Indians are conference champions
JARED ROGERS PHOTO
Pictured from last week, junior Adam Norman led his team against Shawe on Tuesday night with 17 points, including 10 in the first quarter to help his team to a quick start. Junior Carsyn Ascherman backed up Norman with 16 points.
The Milan Indians finish their 2019-20 regular season with six victories and no losses against Ohio River Valley Conference opponents, earning them conference championship honors for the first time since 2012.
The 6-0 record is a step forward from their 5-1 second place finish last season. Now, Milan heads into the most important time of their season with the confidence of winning both the Ripley County Tournament and ORVC titles this year.
It looked like the Indians would run away with their final game against Shawe Memorial on Tuesday night in Milan. The Indians scored 28 points in the first quarter compared to Shawe’s six, and they went on to lead 47-21 at halftime.
Similar to the match against Jac-Cen-Del last week, however, the Hilltoppers made an impressive third quarter run to make the second half an interesting affair.
The Hilltoppers nailed six three pointers en route to 30 points in the third quarter, which cut the lead from 26 to 13 points. Shawe pulled slightly closer in the fourth quarter, but Milan tightened up their defensive ranks in those final minutes and finished the game ahead 16 points.
Adam Norman led the Indians with 17 points, 10 of which he scored in the opening quarter. Carsyn Ascherman followed closely with 16, balanced at eight apiece for each half. Matt Riehle added 11, and Josh Clark and Peyton Wert each scored 10 to give Milan five players in double-digits.
Rounding out scoring for the home team was Carter Wade with seven, Matt Schmitt with two, and Parker Lewis with two.
As a team, Milan struggled from the free throw line, shooting a dismal 7-18.
Milan has more than a week’s break now before they are set to face North Decatur in Class 2A Sectional 44 on Friday, March 6. Similar to the Indians, the Chargers had a slow start to their season but have since improved considerably.
The two teams met once this year, at North Decatur, where the Chargers won 69-64. North Decatur’s final game of the season is against Rushville this Friday.
