Columbus North players react as North’s Anderson Horn (20) kisses the trophy after defeating Whiteland in Saturday’s sectional championship game in Memorial Gymnasium at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
In the week leading up to the sectional semifinals and final, Columbus North coach Paul Ferguson talked to his team about the importance of getting off to a good start.
The host Bull Dogs took that message to heart Saturday night. They jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in a 54-41 victory against Whiteland for their first sectional title since 2023.
“We really emphasized that this week — getting off to a good start,” said junior Austin Perry, who scored a game-high 20 points. “We got off to a good start tonight. We had a game plan, we were ready and prepared and we executed that.”
The Bull Dogs (14-10) advance to the regional round, where they will play Terre Haute North at 7 p.m. March 14 at Greencastle.
The Warriors (19-6) were within 12-7 early in the second quarter when the Bull Dogs went on a 13-2 run to take a 25-9 lead in the closing seconds of the first half. Only a 3-pointer just before the buzzer put Whiteland in double digits for the half.
“We wanted to get off to a good start,” said junior Caleb Ferguson, who had 19 points and seven rebounds. “We had a good game plan we wanted to execute. We wanted to be opportunistic and really control the pace of the game and be poised, and that’s what we came out and did. The coaches had a great game plan, and they helped us get that win.”
“Coming out strong and getting that early lead was awesome,” senior Anderson Horn added. “That was the game-changer in this game. We just had to stay poised and keep playing our style of basketball, and we knew we’d be all right.”
The Warriors got as close as eight on three occasions in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, but each time, North answered with a basket.
The Bull Dogs worked their delay game to perfection in the fourth quarter. They had no turnovers in the final period and only four for the game.
“We’ve had teams kind of stall-ball us if we haven’t started well, so our big emphasis has been starting off well these past couple games, and I think we’ve done a great job of that,” said sophomore Jack Whaley, who had eight points and six rebounds. “All our coaches worked their tails off, and all my teammates did a great job, and I can’t really thank them enough.”
North outrebounded Whiteland 27-19.
“I think two keys in this game were playing with poise — they’re a good team, a physical team and an intense team, so playing with poise — and us bringing the intensity on defense really got us going, as well,” senior Ben Kriesant said. “This is a lot of players’ dream to be able to do it, and to do it with these guys is just a dream-come-true.”
The Bull Dogs held the Warriors to their lowest point total of the season.
“It was a great start for us,” Paul Ferguson added. “That was really crucial. We controlled the tempo of the game from there, and defensively, we knew Whiteland averages 70 points a game, and we felt like with the game plan we put together, we could hold them around 40. We did a great job executing that plan.”
Now, North is back in the regional for the second time in four years.
“These are my boys right here,” said Caleb Ferguson, who was part of the 2023 team as a freshman. “Being able to compete with them, and to play a tough game like this and to come out on top and win, it’s been awesome.”
Columbus North 54, Whiteland 41
Whiteland;4;8;11;18;—;41
Columbus North;12;13;9;20;—;54
Whiteland (19-6): Peyton Williams 1 0-1 2, Jordan Hendricks 0 0-0 0, Joban Kalkot 6 0-0 16, Tyler Angerer 2 0-0 6, Dane Kunz 1 0-0 3, Kaiden Lee 0 0-0 0, Josh Longwe 0 0-2 0, Kyle Edwards 4 4-5 14. Totals: 14 4-8 41.
Columbus North (14-10): Jack Whaley 3 2-2 8, Ibar Baker 0 1-2 1, Caleb Ferguson 9 1-2 19, Zach Fedor 0 0-0 0, Eli Wrightsman 0 0-0 0, Austin Perry 6 7-9 20, Anderson Horn 1 0-2 2, Ben Kriesant 1 1-2 4, Owen Coomes 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 12-19 54.
3-point goals: Whiteland 9 (Kalkat 4, Angerer 2, Edwards 2, Kunz). Columbus North 2 (Perry, Kriesant).
