Raider boys cruise past Indians

Class 2A No. 5 South Ripley went on a 16-9 first quarter run and never looked back last Wednesday night, downing Milan 75-47 in the opening round of the Ripley County Boys Basketball Tournament hosted by the Raiders.

It will be South Ripley’s third-straight appearance in the county championship game. The Raiders are looking for their first title since 2021.

The first three quarters decided and ultimately solidified Milan’s fate. After being the victim of that opening frame run, South Ripley would continue to impose its will on the black and gold, ending the first half on a 24-7 run and then countering a 17-point effort by the Indians in the third quarter with 33 points to take a 73-33 lead and force a running clock the remainder of the evening.

Inside such dominance by the Versailles crew was a record-setting night for senior Cole Henry who became the school’s all-time leader in career rebounds, a mark that had not been sniffed for 54 years. With his 542nd career board, Henry broke the mark of 541 set by 1970 South Ripley graduate Chris Smith, a member of the historic 1969-1970 Raider team that went undefeated in the regular season en route to single-class sectional and regional championships.

Henry finished his night leading all scorers with 21 points and pushed his career rebounding total to 550, helping lead South Ripley to its first 11-0 start since that 1969-70 championship squad.

Blaine Ward was the second of four Raider players to score in double figures against Milan. Ward finished with 15 points and was followed by junior Bryson Sipples who went off for all 11 of his points in the third quarter. Drew Volz scored his 10 points in the first half. Chancie Volz and Blake Gunter were close behind with eight points and six points respectively.

Micah Norman paced the Indians with 19 points which included 15 points in the second half. John McKeown ended up with 10 points -eight points in the third quarter- and Ethan Clark sat at eight points.

South Ripley is set to host Batesville tonight for the county title at 8 p.m. Milan (4-4) is now set for a doubleheader on the road this weekend, facing Rising Sun on Friday and Triton Central on Saturday.

RIPLEY CO. TOURNAMENT BOYS OPENING ROUND
at South Ripley

CLASS 2A NO. 5 SOUTH RIPLEY 75, MILAN 47

MILAN – 9. 7. 17. 14. – 47
SR – 16. 24. 33. 2. – 75

MILAN (4-4) – Micah Norman 19, John McKeown 10, Ethan Clark 8, Jack Voss 5, Ben Knowlton 3, Josh Pettit 2, Wayd Rohrig 0.

SR (11-0) – Cole Henry 21, Blaine Ward 15, Bryson Sipples 11, Drew Volz 10, Chancie Volz 8, Blake Gunter 6, Eli Gilpin 4, Landon Werner 0, Dylan Jessee 0, Mason Bascom 0.

3-Point Goals – Milan 5 (McKeown 2, Voss 1, Knowlton 1, Norman 1), SR 4 (Sipples 3, Ward 1). Total Fouls – Milan 8, SR 8. Free Throws – Milan 8-8, SR 9-14. Fouled Out – None.