Washington, IND – It took all 32 minutes to get it done, but North Daviess wins second straight Regional Championship over a very game Gibson Southern squad 48-44. This was Southern Indiana basketball at its finest. The game was fast and physical, the Hatchet House was on fire, and both teams were determined not to lose.
Here’s how it all went down…
Gibson Southern came into tonight’s contest on a 5 game winning streak and had won 8 out of their last 10 after dropping their first 6 games of the year. They caught fire at the end of the season and into the playoffs and it did not stop tonight. The Titans came out of the gate shooting lights out, led by 6’0 senior guard Jaxun Lamb who knocked in 3 of his 5 3’s on the night in the first half. North Daviess played a match up zone for most of the game and the Titans exploited this early and got some great looks from deep.
North Daviess, however, did all their damage from inside the 3 point line. Jaylen Mullen and Lance Wilson sliced and diced their way through the Titan’s D and got some great shots at the rim. This pair of seniors almost single-handedly kept the Cougars offense going in the beginning scoring 13 of their team’s 19 in the first half. North Daviess would trail by 1 heading into the break 20-19
The second half was just as close and tightly contested as the first. Both teams went back and forth, but it was North Daviess senior guard Jaylen Mullen who took the game into his hands scoring 9 of his team’s 15 points in the third quarter. Mullen is one of those special kind of players that can take over a game when his team needs him to. He consistently got to the hoop and would either finish at the rim or draw the foul and convert at the line. All 5 of Jaylen’s free throw attempts for the game came in the third and he knocked in every single one of them.
Best leader I’ve ever had, best player I’ve ever had. He’s unbelievable, he keeps it steady and always controls the tempo how we need it.
North Daviess Head Coach Brent Dalrymple speaking on Jaylen Mullen
Not to be out-done however, Gibson Southern would have the answer. Senior guards Cole McKee and Jaxun Lamb would come up with big shot after big shot and at the end of 3, we were all tied up at 34.
North Daviess would gain control in the fourth, but Gibson Southern continued to keep it interesting. The Cougars would finally retake the lead on a slick Jaylen Mullen and 1 late in the quarter. The Cougars would then slow the ball down and interestingly enough, the Titans were content to let North Daviess run almost 2 minutes off the clock. Gibson Southern just sat back in their defense, rarely pressuring the ball, allowing North Daviess to drain that clock. It became a game of free throws after that and North Daviess hit almost every one of them. Cougars’ Lance and Logan Wilson would show great poise hitting 5 of their 6 combined free throws to ice the game for the Cougars and propel them to their second straight Regional Championship and a spot in next weekend’s Semi-State.
For all the sights of this epic Regional Championship please click here
As always thank you for reading and please like, comment, and share on social media. Stay tuned for our latest podcast detailing all the semi-state match-ups at the conclusion of the IHSAA pairings show Sunday afternoon.
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