Bulldogs emerge as sectional champions

By no means was it an easy road once the weekend hit but two major foes went down in succession and the Batesville Bulldogs by Saturday night were on top of Class 3A Sectional 29 once again, claiming their second sectional crown in three years after beating host South Dearborn 48-38 in the title tilt.

Batesville, who also won in 2024, has now won 33 sectional championships in program history. It was the fourth crown for Bulldog head coach Aaron Garrett in his 18 years at the helm.

Needing to come back from 16 points down in the regular season to knock off South Dearborn, Batesville once again had to come from behind but this time around doing so after just one quarter of play. Trailing 13-7 after the first period, the Bulldogs embarked on a 17-2 run in the final eight minutes prior to halftime and never relinquished their advantage the rest of the way.

While South Dearborn (18-6) did make a comeback attempt and trailed by just two possessions heading down the final stretch of the game, Batesville put up timely buckets and did so numerous times in the fourth quarter to thwart each Knight run.

Much of Batesville’s attack came on the defensive end where the blue and white were able to combat a physical, slashing South Dearborn offense and limited it to just a 31 percent shooting night from the field. Tyler Christian scored 14 points for the Knights, Scout Gray put up 12 points and Wyatt Adams had 10 points but that trio was just 14-of-38 from the field.

Batesville shot 50 percent from two-point range which aided in a low-scoring affair. James Hughes and Brayden Maple each posted team-high honors of 13 points and Trenten Luers put in 11 points. Hughes also recorded six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Bulldogs earned a title berth after surviving rival Greensburg 59-54 in Friday night’s semifinal round, marking the first time Batesville has defeated the Pirates three times in one season since the 2007-2008 campaign.

An 11-2 third quarter run had Batesville leading by 11 points but Greensburg (12-14) stormed back in the fourth quarter with 24 points which made the game awfully interesting down the stretch. The Bulldogs used clutch free throw shooting to respond with 18 points of their own and the defense withstood in the waning time to hold off a furious charge.

What also helped was Batesville’s 17 points off of 17 Greensburg turnovers. Four Bulldogs recorded at least one steal in the game and the Pirates were never able to put together a consistent offense much of the night. Ethan Smith tallied 19 points and Jacoby Miller had 17 points but were just 11-of-26 together from the field.

Four players scored in double figures for Batesville with James Hughes leading at 19 points. Holcomb and Ethan Schneider followed at 16 points and 11 points respectively while Maple put in 10 points. Hughes and Holcomb each had five rebounds and Luers dished out a team-high eight assists.

Batesville (20-4) heads to Charlestown on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the single-game Class 3A Regional Championship. The Bulldogs will get the daunting task of dealing with No. 1 ranked Silver Creek (27-1) who beat Charlestown 83-58 in the Sectional 30 Championship at Madison.

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 29 CHAMPIONSHIP
at South Dearborn
CLASS 3A NO. 13 BATESVILLE 48,
SOUTH DEARBORN 38

BV – 7. 17. 10. 14. – 48
SD – 13. 2. 10. 13. – 38

BATESVILLE (20-4) – James Hughes 13, Brayden Maple 13, Trenten Luers 11, Kamryn Holcomb 4, Braydin Hughes 4, Ethan Schneider 3.

SOUTH DEARBORN (18-6) – Tyler Christian 14, Scout Gray 12, Wyatt Adams 10, Mason Lane 2, Ben Shorten 0, Elliot Meek 0, Mason Hamlett 0.

3-Point Goals – BV 5 (Luers 3, J.Hughes 2), SD 2 (Gray 2). Total Fouls – BV 11, SD 14. Free Throws – BV 7-10, SD 6-9. Fouled Out – None.

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CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 29 SEMIFINALS
at South Dearborn
CLASS 3A NO. 13 BATESVILLE 59,
GREENSBURG 54

BV – 17. 13. 11. 18. – 59
GB – 14. 14. 2. 24. – 54

BATESVILLE (19-4) – James Hughes 19, Kamryn Holcomb 16, Ethan Schneider 11, Brayden Maple 10, Trenten Luers 3, Braydin Hughes 0.

GREENSBURG (12-14) – Ethan Smith 19, Jacoby Miller 17, Max Buening 9, Logan Simpson 9, Zayden Miller 0, Hayden Ramsey 0, Jonah Hellmich 0.

3-Point Goals – BV 7 (Holcomb 3, Maple 2, J.Hughes 1, Schneider 1), GB 6 (Smith 3, J.Miller 1, Buening 1, Simpson 1). Total Fouls – BV 13, GB 14. Free Throws – BV 10-14, GB 10-17. Fouled Out – GB: Smith.