By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
SOUTHPORT – Class 3A No. 6 Washington scored the most resounding upset of the semistate round March 20, toppling top-ranked Danville, 57-38, in front of a frenzied sold-out crowd of 7,124 at Southport Fieldhouse.
The Hatchets, who will be making their third trek to Conseco Fieldhouse for the 3A title game in the last six seasons, were monuments of efficiency at the offensive end of the floor. Washington hit 21 of its 37 field goal attempts for 56-percent shooting, including a scalding 64 percent (9 of 14) in the second half in keeping Danville totally at bay.
Guard Dylan Ervin was the surprise leader for the Hatchets (22-3), going 9 of 12 from the field, 2 of 2 from the free throw line, and hitting his only 3-point attempt en route to a game- high 21 points. The 5’11” sophomore scored six of Washington’s first eight points and ended the opening period with a steal and bucket at the buzzer.
Ervin was joined in double figures by 6’10” junior center Cody Zeller, who posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and 5’1)’ junior guard Kurtis Anthony, who hit five of his six shots in totaling 11 points.
Danville, on the other hand, finished a fantastic 25-2 season with an abysmal performance. The dreadfully pertinent Warrior stats:
• Danville shot just 22 percent (11 of 50) for the game: 6 of 25 in the first half, 5 of 25 in the second.
• The Warriors fared better from outside than in, going 5 of 19 from behind the 3-point line but just 3 of 14 (21 percent) when they really needed it in the second half.
• Danville’s frigid shooting squandered numerous opportunities off a whopping 11 Warrior steals as Washington committed 18 turnovers.
• Senior 6’2” swingman Travis Weidner led Danville with 19 points, including 4 of 10 from behind the arc, but he was just 5 of 17 (29 percent) from the field overall before fouling out.
• Senior 6’10” center Travis Carroll has a solid, if unspectacular game with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds for one last double-double before heading off to Purdue.
“We’ve got to give Washington all the credit in the world,” said Danville coach Brian Barber. “They came in very aggressive and executed their game plan very well.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.”
This highly anticipated Carroll-Zeller clash of the 6’10” titans didn’t appear to have the makings of a blowout as the opening period came to close with Washington leading by just three on Ervin’s last-second wizardry, 15-12. But the Hatchets turned up the defense over the second and third stanzas, limiting Danville to just four points in the second and 12 in the third while totaling 13 and 17 themselves.
Time and again, the Washington faithful howled with delight as Zeller led by example in outfighting the entire Danville team for loose balls. Though his numbers weren’t spectacular – 5 of 10 shooting, 3 of 8 from the free throw line, seven turnovers – he did pull down a game-high 12 rebounds in constantly keeping the Hatchets fired up with his fierce and focused effort.
Trailing 28-16 at intermission, Danville never made its expected run in the second half as Washington hit a pair of layups and went 5 of 6 from the stripe in the final three minutes to pull away from a 38-26 contest.
Washington will face fifth-ranked Gary Wallace, a 57-47 northern semistate winner over No. 9 Fort Wayne Elmhurst, for the 3A crown March 27 at 6 p.m. ET. The last two times Washington has made the finals, a Zeller led them to victory before carting off the Indiana Mr. Basketball award.
Though Cody would have to wait till next year for such an honor, there’s no doubt he’s capably filling the legendary (and sizeable) shoes of older brothers Luke and Tyler.
The box score:
Danville 12 4 12 10 – 38
Washington 15 13 17 12 – 57
Danville: Humphrey 0-7 0-0 0, Hall 0-9 1-2 1, Mackey 1-3 0-0 3, Weidner 5-17 5-6 19, Carroll 5-11 4-4 14, Fields 0-2 1-2 1, Leonard 0-1 0-0 0, Konechnik 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Schaeffner 0-0 0-0 0, Chalfant 0-0 0-0 0. 3-pointers: 5-19 (Humphrey 0-1, Hall 0-3, Mackey 1-2, Weidner 4-10, Fields 0-2, Leonard 0-1). Rebounds: 24 (Carroll 11). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Hall, Weidner. Totals: 11-50 11-14 38
Washington: Gines 1-2 2-2 4, Ervin 9-12 2-2 21, Anthony 5-6 0-1 11, Zeller 5-10 3-8 14, Pittman 0-1 0-0 0, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, McClain 0-0 0-0 0, Hawk 0-0 0-0 0, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0, Hunsinger 1-5 5-6 7, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Miles 0-1 0-0 0. 3-pointers: 3-4 (Ervin 1-1, Anthony 1-2, Zeller 1-1). Rebounds: 36 (Zeller 12). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 14. Totals: 21-37 12-19 57
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