Indiana Sectional Semifinals Deliver Highlights Across Central Indiana Friday

Sectional 11 at Plainfield produced the night's most compelling basketball Friday, with Brownsburg surviving Ben Davis 77-73 and Pike holding off Plainfield 56-53 in a pair of semifinals that set up an all-or-nothing championship matchup between the Bulldogs and Red Devils.

The Brownsburg-Ben Davis game was the marquee clash of the evening, a four-point finish that could have gone either way. Brownsburg had already shown it could handle pressure in Sectional 11, knocking off Avon 54-49 in the first round on March 3. Beating Ben Davis by the same margin of survival, just with more points on the board, confirmed the Bulldogs as the bracket's most tested team heading into championship Saturday.

Pike's 56-53 win over Plainfield was equally tight, the Red Devils escaping the host school by just three points to advance. Playing on Plainfield's floor made the result a minor upset in terms of environment, and the narrow margin will give Pike's coaching staff plenty to address before the title game.

Sectional 10 at Tech also produced its championship pairing Friday, though with considerably less drama. Lawrence North routed North Central (Indianapolis) 83-59, and Lawrence Central handled Warren Central 56-50. Those two programs will meet Saturday at 7:30 p.m. for the Sectional 10 title. WISH-TV's The Zone featured highlights from both Sectional 10 matchups in its Friday night package, alongside the Sectional 11 games, Carmel vs. Noblesville, and Fishers vs. Hamilton Southeastern.

Sectional 9 at Greenfield-Central also wrapped its semifinal round with two lopsided results. Mt. Vernon of Fortville dismantled Muncie Central 71-38, while Greenfield-Central beat Anderson 71-52. Those two teams meet Saturday at 7:30 p.m. for the sectional championship.

Beyond central Indiana, several other sectionals produced notable results across the state. In Class 3A, Guerin Catholic blew out host Frankfort 81-36 at Sectional 25, while Danville beat Crawfordsville 75-61 in the other semifinal. At Sectional 28 in Greenwood, Roncalli topped New Palestine 69-58 and Beech Grove beat Indian Creek 63-52.

In Class 1A, Sectional 57 had to relocate entirely after a roof leak at Indiana Deaf forced all games to Anderson Prep. The logistical disruption did not slow down Liberty Christian, which rolled to an 86-16 win over MTI. Tindley beat Indiana Math and Science 67-51, and Anderson Prep defeated International 53-30 in front of a home crowd that was technically a substitute venue.

One of the tighter small-school finishes came at Sectional 59 at Tri, where Edinburgh escaped Knightstown 63-60. South Decatur handled North Decatur more comfortably, winning 71-53 to set up a county rivalry championship.

The full evening of highlights aired on WISH-TV's nightly high school sports program The Zone, which packaged semifinal action from across the region into two segments covering a combined 10 games. Championship Saturday across multiple sectionals tips off at either 7 or 7:30 p.m., with Sectional 10's Lawrence North-Lawrence Central final and Sectional 11's Brownsburg-Pike showdown among the most anticipated matchups remaining in the bracket.