Nationally-ranked LaLumiere too much for Brownsburg
Kyle Neddenriep
DANVILLE – Paxson Wojcik does not get a chance to play in front of his own student section often. LaLumiere, ranked as the No. 12 high school basketball team in the country by MaxPreps has it all — size, shooting, ball-handing. But playing a national schedule, the prep school program from LaPorte, does not always have a rooting section.
Danville took care of that on Friday night. The Danville students stuck around after its team defeated Mooresville 52-39 in the first game of the Hendricks County Hoopfest, cheering LaLumiere to a 66-45 victory over Brownsburg. The Danville and Brownsburg student sections traded back-and-forth barbs all game, much to delight of Wojcik, who played to the Danville section after each of his four 3-pointers.
“We didn’t expect that, but it was awesome,” said Wojcik, a 6-4 junior with offers from Columbia, DePaul, Holy Cross and San Jose State. “We had no clue who they were but they were pulling for us so we rolled with it. I was trying to get them in the game because Brownsburg’s crowd was in it.”
LaLumiere (6-0) looked the part of a nationally-ranked program with a roster that has players from five countries and six states. Wojcik, whose father is East Carolina coach Doug Wojcik, filled the role of shooter, while 6-7 junior Emanuel Miller (19 points) and 6-9 junior Isaiah Stewart (12 points) provided muscle inside. And senior point guard Tyger Campbell (13 points), a Purdue target, made plays all night.
Brownsburg coach Steve Lynch knew what he was getting into by scheduling this game. But while the length of LaLumiere’s defense clearly played a factor in a 26-9 start to the game, the Bulldogs (2-1) cut the lead to 11 by halftime and trailed by 14 early in the fourth quarter.
“They ran their things better,” Lynch said of LaLumiere, “with more execution and patience. I think we did well to hold them to 60 points (until clearing the bench). We have to find a way to develop that toughness and patience and decision-making in our offense. But I compliment them. They were patient and picked their spots and made great decisions.”
The play of 6-5 senior Antrez Baker was a clear bright spot for Brownsburg. Baker, a standout football player, battled Miller and Stewart inside to finish with eight points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Cameron Alford finished with a team-high 17 points, scoring 12 in the second half.
There were also flashes of potential from talented 6-5 freshman Pierce Thomas, who drilled a 3-pointer to start the game and scored on a drive and foul early in the third quarter. Thomas finished with eight points.
“We didn’t embarrass ourselves by any stretch,” Lynch said. “There’s always that initial shock. You get out there and things didn’t go well and it is like, ‘Why did you wait so long to play?’ Well, it’s a little easier said than done. But we battled back and we settled down. We talked this week about being too hyped, but that’s understandable.”
Brownsburg will get a chance to bounce back on Saturday when Class 3A No. 2 Culver Academy visits Danville on the second day of the Hendricks County Hoopfest to face the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Danville (2-0) will play defending Class 3A champion and top-ranked Crispus Attucks (1-0) at 9 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to getting a win (on Saturday),” Baker said. “We can go far if we play together. We had a little bit of a meltdown early in the game, but if we play together we have a chance to be a pretty good basketball team.”
Danville is still getting its legs with half the team just two weeks removed from playing the Class 3A football semistate. Connor Jones led Danville with 17 points in Friday’s win over Mooresville and senior Alec Burton added 13 points and nine rebounds.
“Our timing isn’t exactly there,” Danville coach Brian Barber said. “But you’re starting to see little pieces of the team we can be.”
The Danville and Brownsburg student sections certainly seem to be in midseason form. The teams will play back in Danville on Jan. 2 in the first round of the Hendricks County tournament.
Maybe Wojcik will return, if he’s not busy.
“I loved it,” he said. “It was great to have that support.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
LALUMIERE 66, BROWNSBURG 45
LaLumiere 18 15 17 16 — 66
Brownsburg 7 15 13 10 — 45
LaLumiere (6-0) — Miller 19, Campbell 13, Smith 5, Wojcik 15, Stewart 12, Agunanne 2. Totals: 26 8-9 66.
Brownsburg (2-1) — Alford 17, Jackson 2, R.Thomas 2, Baker 8, P.Thomas 8, Edmonds 4, Wolf 2, Nolan 2. Totals: 19 4-7 45.
3-point goals: LaLumiere 6 (Wojcik 4, Campbell, Smith), Brownsburg 3 (Alford 2, P.Thomas).
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