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HIGH SCHOOL

After another top-5 win, Lawrence North staking its claim as the state's best team

FILE – Tony Perkins led Lawrence North with 18 points in Friday night's win over Brownsburg.

Jack Keefer swears it is the first time he has used the line. It was funny enough that it even drew a laugh from the opposing bench.

In the fourth quarter of Lawrence North’s 62-48 win over Brownsburg on Friday night, a referee told Keefer, the only coach in the history of the boys basketball program at the school, to get off the court. Keefer, standing almost directly on the words “Jack Keefer Gymnasium” in the Lawrence North gym, was quick with a response.

“But it’s my floor!” Keefer said, smiling as he turned back toward the bench.

That line drew a laugh from the official and Brownsburg coach Steve Lynch, even in the heat of a close game.

“I wasn’t even bothering (the referee),” Keefer said with a laugh after the game.

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There are a lot of smiles around the Lawrence North program after a 4-0 start to the season. The Wildcats have clipped off wins over Marion, Jeffersonville, Lawrence North and Brownsburg in a span of eight days. At the time of the games, Jeffersonville and Brownsburg were ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 4A and Lawrence Central was No. 1.

All things considered, the currently-No. 3 Wildcats should make a jump to No. 1 when the new Associated Press poll comes out next week.

“They have a great inside-outside presence,” Lynch said of Lawrence North. “And from a defensive standpoint, after two days of seeing them, their zone is really tough to figure out.”

Two days after an 83-73 victory in front of a sellout crowd at Lawrence Central, the Wildcats needed a little extra boost to fend off a resilient Brownsburg team that was 4-0 coming into the game. The Bulldogs rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to cut the Lawrence North lead to 44-41 in the first minute of the fourth.

Brownsburg, after missing 12 of 13 from the 3-point line for a stretch of the second and third quarters, hit three consecutive from long-range — two by junior Tyray Lackey and one by Pierce Thomas — to slice into the Wildcats’ advantage.

“I feel like we were tired and exhausted from Wednesday and a little bruised up,” Lawrence North's Tony Perkins said. “But we still came in with the energy we needed. (Brownsburg) had a little run going, but we came together and got it going again.”

Perkins, after a 30-point night against Lawrence Central, helped spark a run with a couple of lob passes to D.J. Hughes for dunks. Perkins finished with 18 points to share game-high scoring honors with teammate Shamar Avance. The 6-7 Hughes, suffering from an upset stomach right before tipoff, finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

“I thought it was all good,” Perkins said of Hughes. “Then we started talking before the game and huddling up and then I started hearing, ‘Blaaaaaaah.’ I’m like, ‘Ah snap, can he play?’ He came out and performed well. There was still dunks.”

Lackey led Brownsburg off the bench with 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line. Thomas, the 6-6 junior standout, added 12 points and eight rebounds and Malek Edmonds had 12 points and three rebounds. Brownsburg was 8-for-29 from the 3-point line and hurt itself by hitting just half (9-for-18) of its free throws. There were two missed front-ends of one-and-ones early in the fourth quarter that proved costly.

“That’s a game you can’t be tentative,” Lynch said. “I thought we were way too tentative early. I know we were amped up to play and I’m proud of the kids. We made some mistakes but we kind of got the game the way we wanted it and then went through a stretch where we missed a layup and some free throws when we were down three. That was our opportunity.”

Lawrence North is off until Tuesday, when Manual visits. Brownsburg has a quick turnaround to face Heritage Hills on Saturday afternoon at Southport as part of the Forum Tipoff Classic.

“Every team we’ve played could beat us on a given night,” Keefer said. “Whether we beat them by ten or two or whatever, they are all capable of beating us. Our kids have just kept going and going and played really well.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

LAWRENCE NORTH 62, BROWNSBURG 48

Brownsburg         16        7          16        9          —   48

Lawrence North   16        15        13        18        —  62

Brownsburg (4-1) – Thomas 4 2-4 12, McGowan 0 1-3 1, Edmonds 5 1-2 12, Lucas 0 0-1 0, Lacey 0 0-2 0, Lackey 3 4-4 13, Bragg 2 1-2 7, Diallo 1-1 2. Totals: 15 9-18 48.

Lawrence North (4-0) – Hatton 0 0-0 0, Gunn 3 0-2 8, Hughes 6 2-4 14, Avance 6 5-5 18, Perkins 6 6-7 18, Beatty 0 0-0 0, Cooper 2 0-0 4, Montgomery 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 13-18 62.

3-point goals: Brownsburg 8 (Lackey 3, Thomas 2, Bragg 2, Edmonds), Lawrence North 3 (Gunn 2, Avance).