THREE PEAT: Parke Heritage blows past South Vermilion to claim title

Heading into Saturday's Class 2A Sectional 41 championship game against South Vermillion, Parke Heritage head coach Rich Schelsky just wanted to relax.

He tried taking a nap, and that failed.

He broke down nine game tapes of South Vermillion prior to getting on the bus to head to Greencastle for the game.

He tried everything he could think of to relax, but in the end one thing kept nagging him -- South Vermillion standout Dominic Garzolini, who had hit 14 three point shots heading into the sectional championship.

"These guys were so hot, and I get very nervous. I don't know why. I wasn't like that as a player, but as a coach, and, maybe some of that is because we have the pressure to win, I don't know. I tried to take a nap and couldn't take a nap because I get so nervous. These guys have scored 60 more points the last nine games. They've shot 50 percent from the field this week total. They've shot 50 percent from three. Garzolini was 14-of-21 on the week. I was scared to death because that was the type of team that could really beat us," Schelsky told The Parke County Post. 

And, for a brief period, his fears with the Wildcats were a reality, as the two teams combined for a 5-5 start to the game.

That was as close as it would get, and moments later, Schelsky was able to exhale, relax and let some fear go by the wayside as the Wolves took a 20-9 lead after the first quarter and were well on their way to posting a 67-32 win over South Vermillion. The win is the third straight sectional title and moves the Wolves to 23-4 on the season. South Vermillion, on the other hand, saw its season end with a 14-11 campaign. 

Holding onto an 11-point edge coming into the second quarter, the Wolves got a huge output in the second quarter from the "Twin Towers" of Isaac Picket and Carter Crum, as well as solid production from Treigh Schelsky and Brayden Luce. The lead would expand to 32-12 with two minutes left in the half, and the Wolves took a 37-12 lead into the locker room.

The halftime break did little to slow the Wolves down, who held South Vermillion to 8 points in the third quarter, while PIckel established his dominance in the paint and Luce hit three three pointers in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 62-20 going into the fourth. 

The Wolves have not missed a beat this season despite the loss of Renn Harper to injury, as well as Joel Miller. 

"I'm very blessed where I am at. We have a lot of great players. We have a lot of talent. People may not see that all the time, but I see it all the time. Renn Harper started every game of his high school career. He has scored over 1,000 points. He is our best defender, and a great kid and student. He went and got the procedure done to be ready for the spring. I know he wants to get back so bad, and wants to be out there. It is very sad and tough," Schelsky said. 

Schelsky said Miller found a way into the varsity lineup before Harper went down and then got injured against Seeger.

"I watched it live and had an idea what it was. I was begging tell me it your foot and he said no. I knew it was his ACL. Without those two guys, we are a completely different team. They are our fastest guys, best defenders and two more ballhandlers. We average 70 points and play fast. We had a nice eight man rotation and we had to change that. We had to slow down and change defensively what we do. Our kids are smart and really good basketball players and could do both of those things in a week's time. For us to change that says a lot about our guys and their willingness to win," Schelsky said. 

The depth was huge for the Wolves, as nine players found the scorebook Saturday evening. Leading the way was Luce, who scored 17 and Pickel, who scored 16 points. 

Leading the way for South Vermillion was Garzolini, who scored 10 points, as the Wildcats struggled to get open and make shots due to Parke Heritage's harassing defense.

"This is probably our least defensive team. They all like to score, and we have averaged a lot of points this year. We are still pretty good defensively, but I will say, the last two nights our guys have executed the defensive game plans as well as any team I have had," Schelsky said.