Tag Archives: basketball

Blake Dykes, Boys Basketball, News, Sports

Tonight’s basketball game helps community fight cancer

Leave a comment

By Luke Geraghty and Blake Dykes

Tonight’s boys’ basketball game against Jennings County will be a Coaches vs. Cancer theme. Every student who dresses up in formal attire and wears tennis shoes will get into the game for free. Boice.net will donate $5 to every student who dresses accordingly. There will also be auction items donated by Coca-Cola, the Hartog family, and Todd Sharp from University of Louisville. The money will go to the American Cancer Society.

Athletic director Jeff Cerqueira said tonight’s game really emphasizes community involvement.

“We will be passing buckets around during the third quarter,” he said. “Anyone who wants to write a check can go online to cancer.org/coaches.”

Coaches vs. Cancer has been popular among the college level. Some of the most premiere teams square off at Madison Square Garden during the invitational.

“It started at college and it has trickled down to the high school level,” Cerqueira said.

Although this is the first year Coaches vs. Cancer is being held, the plan to Cerqueira is to make it every year.

“The plan is to have it every year and hopefully build on it so it can become a school/community project.”

Boys Basketball, Sports

Highlanders prepare to face New Albany Friday; court to be named for former coach Joe Hinton

Leave a comment

by Ty Elliott

Friday night the 2-0 Highlanders boys’ basketball team will take on the 0-1 New Albany Bulldogs at FC in a rivalry of Floyd County schools. While the game will be between two fierce rivals and Hoosier Hills Conference foes, a special tribute will be made to former FC basketball coach Joe Hinton.

Hinton, who was coach for the boys’ program from its inception in 1967 until 1998, will have the floor named after him. For the Highlanders to beat the Bulldogs, who have dominated the series in the last few seasons, head coach Randy Gianfagna said his team must be ready to handle full court pressure.

“New Albany will press us and they will try to take us off the dribble,” said Gianfagna.

Both teams have new additions or upperclassmen stepping into new roles. New Albany received two talented transfers, AJ and Blake Schmidt, who previously attended Providence High School. AJ is a sharp shooting guard who can score at will and is capable of taking defenders off the bounce, while twin brother Blake is solid player in his own right. While AJ, who is receiving interest from Division One schools, gets all the attention, it is his brother Blake who always seems to make a key play in the game.

For the Highlanders, senior Nick Bombersbach has become a key part to their offensive attack. Bombersbach, who played sparingly last season, had a career high 26 points while hitting six three pointers in their win against Silver Creek. The Highlanders victory over Silver Creek gave FC their first 2-0 start since 1998.

The Highlanders’ next game after Friday night’s clash with the Bulldogs will be Friday, Dec. 16 against the Columbus East Olympians.

Girls Basketball, Sports

Girls’ basketball team loses to Madison

Leave a comment

By Luke Geraghty

It was a cold, rainy Tuesday night as both the Lady Highlanders and the Madison Lady Cubs scorched the FC gymnasium with solid shooting. However, the Cubs’ seven three pointers were too much as they pulled away from FC 86-63.
The Cubs jumped out to a big lead early and by the end of the first quarter they had a 23-11 lead thanks to senior guard Kelsey Block, who hit four early three point shots.
In the second quarter, FC slowly started making a rally halfway through. With just over three minutes left in the second quarter, sophomore Riley Kaiser drew a fundamentally sound charge, which helped get the crowd back in the game. The Cubs would keep the lead at halftime though, 43-33.
“I thought we played decent tonight, maybe a C+. There way way too many turnovers early on but they did a good job overcoming them to rally back,” said junior Lucas Corley.
FC started the second half on a mini 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-37. Halfway through the third quarter, Kaiser had an opportunity for a three point play after being fouled and making a crucial basket. This appeared to be another game changing moment as FC cut the Madison lead down to 53-48. Madison would score two points to close out the quarter and the Cubs would take a 55-48 lead.
Madison jumped out to a 69-55 lead in the fourth quarter until senior Kelsey Smith had another “and one” after making a basket while taking contact. The lead was cut down to 69-58, but it was all Cubs the rest of the way. Block hit two more threes to help seal the win for the Cubs. Block finished with 20 points and six three pointers. The Cubs went 7-12 from three-point range while FC went 0-5. Both teams went to the foul line over 30 times. FC went 23-32 at the free throw line while the Cubs were 25-37. Corley talked about what the team needs to improve for the future.
The JV Highlanders defeated Madison 48-32 Tuesday night.
The loss put FC 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in the HHC. Their next game will be Saturday against Southwestern at 6 p.m. for junior varsity and 7:30 for varsity.

Sports

Geraghty’s Best Games of 2011

Leave a comment

By Luke Geraghty

Watching sports is one of my favorite past times. Over the 2011 year, I have watched many nail-biting games that kept me on the edge of my seat. From basketball to soccer, I have watched great games in almost every major sport. However, I managed to cut the list of games to the three. Here’s the rundown:

#3: Notre Dame at Michigan Football (September)

This game comes in at number three because of the great rivalry the two teams have, the great uniforms that were worn, the fact it was the first night game ever at Michigan Stadium, and, of course, the fact that it was a killer game.

In this game, Notre Dame took control of the game after the first three quarters, 24-7. It looked like the Irish were going to bounce back after their disappointing week one loss to South Florida. However, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson would take control of the game and would help lead the Wolverines to a 28-24 lead with 1:12 left in the game.

The Irish fans were left stunned until QB Theo Riddick fired a 29-yard TD pass to give the Irish a 31-28 lead. It looked all but over for the home team until Robinson through a long pass which put Michigan in scoring position with only seconds to play. Rather than trying to kick the game tying field goal, Michigan opted to throw the ball to the endzone and the end result was a 16 yard TD pass by Robinson to receiver Roy Roundtree with only two seconds left. The game left the 100,000+ fans into pure pandemonium and the viewers in shock as to what just happened.

Final Score: Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31

#2:FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarterfinal: USA vs Brazil (July)

The fact that I’m not a huge soccer fan shows just how great of a game this was. With all of the stars playing on both teams, it was hard to believe that these two teams were playing in just the quarterfinals. In the game, the U.S. scored in just the second minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead.

It appeared the game would be a shootout, but the defenses dominated the next 65 minutes and the score remained 1-0. Then, Brazil tied the game with a goal by their star, Marta. This wouldn’t be the last of her goals. The U.S. had some chances to score again late, but Brazil’s defense held them and the two teams would play in extra time.

In extra time Brazil stunned the U.S. after Marta scored her second goal in just the second minute of extra time. Brazil took a 2-1 lead. The U.S. team became desperate to try and get the game-tying goal, but Brazil’s defense wouldn’t budge. Finally, right before the extra time ran out, Abby Wambach fired a head shot from Megan Rapinoe and into the goal. U.S. fans went crazy while the Brazil fans were in shock.

The match was like a roller coaster ride and it would get only crazier once the penalty kicks started. The U.S. would eventually win in penalty kicks 5-3 in what has been described as maybe the greatest FIFA women’s soccer match ever.

Final Score: USA 2 (5) Brazil 2 (3)

#1: Marquette at Louisville Basketball (January)

It was all over. The hometown Cards were all but done. An 18-point deficit with under seven minutes to play looked out of reach. Everyone thought it was over, except for the U of L team.

Marquette had a 65-47 until Preston Knowles and of all players, Stephan Van Treese, helped cut Marquette’s lead down to 65-54. The fans at the Yum! Center started to have hope that their team could come back, but U of L still had a lot of work to do. After getting a big stop, Knowles came back down the floor and hit  a three to cut the lead down to 8. Knowles would hit two more three pointers which cut the lead down to 67-65.

Down the stretch, Louisville forward Terrence Jennings (who has always be known to struggle with his free throws) hit four out of four free throws and with not a lot of time left in the game, Louisville still trailed 70-69. Coming off a timeout, the Cardinals gave the ball to Knowles. Everyone at the Yum! Center thought the senior would take the final shot. However, Knowles fired a pass to a wide-open Kyle Kuric. Kuric made the shot right underneath the basket and the Cardinals would take the lead by 1. The sea of red in the stands went crazy, but still the Cardinals needed one last stop to pull of a miracle comeback.

Marquette drove the length of the floor but the shot by Jimmy Butler would be too short and U of L would get the win. This stunning comeback would soon be named “The Miracle on Main Street.”

Final Score: Louisville 71, Marquette 70

The year of 2011 has been a great year for sports. These three games certainly were not the only thrilling ones this year. If 2011 is only an appetizer for the games coming in 2012, then it should be another fun of year sports for all sports’ fans.

Boys Basketball, Sports

Bagpiper sports writer makes NCAA predictions

Leave a comment

By Luke Geraghty

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No I’m not talking about Christmas; I’m
talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Each year this event brings upsets, tons
of excitement, and occasionally some game winning shots. This year should be the most
exciting, given the fact that there are now 68 teams instead of the typical 65.
Last year, Duke won a thrilling National Championship after defeating a
surprising Butler team which had a number five seed. Experts have said that some of the
top seeds this year are weaker then some of the ones in the past, which means this year
could bring out more surprises. So with that said, it’s time to pick apart the bracket and
break down every region.
In the East region, the top seed is Ohio State. Led by Freshman Jared Sullinger,
the Buckeyes have tasted defeat only twice. Some of the other teams that stand out in the
region are North Carolina, Syracuse, and Kentucky. North Carolina had been playing
lights out up until getting blown out by arch-rival Duke in the ACC Championship.
Syracuse and Kentucky both seem to playing their best basketball of the season right
now. In my mind, the East region is the toughest region. I have the four teams as
mentioned all playing in the sweet 16. Ohio State has an advantage inside, so I’ll take
them over Kentucky. Syracuse and North Carolina will be another great game. Both
teams always play hard, but I think Orange will squeeze out a tight win. This brings up a
showdown between Ohio State and Syracuse. I’ll take Ohio State because of their solid
outside shooting.

East champion: Ohio State

The West Region is headlined by the defending champion Duke. Even without
their star freshman Kylie Irving, the Blue Devils are still a legitimate threat to take the title again. However, Kemba Walker and the Connecticut Huskies will be standing in their way. The Huskies are coming fresh off a Big East championship in which they won five games in five days. Four of those wins were against ranked teams. Don’t sleep on San Diego State, though. They have had the best regular season in school history. Some upsets I have in the first round include 13th-seeded Oakland over Texas and tenth-seeded Penn
State to keep up its momentum with a win over Temple. In the end, I have Duke and Connecticut both making a run to the Elite 8. The Huskies will finally run out of gas and Duke will get the win.

West Champion: Duke

Kansas is the number one seed in the Southwest Region. Last season as the top overall seed, the Jayhawks were upset in the second round. This year they are looking to rebound. The number two seed in the region is Notre Dame. The Irish are led by a talented senior class that includes Big East Player of the Year Ben Hansborough. After making a run in the Big East tournament, Louisville finds itself as a number four seed. Their run and gun approach could give teams trouble in the tournament. I believe Purdue will also join those teams in the Sweet 16 despite the fact they are on a two-game losing streak. In the end, Kansas and Notre Dame will both head to the Elite Eight and Kansas’s balance will send them to the Final Four.

Southwest Champion: Kansas

The Southeast Region appears to be the weakest region. It is led by Pittsburgh, who is coming off an early exit in the Big East conference tournament. Assuming they win their first game, they will have tough test against Butler and Old Dominion. Florida is the number two seed, although some people believe they don’t deserve it. If they win, they will have a tough time stopping Michigan State. Despite their disappointing season, the Spartans always seem to be threat in the NCAA Tournament. The number three seed is BYU, which is led by Player of the Year candidate Jimmer Fredette. The number four seed is Wisconsin. The Badgers don’t score a lot of points, but they seem to give some of the big teams trouble. In my sweet 16, I have Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, BYU, and my surprise pick, Michigan State. In the end, Wisconsin and Michigan State will each pull off an upset. In the end, Wisconsin wins a hard-fought game that sends them to the Final Four.

Southeast Champion: Wisconsin

My Final Four features three one seeds. The Duke-Ohio State game will be a highly competitive game that will go down to the wire. I think Duke’s experience will send them to the National Championship. In the second game, Kansas matches up against Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s great run will come to an end, as Kansas wins. The National Championship game features to of the best college basketball programs in the country. It will be a battle, but Kansas’s balance will help them yet again.

National Champion: Kansas