Baker's 1,000th point helps Braves snap losing streak

Feb. 1—Zay Baker's 1,000th point at Terre Haute South was only part of the story Thursday night as the Braves snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Northview 67-50 in high school basketball on Pat Rady Court.

Other parts included the re-emergence of the Braves' two big men, South overcoming an early 13-2 deficit, and maybe even a halftime talk by Brady Wilson.

And for the visiting Knights, a brilliant first quarter that wasn't enough to continue Northview's three-game winning streak.

Baker becomes the 12th 1,000-point scorer from the South boys team, joining a list headed by Jaylen Minnett and including Brian Evans, Maynard Lewis, De'Avion Washington, Will Uzzell, Jeffrey Turner, Kevin Thompson, Steve Richardson, David Conrady and John Michael Jarvis.

"I want to congratulate Zay," said Lewis, his coach, "not only for getting the milestone but for all the effort that went into it. There's rich tradition here at Terre Haute South. This is something special."

Baker said after the game that he knew the 1,000th point might happen — it did on a 3-pointer with a little over two minutes left in the game — before the contest began.

"My teammates and my coaches were rooting for me," the South senior said. "It feels great. There are not that many people in that club . . . amazing."

The visiting Knights made it clear that someone from the Braves was going to have to score points when they hit their first seven shots from the field and rebounded the first miss to score another basket.

The Braves also managed to go the entire first quarter without getting a rebound, although they did force some Northview turnovers.

Northview still hadn't missed when its 13-2 lead was trimmed by baskets from South's Josh Morgan and Jaylen Wells. The Knights' seventh straight make made it 15-6, but Baker stole the ball to set up his own basket and Wells got another, bringing the Braves somehow within 15-10. The rebound basket by Peyton McCollum made it 17-10, but Morgan closed out the first quarter with a 3-pointer.

The Knights got a couple of six-point leads in the second quarter, but the Braves were heating up themselves. South got on top during an 8-0 run — 3-pointers by Baker and Treva Branch and another basket by Wells — that made it 32-28, and a 7-0 run that started with the last basket of the first half gave the home team a 39-29 lead early in the third quarter despite how well the visitors were playing.

"We started well," coach Shawn Nevill of Northview said afterward. "Then [South's] shots started falling and their physicality and their defense picked up. Eventually they wore us down."

Baker's point total was complemented by 11 points from Morgan and 10 from Wells, who came off the bench because, his coach revealed, he was battling an injury.

As well as Wells played — he also had five rebounds, five blocks, a steal and two assists — he might have a new career as a sixth man. After the Braves' slow start on the boards, it was Wells dominating them in the second quarter, Herrin (who also scored nine points) in the third quarter and Morgan in the final period.

"[Those Braves] worked their butts off on the offensive glass," Nevill said.

"January was a tough month," Lewis said after the game, "but February is starting a little better . . . [Wells and Herrin] came out ready to fight and they got it done tonight, and Brady Wilson [also praised by Nevill for his defensive work] showed leadership at halftime and got our guys ready to play."

Point guard Brayden Goff led Northview with 21 points and also had a game-high eight rebounds. Trayven Buis added 12 points for the visitors.

"I thought we played hard," Nevill concluded, "but once we fell behind, I knew it would be kind of tough."

NORTHVIEW (50) — Fowler 1-4 0-0 2, Buell 2-3 1-2 5, McCollum 1-2 2-6 4, Goff 8-15 3-5 21, Buis 5-11 0-0 12, Bryan 0-5 0-0 0, Fosdick 1-1 0-0 3, Bell 0-0 0-2 0, Schimmel 0-0 0-0 0, Bennett 1-1 0-0 3, Clarke 0-0 0-0 0, Bath 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 FG, 6-15 FT, 50 TP.

TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (67) — Morgan 2-5 6-8 11, Boyce 0-1 1-2 1, Herrin 3-5 3-4 9, Baker 9-20 2-2 24, Branch 2-6 1-2 7, Wells 4-5 2-4 10, Wilson 1-1 0-0 3, Sandifer 0-1 0-0 0, Rutledge 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Brinston 0-0 0-0 0, Chastain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 FG, 15-22 FT, 67 TP.

Northview 17 12 10 11 — 50

TH South 13 21 18 15 — 67

3-point shooting — Northview 6-11 (Goff 2-2, Buis 2-4, Fosdick 1-1, Bennett 1-1, Bryan 0-3), THS 8-22 (Baker 4-11, Branch 2-6, Wilson 1-1, Morgan 1-3, Sandifer 0-1). Total fouls — Northview 20, THS 15. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Northview 10, THS 4. Rebounds — Northview 33 (Goff 8, Fosdick 6, Buis 5, McCollum 4, Bell 2, Bennett 2, Fowler, Team 5), THS 30 (Morgan 7, Herrin 6, Baker 5, Wells 5, Boyce 3, Team 4). Assists — Northview 12 (McCollum 5, Buis 2, Bryan 2, Buell, Goff, Clarke), THS 14 (Baker 4, Branch 4, Morgan 2, Wells 2, Boyce, Herrin). Steals — Northview 3 (Goff, Buis, Bryan), THS 7 (Morgan 2, Baker 2, Boyce, Branch, Wells). Blocks — Northview 1 (Buell), THS 6 (Wells 5, Baker).

JV — Terre Haute South 49 (Kaleb Rutledge 14, Daimen Sandifer 11 including the tie-breaking free throws with 13 seconds left), Northview 47 (Wyatt Bennett 19).

Next — Terre Haute South (8-8) plays Saturday afternoon at Plainfield. Northview (7-9) is at Danville on Wednesday.