East Chicago Central Upsets Marian 78-74, Advances to Class 3A Semi-state

Jamarie Pollard put up one of the regional's signature performances, and when Andre Wells' tying three-point attempt rimmed out in the final seconds, East Chicago Central had its answer: a 78-74 upset of Mishawaka Marian in the Class 3A regional at Michigan City High School on March 14, advancing the Cardinals to the North Semi-state for the second straight year.

Senior guard Pollard finished with 35 points, per the South Bend Tribune, in what Marian coach Sobieralski called a performance unlike anything he'd seen from the Cardinals all season. MaxPreps' automated recap listed Pollard at 32 points with a 6-for-9 line from three-point range and three steals, a discrepancy that awaits resolution from the official box score, but both accounts agree his shooting was the engine that dismantled a Marian team that had won six straight entering Saturday. Naji Meux added 14 points and six rebounds for East Chicago Central, per MaxPreps.

The closing sequence was as clean as it gets. After Wells' tying three rattled in and out, ECC senior Joseph Watkins Jr. stepped to the line and converted twice with 11.3 seconds remaining to put the Cardinals up four and effectively end it.

What made the finish remarkable was what Marian had going on the other end. Prescott Horvath, the Knights' 6-foot-9 senior forward, was, as Sobieralski put it, simply unstoppable. Horvath finished with a career-high 38 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter alone. MaxPreps credited him with nine rebounds, putting him just shy of a double-double. He fouled out with 11.3 seconds left, the cruelest possible timing after a performance that deserved a better ending. Junior guard Andre Wells was nearly as good, shooting 50 percent from the field to finish with 26 points in a losing effort.

Sobieralski didn't look for exits afterward. "One hundred percent I thought we were going to win it at the end," he said. "We kept telling our kids to get the lead and it would be our game. We got the lead early in the fourth quarter but give them credit. ECC hit some shots that they had not made all year. That's to their credit. No. 1 (Pollard) just killed it tonight. It was just not our night. But we did not take them lightly I can tell you that."

No one in the Marian locker room made excuses. The Knights, who were bidding for just the third regional title in program history, closed their season at 17-8 with five seniors, including Horvath, ending their careers.

East Chicago Central, now 16-12, advances to the Class 3A North Semi-state on March 21. It is the program's seventh regional appearance and second consecutive one. The IHSAA was scheduled to draw semistate pairings, times, and locations on Sunday at 2 p.m. MaxPreps listed a tentative matchup against Columbia City at noon Saturday, though that opponent and tip time are subject to the official IHSAA draw.