Henry’s record night leads SR over Milan

All-time leading rebounder? Check. All-time leading scorer? Almost there. How did Cole Henry get closer to that second mark? By setting South Ripley’s single-game scoring record on Friday night as the Class 2A No. 3 Raiders overwhelmed host Milan 96-59 in an Ohio River Valley Conference game.

The victory also gave South Ripley possession of the Ripley Publishing Pride Trophy for the first time this season. Both Raider basketball programs now hold the trophies.

2025 marks 30 years since newly-inducted Ripley County Basketball Hall of Fame member Kris Cranfill set program records of 45 points and 17 field goals in a 93-67 drubbing of Switzerland County on November 10, 1995. On Friday night Henry erased both records, using a breakaway layup late in the 4th quarter to break the mark with 46 points and also setting the single-game record for field goals made in a game with 20.

Henry scored 18 points in the final period and had 27 points total in the second half alone. He becomes just the fifth player in program history to tally 40 points or more in a game joining Cranfill, Kendall Sheets (40 points in 1992), Tom Linkmeyer (41 points in 1980) and Steve Allen (40 points in 1977).

He now sits less than 50 points away from breaking the program’s career scoring record of 1,429 points set by Cody Samples in 2021.

As for the game itself, it was a rather impressive display of offense from all of South Ripley’s squad who scored 90-plus points in a game for the first time since 2021. The Raiders were actually tied 13-13 with Milan after the first quarter but the rest of the night saw the Indians only watch as the green and white erupted for 83 points in the final three quarters. That included runs of 27-16 and 28-12 in the second half.

Of course Henry’s evening was a memorable one but it’s also worth noting the performance of senior teammate Blaine Ward who went off for 17 points in the second half and finished with a stat line that read 26 points, seven assists, seven steals and five rebounds. Five other Raiders hit the score column in the win, led by Drew Volz’s seven points.

Any other night you would see Milan’s side of the scorebook and think it was a win given the fact the team had four players score in double figures. Micah Norman scored 15 points in the first half and finished leading his group with 19 points and Jackson Voss followed with 14 points. Ethan Clark totaled 11 points and John McKeown pieced together 10 points.

Milan (5-6, 0-1 ORVC) is home on Wednesday night against county rival Jac-Cen-Del in a conference battle before back-to-back ORVC tilts this weekend at Southwestern (Hanover) on Friday and home on Saturday against Switzerland County.

South Ripley (15-0, 3-0 ORVC) goes to the Spartan Bowl on Friday to face Connersville and then is home on Saturday against Lawrenceburg.

FRIDAY’S BOYS BASKETBALL GAME at Milan
CLASS 2A NO. 3 SOUTH RIPLEY 96, MILAN 59
SR – 13. 28. 27. 28. – 96
M – 13. 18. 16. 12. – 59

SR (15-0, 3-0 ORVC) – Cole Henry 46, Blaine Ward 26, Drew Volz 7, Eli Gilpin 6, Landon Werner 5, Bryson Sipples 4, Blake Gunter 2, Chancie Volz 0.

MILAN (5-6, 0-1 ORVC) – Micah Norman 19, Jackson Voss 14, Ethan Clark 11, John McKeown 10, Ben Knowlton 5, Josh Pettit 0, Levi Pierce 0, Wayd Rohrig 0.

3-Point Goals – SR 6 (Henry 2, Gilpin 2, Ward 1, Werner 1), Milan 7 (Voss 3, Knowlton 2, Norman 1, Clark 1). Total Fouls – SR 13, Milan 15. Free Throws – SR 12-18, Milan 6-15. Fouled Out – None.