Shepherd, True near 1,000 points
Mt. Vernon senior Erick Shepherd currently needs just 22 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Sitting at 978 points after missing the majority of his freshman season, Shepherd scored 16 points in a 91-67 victory against Mississinewa on Tuesday for the 11-8 Marauders.
The 6-foot-5 forward, who has an offer from Dakota College, scored 115 points as a freshman, 293 as a sophomore and 306 as a junior. For his career, Shepherd is averaging 13 ppg.
This season, the dynamic forward is netting above his average at 13.8 ppg while also grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, which are both second on the team. Shepherd, who is shooting 53 percent from the field, also has interest from Huntington University and Parkland College.
Eastern Hancock junior Addison True (960 career points) is also nearing 1,000 points. The Royals guard has led the team in scoring the last three seasons and is averaging 16.9 ppg this year.
Hoosier Heritage Conference Race
Pendleton Heights escaped New Castle Tuesday with a 71-68 win, claiming the outright Hoosier Heritage Conference crown with a 7-0 record in league play.
Mt. Vernon (4-1) jumped up to the No. 2 spot in the conference race with two games left on its schedule, while New Castle fell to third (5-2).
Shelbyville (3-3) has won six straight games and sits in fourth. Greenfield-Central, riding a two-game win streak, is in fifth at 3-4 and Delta is sixth at 2-4. New Palestine (1-5) and Yorktown (0-6) round of the rest of the HHC.
Mt. Vernon senior point guard Michael Ertel is leading the conference in scoring at 20.8 ppg, while junior forward Will O’Connor of Greenfield-Central is fourth at 15.9.
Marauders senior forward James McCloud is fourth in rebounding at 6.8 per game and New Palestine freshman point guard Maximus Gizzi is second in assists with 3.6 per game.
Lewis nears 100 wins
Greenfield-Central’s Michael Lewis is closing in on his 100th career win as a head boys basketball coach.
Lewis has 97 wins over seven seasons, the past three being with the Cougars. Greenfield-Central currently is 10-10 with at least four games, including the sectional, left on its schedule.
The Cougars host Rushville (2-18) and Avon (8-11) this weekend before their regular-season finale on Feb. 23 at Plainfield (13-7).
At Delphi, Lewis completed three winning seasons and earned his first sectional title in 2013. He won a career-high 20 games last season with Greenfield-Central, who fell in the sectional to eventual champion Connersville.
