Roosevelt, Hammond advance

Hammond -- Two schools with rich basketball heritages will meet tonight looking to add to legacies that could use a little enhancement.

Roosevelt and Hammond will face each other for the Class 3A, Sectional 17 championship after posting easy wins in semi-final action on Friday at Hammond High.

Roosevelt took care of Gavit 89-33 in the opener, which was followed by Hammond's 67-44 win over Clark in the second game.

"Roosevelt is playing as well as any team around,"said Hammond coach Larry Moore. "To win we will have to play a solid game from start to finish."

"We were a little dinged up following Tuesday night against Wallace," said Panthers coach Larry McKissack. "We got to use a lot of players tonight and most of our guys got a lot of minutes. We got to rest some people and have them ready for tomorrow."

Hammond (15-6) got an early scare in its game with the Pioneers when starting forward Daron Houston suffered an injury to his right ankle while grabbing a loose ball in the opening minute of the contest."

"It was one of those freakish things that sometimes happens," Moore said. "We've got it iced down and we think it'll be OK tomorrow."

Hammond overcame the injury to Houston by getting off to an 18-11 lead in the opening quarter. Dakota Tucker scored 11 in the opening quarter on his way to a 26 point night.

The second quarter was more of the same with the Wildcats outscoring the Pioneers (6-15) by a 26-13 score with Kendall Harwell scoring all 12 of his points in the quarter.

Clark was led in scoring by Terrance Hammond's 13 points. The loss stopped a streak of three consecutive sectional championships for the Pioneers.

The teams combined for 12 points in the third quarter before the Wildcats coasted home for the win.

"I thought we played pretty well," Moore said. "We gave it a good effort from start to finish."

In the opener, Roosevelt (11-8) took control early with a 28-9 lead after one quarter; The Panthers led 52-18 at the half as Steven Jenkins already had 11 of his team high 19 points.

"We have a young team and I think a lot of them really didn't know what to expect out there," said Gladiators coach Brandon Ridenour. "I did like that we never quit and gave a good effort all the way through.

Cedric Smith led Gavit (4-17) with six points.

The Panthers led 77-30 after three quarters and started looking forward to the championship game against an old rival in the form of the Wildcats.

"We cannot change the way we do things now," McKissack said. "We are playing well and I hope it carries over into tomorrow."

"We will be ready," Moore said. "This is why you play, for the chance to win a sectional."