Princeton Community, Evansville Bosse Meet for Class 3A Regional 15 Championship Saturday

Princeton Community carries a 13-game winning streak and the No. 2 ranking in the Indiana USA Today Network Class 3A poll into Saturday's IHSAA Class 3A Regional 15 Championship Game against Evansville Bosse at Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium, with the winner advancing to the March 21 South Semi-State.

The Tigers, who went 22-3 on-court and 12-0 in the PAC this season, shoot 52 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range while averaging 67.1 points per game, fifth-best among Class 3A programs statewide. That offensive efficiency is built around a senior-dominated roster that already secured back-to-back sectional championships for the first time in 34 years. Princeton has not repeated as regional champion since 1935.

Edwin Holmes is the engine driving all of it. The "do-it-all" point forward averages 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 58 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line. A Junior All-Star last season, Holmes is considered a strong candidate to be named an Indiana Senior All-Star after this final year. Head coach LaMar Brown has built an attack, however, that does not hinge on any one player.

Quintyn Voltz, a sophomore transfer from Decatur Central, contributes 14.1 points per game. DeMarcus Newson has developed into a 12.1-point, 4.1-rebound, 3.8-assist threat. Drew Wilkas, who grew up in Princeton but spent a year in Florida, adds 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Zen Coomer rounds out the group at 9.0 points per game. Newson, Wilkas and Coomer each shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range, giving Princeton multiple perimeter threats that opponents cannot ignore when Holmes draws attention in the paint.

Brown credits the team's postseason experience for shaping how his players handle pressure moments. "There was a different pressure a year or two ago," he said. "Being able to stay composed in those tight-game situations, you're taking those opponents' best shot. I really liked the way that team rallied together."

Evansville Bosse arrives at Huntingburg at 17-8 on the season and 7-2 in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference after winning the Class 3A Sectional 32 title. Brown does not take the Bulldogs lightly. "That environment prepared us for the rest of the season," he said. "We were getting everybody's best shot. The Dawg House is a pretty special place when they have an opponent that they really get geared up for. Defensively, (Bosse) really get after you and put pressure on you. I think it's two of the best teams in the area."

Princeton also holds the No. 19 spot in the final IBCA one-class poll, a ranking that reflects where the Tigers stand against all programs regardless of enrollment. A win Saturday would send them to the South Semi-State the following weekend and put the program on the doorstep of the kind of run it has not made since before World War II.