For the Daily Journal
Indian Creek sputtered at first, but found its rhythm and came away with an easy 66-45 win against winless Indianapolis Herron on Friday night.
But the win may have been costly as starting senior forward Bryce Hogue, who has been an integral part of the Braves’ success this season, went out of the game late in the second quarter with a left arm injury.
The severity of the injury hadn’t been determined by press time, but Hogue, trying to make a defensive play under the basket, lost his footing and came down hard on his arm.
He was down for several minutes but was assisted off the court.
“It’s not good, but we don’t think it’s serious,” Indian Creek coach Derek Perry said. “We won’t have him (today), and we’re going to monitor him on Monday and see how his arm is. The main thing is we want him healthy and ready for the sectionals, so if he has to sit the last five games, that’s fine — but I hope not.”
Hogue had nine points when he went down.
The win, which improved the Braves to 11-7, was a welcome result, the loss of Hogue not withstanding.
For Herron (0-17), a rough season continued to get rougher. The Achaeans dropped their 19th straight game dating back to last season.
During the pregame warmups, the Braves wore shirts honoring the Trafalgar Red Birds, and during the game they sported Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson jerseys, a nod to the former schools that now make up Indian Creek.
Perry said it wasn’t hard to prepare the Braves against a winless foe, but it might have been natural for Indian Creek to underestimate the Achaeans.
The main thing was both coach and team did not want to be the first victims of Herron.
“We didn’t discuss their record at all,” Perry said. “And they don’t play any cupcakes, either. They play a very hard schedule and played well.”
That was evident as the Braves had trouble hitting the basket early and held a 15-6 first quarter lead. The lead expanded though quickly thanks to sharp shooting by senior Tim Abel and junior Jared DeHart, who finished with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
Herron was led by Ty Oldham with 13 points.
Indian Creek won’t have much time to savor this win, as they turn right back around for a rare Saturday morning game against Culver Academy at the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown.
