(Batesville, IN) — Kamryn Holcomb scored a game-high 21 points, including a dagger three-pointer at the halftime buzzer, as the Batesville Bulldogs dispatched the Jennings County Panthers 60-52 Friday night in boys basketball at the Dawg Pound.
The win, played on Senior Night, improved Class 3A No. 10-ranked Batesville to 18-3 on the season. Jennings County dropped to 10-12.
Holcomb’s buzzer-beater off an inbounds play — a wide-open look from the right corner as time expired in the second quarter — capped a wild sequence that swung the momentum decisively in Batesville’s favor. Moments earlier, Jennings County’s Jeremiah Davis had converted a driving layup while being fouled, only to be whistled for a technical foul for taunting. Davis missed the and-one free throw, and Brayden Maple converted both technical foul free throws before Holcomb buried the buzzer-beater, turning what could have been a Jennings County halftime lead into a 25-21 Batesville advantage.
“Welcome to the EIAC sectional, right?” Batesville head coach Aaron Garrett told WRBI’s Rob Lafary and Tom Snape after the game. “It’s going to be an absolute knockdown drag out. That’s a good basketball team. We had to have some tough, tough possessions.”
Maple finished with 15 points and James Hughes added 13 for the Bulldogs, who shot a remarkable 15-of-16 from the free throw line on the night — 94 percent. Trenten Luers chipped in nine points and Braydin Hughes contributed two.
For Jennings County, Jerry Davis led the Panthers with 13 points and Johnny Elkins added 12. Aaron Lewis contributed six points off the bench, as did Ethan Speer. Cash Millspaugh scored five, Hayden Low five, Omar Gonzalez two, Luke Alexander two and Nate Dixon one.
The game was a physical, back-and-forth affair from the opening tip. Jennings County led 12-9 after one quarter, aided by Elkins’ imposing presence in the paint and several offensive rebounds that gave the Panthers second-chance opportunities. Batesville responded with a 16-9 run in the second quarter — including that five-point swing to end the half — to lead 25-21 at intermission.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead as high as nine points in the third quarter behind a pair of and-one conversions from Hughes. But Jennings County refused to fold. A three-pointer by Elkins — the 6-foot-5 senior stretching the floor late in the fourth quarter — pulled the Panthers within one at 47-46 with just under four minutes to play, igniting a tense stretch run.
Maple answered with a three-pointer of his own from the left corner to give Batesville breathing room, and Holcomb then converted a driving layup and later two free throws to seal the outcome. Holcomb was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe on the night.
Garrett was effusive in his praise of Batesville’s four honored seniors — Maple, Luers, Schneider and his son Lincoln Garrett — following the victory.
“I cannot be more proud of these four,” the coach said, “because nobody thought we’d have this kind of season coming into the season. Nobody. We graduated Cade. We’re smaller, but these dudes just play so hard together, for each other, and it’s a fun game to watch in terms of how their effort and how that ball’s moving.”
Lincoln Garrett, who received a rare start on Senior Night, acknowledged the unique circumstances of his career — watching, waiting and contributing wherever needed as a member of a program his father has led for 18 seasons.
“I truly understand what this program represents and the tradition that comes with being a part of Batesville basketball,” Lincoln Garrett told WRBI after the game, “and the people that came before me and the people that are coming after me.”
Maple, a co-captain and senior, said the team’s composure in tight moments has come from countless hours of shared experience.
“We’ve played a lot together throughout the years,” Maple said, “and you throw James and Cameron in there who’ve played a lot of basketball, and I feel like we just got five guys on the floor who know the game at all times.”
On the Jennings County side, first-year head coach Travis Wrightsman — who won three sectional titles at South Ripley over 10 seasons and a sectional crown at Switzerland County in 2023-24 before taking over in North Vernon — saw his team battle Batesville nearly even through three quarters before the Bulldogs pulled away in the final minutes. The Panthers entered the night having defeated then-ranked Brownstown Central earlier in the week.
The two teams could meet again in just two weeks. Both Batesville and Jennings County are slated to compete in Class 3A Sectional 29 at South Dearborn, where the draw — to be released Sunday evening on WRBI — will determine whether this rematch materializes sooner than either coach might prefer to show their hand.
Garrett, for his part, acknowledged the mutual benefit of the regular-season meeting.
“This is almost a trial run,” he said before the game. “If we do see them in the sectional, I’m sure Coach Wrightsman feels the same way. We evaluate on film what worked, what didn’t work, and then get more of a game plan ready if they’re on our tournament path.”
Jennings County won the JV contest 65-49 — just the second JV loss of the season for Batesville.
The Bulldogs close out the regular season Thursday, Feb. 26, on the road at Shelbyville. Coverage begins at around 7:15 p.m. on 103.9 FM and the WRBI App.
