Shemar Taylor's 19 Points, Five Steals Lift Muncie Central Past Richmond

Shemar Taylor scored 19 points, collected five steals and hauled in five rebounds while shooting 7-for-11 as Muncie Central beat Richmond 56-47 in the first round of Class 4A Sectional 9 at Greenfield-Central on March 3, keeping the senior’s high school season alive and sending the Bearcats into a semifinal against No. 4 Mt. Vernon Friday at 6:00 p.m.

Taylor’s 7-for-11 night (about 64 percent shooting) and his five thefts fueled Muncie Central’s offense and created transition chances late. Sophomore Jaxson Johnson added 14 points and five blocks while shooting 63 percent from the field, and Doiron Montgomery chipped in seven points and seven rebounds to shore up the interior for the Bearcats. The victory improved Muncie Central to 12-11 and marked two wins in a row for the team.

The fourth quarter proved decisive as Muncie Central continued to build after halftime and pushed the lead to as many as 14 points in the final period, reversing a January meeting with Richmond in which Muncie had blown a 15-point fourth-quarter advantage and lost 66-64. Taylor made the emotional stakes clear after the win: “I didn't want to go home. One-and-done, we did that last year. I just don't want to be done. I want to keep playing with my brothers. I just love playing with them. I want to continue practice, didn't want yesterday to be my last practice or today to be my last game.”

Johnson set the tone for that late-game discipline in the huddle and on the stat sheet, saying, “This time, we're not going to let the same mistakes happen. We're going to hold the ball, we're going to get stops, and that's what we did.” His five blocks and efficient scoring backed that claim and helped Muncie protect a lead Richmond pressured in earlier stretches.

Richmond finished the season-opening sectional under a 6-19 mark and has lost eight of its last ten matchups. A game-day post on X credited Thomas Stargell with 14 points for Richmond, a figure not otherwise detailed in the official box snippets available. Muncie Central now turns to a powerful Mt. Vernon squad that has posted at least 55 points in each of its last six games, presenting a clear matchup test for Muncie’s recent defensive strengths - namely Taylor’s five steals and Johnson’s five blocks.

Taylor’s night ensured one more practice and at least one more postseason game for a senior who made defense and finishing his high school run a personal mission; Friday’s 6:00 p.m. semifinal at Greenfield-Central will pit that resolve against Mt. Vernon’s sustained scoring run.