Edinburgh head coach Keith Witty talks to his team before Friday night’s game against South Decatur.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
Friday was a big night for Class A No. 4 Edinburgh in more than one way.
First off, the Lancers took care of business by beating Mid-Hoosier Conference foe South Decatur 100-73, marking the first time Edinburgh has scored 100 since totaling 102 on Dec. 16, 2011 against Hauser. That season, the Lancers made the Final Four.
Coincidence?
Not lost in the excitement was the Lancers (18-2, 6-0) winning their first outright conference championship since that greatest of Lancers seasons. This win also gave Edinburgh a big measure of revenge, as it was the Cougars who denied it an outright title last season.
It was the third straight win for the Lancers and keeps feeding them total confidence heading into tonight’s showcase home game against third-ranked North Daviess.
Edinburgh coach Keith Witty wanted to enjoy this win first while checking off another one of this year’s goals.
“We did everything well (tonight),” Witty said. “Shooting, defense, rebounding. Just a total team effort and it was nice to win (the title) at home with a great crowd.
“This was like a sectional atmosphere.”
Edinburgh’s M.O. this season (disregarding its one-point double-overtime win over West Washington last month) has been winning big, bigger and now biggest.
The Lancers did it Friday against one of the state’s leading scorers, Hunter Johnson (33.4 ppg).
Johnson didn’t disappoint, scoring 30 points, but Edinburgh had plenty of balance to neutralize the remaining Cougars.
The Lancers jumped out to a 29-9 lead, during a first quarter in which they held the Cougars without a field goal until the 2:29 mark.
South Decatur did close the gap to seven thanks to Johnson, but Edinburgh’s team play countered Jones and at halftime the lead was back up to 47-30.
The Lancers then began to roll.
It was a 32-point third quarter that gave Edinburgh and its fans hope for cracking the century mark. That became reality when junior Jarrett Turner hit a layup with two minutes to go for the honors.
Edinburgh managed to hit 100 despite a very aggressive press from the Cougars, which could have disrupted the Lancers.
Credit Witty’s game plan and the Lancers for not forcing the ball or panicking, especially when Johnson started getting help from at least one teammate — sophomore Jacob Scruggs.
“We needed a statement win,” Witty said. “I’m proud of the guys for sticking it through to the end.”
Joining Johnson in leading the Cougars was Scruggs with 25 points — 23 of those in the second half.
Meanwhile, all five of Edinburgh’s starters hit double digits. Caleb Dewey led the way with 28 points, followed by Turner and Travis Jones, who both had 18.
Dewey was on fire, hitting three consecutive 3-point shots and coolly hitting four straight free throws courtesy of two South Decatur technical fouls.
Riley Palmeter added 17 points for Edinburgh, while Landen Burton chipped in with 10.
