CLARKSVILLE — A.J. Schmidt scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Providence pulled away from host New Washington to notch a 56-46 road win last night.
“We’ve won six and a row, and 10 of our last 11, and sometimes with a team this young, that’s the worst thing that can happen going into the tournament,” Providence coach Lou Lefevre said. “They start just to think they’re really good and that they can win just by showing up.
“We were thoroughly outplayed in the first half. We didn’t have any focus or any real energy, but we came out and played a better second half.”
New Washington trailed 12-11 at the end of the first quarter but rallied to take a 24-23 halftime lead.
The Pioneers (13-7) started off strong in the second half, scoring the first six points to gain a 29-24 advantage after Bryce Very nailed a contested 16-footer with 5:33 remaining.
The Mustangs (7-14) wouldn’t go away, however. Drake Krohn next notched a tough inside bucket and was fouled by Zev Crawley and converted a free-throw attempt. Then guard Devin Freels found a seam in the Providence defense and the 5-foot-8 guard scored a layup to draw New Washington to within one at 32-31, with 3:15 remaining.
But Providence — behind a 3-pointer from Schmidt, a jumper from Colin Daly and two free-throws from Blake Schmidt — took a 39-31 lead and pulled away from the hosts for good heading into the fourth quarter.
“There were about four or five possessions where I think we were content to just settle for a jump shot,” New Washington coach Jonathan May said. “We have a lot of guys who take perimeter shots and are good shooters, but we have to know when to attack the basket. We got away from that.”
The Pioneers received a decided advantage at the free-throw line.
Providence sank 19 of 23 free-throw attempts and forced the hosts into committing 20 fouls. Meanwhile, New Washington sank all nine of their free-throw attempts.
Freels led the Mustangs with 13 points while Krohn finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
“There were a couple of times where we were soft in the post and could have finished better,” May said. “We failed to take advantage of those opportunities.”
New Washington faces Henryville Wednesday night in the Class A Borden Sectional, while the Pioneers await the winner in Tuesday’s matchup between No. 1 Brownstown and West Washington after receiving the bye in the 2A Paoli Sectional.
“It’s hard to see a way we can beat Brownstown right now. And I’m going to go ahead and say Brownstown will win with the hopes that West Washington will rise up and take them down and do us a favor,” Lefevre said, joking after the game.
PROVIDENCE 12 11 16 17—56
NEW WASHINGTON 11 13 9 13—46
Providence (13-7) — A.J. Schmidt 20, Griffith 11, Very 6, B. Schmidt 6, Daly 5, Knott 4, R. Schmidt 4, Crawley 0, Duley 0, Andres 0.
New Washington (7-14) — Freels 13, Krohn 11, Woods 9, Radford 4, Ramer 4, Bowman 3, Bower 2, Looney 0, Wiggam.
Rebounds: Providence 23 (Griffith 8); New Washington 18 (Krohn 5)
Three-point goals: Providence 3 (A. Schmidt 2, Daly); New Washington 5 (Woods 3, Freels, Bowman)
Turnovers: New Washington 11, Providence 8.
Junior Varsity: Providence 41, New Washington 28.
Clark County Sports
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Pioneers pull away from New Wash
Schmidt scores 18 in second half of 56-46 win
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