Although the overall margin was much closer, the route and the final result remained the same as Anderson rolled through Pendleton Heights, Liberty Christian and Lapel for the second consecutive year on its way to the Madison County Boys Basketball Tournament championship.
Ahmere Carson led the way for Anderson with 24 points and six assists and Ja’Quan Ingram scored 20 points and electrified the Indians fans with a pair of alley-oop dunks as the Tribe overcame a much-improved Bulldogs team for a 79-60 win Friday evening.
A year ago, Anderson won its three games by a combined 84 points, and while this year’s aggregate margin against the same opponents was less than half of that total, taking its second straight title while playing with a bullseye on its back was just as sweet.
“It’s really special, and it shows how far our program has come since my first year here when we lost in the first round to Liberty Christian,” third-year Anderson coach Donnie Bowling said. “I told the seniors this is their last time around, give it all you have.”
The Bulldogs opened the game in a box-and-one defense with junior Nick Witte chasing Carson, but Anderson’s star senior said the team was ready.
“We had to play harder. We couldn’t underestimate anyone in the county,” Carson said. “We were prepared for everything they were going to do.”
The result was a fast start and a faster finish to the opening quarter that put the Indians in control.
Senior Jaylen Murphy opened the game with a 3-point basket to start a 12-3 run, capped by an Alex Troutman layup. After Matthew Carpenter scored on a layup for Lapel to cut the lead to 15-10, Anderson scored the next nine points on three straight three-point possessions — 3-point baskets by Ingram and Carson and a three-point conversion by Carson.
In the first half, Lapel shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range and started the second half 2-for-4. After the first-quarter blitz, Lapel played the Indians evenly the rest of the way and improved greatly on a 62-31 loss to Anderson in the season opener.
“They blitzed us early, and we could never really get back in the game,” Bulldogs first-year coach Kevin Cherry said. “But I’m proud of the effort and the way our kids fought.”
“I think our athleticism showed,” Bowling added. “I think we’re a good team, and we can be as good as last year’s team. (Lapel) is better, and Coach Cherry has done a really great job.”
Anderson scored 25 points off 15 Lapel turnovers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.
Anderson (7-3) extended its own record with its eighth county championship, with the last three — 2014, 2022, and 2023 — coming at the expense of the Bulldogs.
Lapel (5-8) was in the final for the sixth time with its lone championship coming during its 2016 state title campaign.
Damien King added 13 points and matched Ingram for the team lead with four rebounds for Anderson.
Lapel was led by Nick Witte and Bode Judge with 12 points while Brode Judge scored 12 points with seven rebounds and Jaden Cash added 10 for the Bulldogs. Gabe Simons had five assists for Lapel.
Both finalists return to action Friday as Anderson will resume defense of its North Central Conference championship when it travels to Lafayette Jeff while Lapel will host Hamilton Heights.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.