When South Decatur faces Covenant Christian in the semifinals of the Greenfield-Central Regional on Saturday morning, the Cougars may see a mirror image of themselves.
All season, long, South Decatur has been a pressing, trapping team, and the Class 2A No. 6 Cougars (24-2) lead the state in scoring with 89.5 points a game. The Warriors (19-7), meanwhile, rank 13th overall and third among 2A schools with 73 points a game.
"It’s been an interesting week so far because Covenant Christian plays a very similar style as we do," South Decatur coach Kendall Wildey said. "They’re pressing all the time and push the ball like we do. We’ve had to prepare to go against the pressure like we’re trying to put on people. We’re trying to have our second string put pressure on us so we’ll be ready for that."
The Cougars have three players averaging above or close to 20 points in 6-foot-6 junior Lane Lauderbaugh (23.3), junior Hunter Johnson (20.1) and senior point guard Dominic Walters (18.3). Junior Tyler Sporleder adds 10.5 a game.
Senior Noah Hedrick leads Covenant Christian with 17.5 points a game. Junior Trey Flatt averages 14.0 points, and senior Cameron Shurig adds 12.7.
"They are more guard, perimeter oriented," Wildey said. "They’re not big, so that won’t be a huge factor to us. Lane Lauderbaugh will probably be the biggest kid on the court. They are very fundamentally sound and don’t turn the ball over a lot, so that will be a challenge for us — to try to get them to turn it over."
The winner of that first semifinal will advance to the 8 p.m. regional final against either 2A No. 1 Shenanoah (23-2) or 2A No. 7 Parke Heritage (23-3), who will play in the second semifinal at noon. But Wildey said the Cougars’ focus is on Covenant Christian.
"We will in our practices and with our players, put our emphasis on Covenant Christian," Wildey said. "As far as our coaches, we will have some video and have a scouting report ready, we’ll have some things to show our kids and talk about for the evening."
South Decatur has some hotel rooms and a conference room reserved in Greenfield should it advance to the title game.
"We’ll head to the hotel and let them rest a little bit, take showers and maybe watch a little college basketball and then go through the scouting report and maybe get a bite to eat," Wildey said. "I’m hoping they have a little bit of time and take a little nap if they want to. Probably, very few of them will want to, but it will be nice for them if they can do that."
If the Cougars do make the final, it likely will face defending regional champion Shenandoah. The Raiders allow only 43.0 points a game and are second in the state in scoring margin at 25.0, less than a point behind first-place Bloomington South.
"They run more of a controlled offense and take advantage of each of their possessions," Wildey said. "They’re more perimeter oriented. They don’t turn the ball over a lot. That’s why they’re ranked No. 1."
South Decatur, which has set a school record for wins in a season, will be playing in its first regional since 2008.
"It’s very exciting," Wildey said. "Cougar Nation has just been building all season long. The student section and just the public has gotten on board."
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Greenfield-Central Regional
Saturday
10 a.m.: South Decatur (24-2) vs. Covenant Christian (19-7)
Noon: Shenandoah (23-2) vs. Parke Heritage (23-3)
8 p.m.: Championship
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