It was a close first half between the Hammond High Wildcats and Griffith Panthers, but Hammond pulled away after a half-time rest to win 76-69 and gain a spot in the IHSAA Class 3A semifinals. They’ll face town rival Hammond Clark on March 1.
“We played well, we played as a team. The seniors really stepped up tonight and there was overall great leadership,” said Hammond High Assistant Coach Mitchell Daniels lll. “The schedule helped us a lot this season because we were playing mainly Chicago teams all season, so coming back to play an Indiana team was nice because we had that experience. It’s all game by game.”
Hammond fan Michelle Stewart said her son played for Hammond six years ago, but she’s still a die-hard fan. “I believe the team’s going to go all the way this year. It’s their year. Our season started off a little slow, but they grew as a team and now they’re doing really well.”
Griffith Varsity Coach Grayling Gordon said he’s looking forward to seeing next year’s team rise. “We were a little bit out of our element tonight but we still played hard. We are losing a lot of seniors this year so next season we need the incoming seniors to really step up, underclassmen as well.”
A healthy fan tension was in the air at the start of the big rivalry. Points seemed to matter so much more than previous games this season, as evidenced by the cheering, screaming fans. Both teams showed good sportsmanship, with a few scuffles. Despite a good performance by players like Griffith’s top scorer Corey Landers, the team couldn’t pull off the win, ending their 18-6-0 record.
“We didn’t focus on the things we should have tonight. I can’t even explain how it feels right now because it still doesn’t feel real,” Landers said. He plans to play for AAU in the summer again, and play basketball in college.
Phil DeBold, uncle of Griffith varsity senior Tim Lawson, and Daniel DeBold, Lawson’s grandfather, were there as true Hoosier basketball fans to cheer on their big scorer.
“As Timmy’s Uncle, I’ve been a huge fan of the team for four years. They have a decent team and I was expecting them to make it all the way to state this year,” Phil DeBold said.
“I’ve been a fan of Region basketball for over 50 years. The team has looked great this year and they’ve been exciting to watch. I thought they had an excellent shot at semi-state. This was the game everyone has been waiting for,” Daniel DeBold said.
Griffith senior Diego Sanchez, leader of student section, said the season was a mix of great games, and not-so-good games, but that didn’t dampen the student spirit. “It felt great whenever we had big turnouts for our games and student sections. I was hoping we could make it to state and make it past sectionals, regionals, and semi-state.”