Benton Central Wins First Sectional in 23 Years; Tri-County, Rossville Advance

Benton Central completed a dramatic turnaround, beating Western Boone to claim its first IHSAA sectional title in 23 years. Plassard led the way with 22 points, Peyton Thayer added 20 and Bennett Senesac scored 19 as Benton Central improved to 11-14 and advanced to the Class 2A regional. Benton Central faces Oak Hill for the Class 2A regional title at 4 p.m. in Frankfort.

The sectional crown capped a season that began 1-7 for Benton Central, a comeback the program had not produced in more than two decades. For Senesac, the moment carried family resonance: his sister Tressa won an IHSAA semistate as a freshman in 2019. “We learned to play as a unit,” Senesac said. Now it was Bennett's turn to hoist a sectional title.

At Clinton Central, Rossville reached the next round with a 57-37 victory over Carroll (Flora). Skinner finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, junior Aiden Schaumburg scored 11, and Cooper, Coach Dunn’s son, ran the point. Coach Dunn praised his team’s physicality: “We were really going to have to be physical, keep them out of the middle and we took them out of the paint,” Dunn said. “We dominated the boards. A credit to how hard our kids played tonight.” On managing the father-coach role, Dunn said, “I've got some great assistants keep me in check. It makes it easy when your son is a great kid. I have to remember that sometimes and he's giving me everything he's got.”

There is conflicting information about Rossville’s next opponent and time: one report lists Rossville taking on North Vermillion at 1 p.m. Saturday in Frankfort, noting North Vermillion beat Central Catholic 69-53 in the Fountain Central sectional, while a Clinton Central schedule lists a sectional championship between Rossville and Bethesda Christian at 7 p.m. Saturday. The two lines are recorded as provided and are not reconciled in the available materials.

Tri-County is listed in sectional summaries under a headline that it has “become a quad dynasty.” Caston beat DeMotte Christian 64-61 in a semifinal listed as G6, and the championship pairing is scheduled as Tri-County versus Caston at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. No individual Tri-County player statistics for the final were provided in the compiled results.

Other sectional results and semifinal lines around the Lafayette area included Western Boone 71, Rensselaer Central 48 and Benton Central 63, North Montgomery 36 in Sectional 37 semifinals; Oak Hill rolled past Lewis Cass 72-34 in Sectional 38; and in Sectional 58 Eminence edged Providence Cristo Rey 52-49 in double overtime. Several sectional listings include scheduled championship times across the region, including Lafayette Central Catholic versus North Vermillion and Triton versus South Central (Union Mills), among others.

Benton Central’s regional assignment sends the Panthers to Frankfort at 4 p.m. against Oak Hill, with Plassard, Thayer and Senesac carrying the scoring burden that turned a 1-7 start into a sectional trophy and a spot in the Class 2A regional bracket.