nine-point edge. Teammate Cole Werner followed with seven.
Nick Schwarte did most of the damage for the Raiders with 15 points which included a trio of trifectas for nine.
Batesville outrebounded Ripley 14-7 over the first 16 minutes.
The home Dogs upped their lead to 15 by the end of the third, 40-25. The Raiders made only one field goal during that eight-minute session.
Batesville continued to rebound well in the second half and finished off the night with a 52-34 victory. The closing rebound total was 27-15 Canines.
Nick Schwarte tallied a game-high 21 points for the Raiders. Batesville saw Thomas Raver post 16, Cade Kaiser net 10 and Cole Werner put in nine.
In game two Jac-Cen-Del was challenged by underdog Milan.
Jac’s biggest lead of the first half came at the end of the first quarter, 22-13. The period closed on a 30-footer by the Eagles Wyatt Day.
Milan trimmed the deficit to three late in the second frame but JCD still held a 36-31 advantage at the break. The biggest reason the Osgood boys were in front at intermission was a 13-3 edge in offensive boards.
Day led all scorers after two with nine points. Eagle teammate Matt Dickman scored seven. For Milan, Caiden Yorn and Ben Riehle put up a pair of eights.
The Indians continued to challenge the statistical tournament favorites and pulled to within seven by the end of the third, 49-42. But Jac-Cen-Del stepped back on the gas in the fourth and won by a dozen, 65-53.
Leading scorers for the victors were Wyatt Day with 16 and Caleb Simon with 15. Ryan Wilson tossed in nine while Justin Swinney and Devin Grieshop netted eight each.
On the Tribe side, Ben Riehle led the floor with 17, Caiden Yorn turned in eight and Kohen Rinear added seven.
South Ripley and Milan will meet in Saturday’s consolation game at 6 pm. Then following the first contest and the Ripley County Hall of Fame ceremony, Batesville will battle Jac-Cen-Del for the tournament’s 98th crown.
The Dogs are shooting for their 11th championship in the coach Aaron Garrett era but first since 2019. The Eagles and coach Clint Bohman are trying to end the longest title drought among the four schools. Jac-Cen-Del last won in 2007.
You can follow the girls final two games Friday from Jac-Cen-Del and the boys final two games Saturday from Batesville on 103.9 WRBI each night starting at 5:45 pm.
We thank Batesville AD Bryan Helvie for the accommodations and hospitality along with coaches Tyler Theising, Aaron Garrett, Clint Bohman and Randy Combs for their information.