Saturday, March 24, 2001
Batesville shoots for Indiana title today
Bulldogs have already ousted top-ranked team
By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor
Interstate 74 has made it much easier to get from Batesville, Ind., to Indianapolis — for everybody, that is, except the high school boys basketball team. Until now.
Batesville, the No.10 team in the Associated Press Class 2A state poll, plays No.7 Fort Wayne Harding for the 2A state championship at 12:45 p.m. today at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs last went to Indianapolis for a state tournament game in 1943, when they lost in the semifinals to eventual state champion Fort Wayne Central. The 1933-34 team also reached the semifinals.
Those appearances came in the days of Indiana's open state championship, before the state divided schools into classes and awarded multiple state titles. But that takes nothing away from this Batesville team, which beat No.1 Eastern Greene in the semistate.
“It's just been pretty crazy,” said senior shooting guard Matthew Robbins, the Bulldogs' leading scorer. “This is a new experience for all of us. It hasn't happened for so long that, for most of us on the team, it hasn't quite sunk in yet.”
“I think, deep down, everybody thought we had the talent to do something, but I don't think we necessarily envisioned being here today,” said coach Mel Steinfort, a 1981 Batesville graduate. “Last year, we got beat in the regional finals by a point ... We felt like we were pretty close last year, and we had some key kids returning.”
Batesville (21-5) has a six-game tournament win streak, during which its average margin of victory has been 15.2 points.
“Going in, everybody was just saying, "Play hard and enjoy the experience,'” said Robbins, who's in his third year as a starter. “There was no pressure. Everybody just played relaxed.”
Junior forward Chris Steinfort and classmate Dustin Hertel, a 6-foot-3 center, were the two newcomers to the starting lineup that also includes 6-4 senior forward Jacob Garvin and 6-foot senior point guard Ryan Macyauski. The three seniors have played together since the fourth grade.
Robbins averages 17 points a game and Garvin averages 14. Steinfort hits a team-high 43 percent of his 3-point shots, while Hertel hits 70 percent from the field overall. Batesville, as a team, makes percentages of 54 from the field, 73 from the free -throw line and 37 on 3-pointers. Its opponent (22-5) averages almost 13 more rebounds a game than the Bulldogs.
“Batesville teams have a history of being good shooters,” Robbins said. “We usually don't have bigger guys, so we have to learn to play well together. We have to rely on teamwork, because we're usually not going to overpower people inside.”
“There might be nights when we have to push it up a bit and nights when we have to slow it down,” Steinfort said. “Our kids are smart enough to adjust and know when and when not to do that. That's the one thing that sets our team apart.”
Robbins believes Batesville's key against Harding, which is making the school's first appearance in the state final, is controlling tempo. The lineup for the Hawks, who beat No.2 Cass in the tournament, includes 6-6 senior center Trai Essex.
“We haven't played against anyone that size this season, so it will be interesting to see how we handle it,” Robbins said. “We'll have to box out and help out our big guys.
“Harding probably takes more shots than we do, so if we can control the tempo, that will be a huge key for us. If we let them get out and get running, that will be a problem. I'm pretty sure we're not as athletic as they are.”
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Batesville shoots for Indiana title today
