Burton nets 30, Garwood 25 as No. 2 Penn uses school-record 108 to advance

MICHIGAN CITY — No. 3 Hammond Central learned Saturday afternoon what all but one of No. 2 Penn’s opposition have learned this season — there’s more to coach Al Rhodes’ Kingsmen than Mr. Basketball candidate Markus Burton.

The 6-foot-1 Burton, who is headed to Notre Dame next season, scored a fraction under his state-leading average of 30.3 points a game, netting 30 before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, three other Kingsmen guards scored in double figures, led by 6-foot-3 sharpshooting senior Joey Garwood’s 25 points, as Penn rolled to its 22^nd straight victory with a dominating 108-70 victory over Hammond Central at Michigan City High School’s Wolves Den.

Senior guard Joe Smith had 11 points despite sitting out most of the second half with four personal fouls. But Rhodes, who coached Warsaw to the 1984 state title and is hoping to do the same in his 15^thseason at his high school alma mater, also got great production from his bench, which scored 36 points. Senior reserve Mookie Ward scored 13 points, eight in the final quarter after Rhodes pulled his starters, and the reserves played the final four minutes of the game with a running clock after taking a 36-point lead.

The 108 points are the most points Penn has ever scored in a game, surpassing the 104 scored on Dec. 7, 2021 in a 71-point blowout victory at New Prairie, and the 108 points were the most points scored by any team in a semistate since Michigan City Rogers scored 108 in a 1986 semistate win over Concord here.

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The Kingsmen shot a blistering 64.8 percent from the field (35 of 54) which included a 57.9-percent effort from 3-point land (11 of 19) as Garwood hit five of nine 3-point attempts and Burton hit four of five. Burton also had team highs for rebounds (five) and assists (five) in the game which featured just 13 turnovers but had 43 personal fouls.

Hammond Central, which earned its ticket to the semistate last Saturday here with a 59-46 victory over Mishawaka in the Regional 2 title game, had few answers for Penn. Coach Larry Moore Jr. got 22 points from senior guard Jordan Woods and 17 from junior guard Matt King, but the Wolves were held to 35.6 percent shooting (21 of 59) by the Kingsmen, who easily ended Hammond Central's 18-game winning streak.

Rhodes, who is 693-319 in 42 seasons as a head coach, and his 28-1 Kingsmen were unavailable after the game, heading to a nearby sanctuary to rest up for their championship game with No. 4 Kokomo (23-4), a 73-51 winner over Fort Wayne Wayne in the opening game Saturday at the Wolves Den. Tipoff for the title game is 8:15 p.m. EDT, and the winner will play either No. 1 Ben Davis (31-0) or No. 7 Brownsburg (22-4) for the Class 4A state title Saturday, March 25 in Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 8:15 p.m.

Garwood scored 12 of his points in the first quarter as Penn overcame a 5-2 early deficit. The Kingsmen never trailed after Garwood hit the second of his three 3-pointers in the quarter for a 11-9 Penn lead with 4:02 remaining. Hammond Central would tie the game at 11-all but Penn finished the quarter on a 14-10 run to lead 25-21 going into the second quarter.

A pair of 3-pointers by Smith and a free throw by junior reserve Dominic Bonner, who had five points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench, increased the Penn lead to 32-21. Burton finally caught fire with 11 points in the quarter, including a 3-point field goal after he denied a dunk by Woods on a 2-on-1 Hammond Central break. Hammond Central later missed another dunk attempt (by Davion Doty) and Garwood hit a pair of free throws to give Penn a 49-34 lead with 40 seconds remaining before halftime. Penn led 51-35 going to the locker room.

The Kingsmen steadily pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolves 30-18 to take a 81-53 lead into the final quarter. Most impressive was an 8-0 run in 26 seconds that featured 3-pointers by Burton and Garwood and a basket by Bonner.

In the opening game, the Wildkats jumped to a 21-11 lead after the first quarter on their way to their 16^th straight victory. Kokomo led 31-21 at halftime only to see Fort Wayne Wayne cut the lead to four points in the third quarter before taking a 52-39 lead into the final quarter. 

Flory Bidunga, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, led coach John Peckinpaugh’s Wildkats with a game-high 31 points and 6-foot-2 senior guard Shayne Spear added 16. Fort Wayne Wayne (21-5) got 14 points from Chase Barnes and 13 from Preston Comer.

PENN 108, HAMMOND CENTRAL 70

Class 4A North Semistate at Michigan City High School

PENN (108): Markus Burton 9 8-10 30, Joe Smith 4 1-2 11, Joey Garwood 7 6-6 25, Josh Gatete 0 4-4 4, Dylan Derda 1 0-0 2, Dominic Bonner 1 3-4 5, Trey Miller 2 0-0 4, Mookie Ward 4 5-6 13, Maverick Brown 4 0-0 8, Nolan McCullough 0 0-0 0, Ethan Good 0 0-0 0, Dylan Fey 3 0-0 6, TOTALS 35 27-32 108.

HAMMOND CENTRAL (70): Jordan Woods 6 9-11 22, Matt King 5 6-7 17, Danny Garza 1 2-2 4, Davion Doty 1 2-2 4, Kenneth Grant 1 2-2 5, Vynce Overshown 3 0-0 8, Lebron Hill 0 0-0 0, Amauri Moore 1 0-0 2, Marcus Browder 2 2-2 6, Carlos Alvarez 0 0-0 0, Jordan Cunningham 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 21 23-26 70.

Shooting: Penn 35 of 54 for 64.8 percent; Hammond Central 21 of 59 for 35.6 percent. 3-point goals made: Penn 11 (of 19) (Garwood 5, Burton 4, Smith 2), Hammond Central 5 (of 17) (Overshown 2, Woods 1, King 1, Grant 1). 

Rebounds: Penn 31 (Burton 5, Garwood 4, Gatete 4, Bonner 4), Hammond Central 27 (Doty 6, Garza 4). Assists: Penn 24 (Burton 5, Gatete 3, Derda 3, Bonner 3, Good 3), Hammond Central 9 (Overshown 3, Woods 3). Blocked shots: Penn 3 (Derda 3), Hammond Central 1 (Garza 1).

Total fouls (fouled out): Penn 20 (none), Hammond Central 23 (King). Turnovers: Penn 5, Hammond Central 9.

 Records: Penn 28-1, Hammond Central 26-2. Officials: Daniel Escalante Jr., Brian Allen, Steven Mozingo.