LAPEL — Adam Ballard’s initial boys basketball team at Pendleton Heights High School is coming together.

The timing could not be better.

After dropping their first four games of the season, the Arabians won the next three, all part of picking up the program’s sixth Madison County Tournament championship and first since 2018.

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The Arabians defeated the Liberty Christian Lions, 75-65, on Friday at Lapel High School. It was their third win of the week. They defeated Frankton 52-50 on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in a semifinal game at Lapel. The tournament started Monday, Jan. 4, with a 65-50 victory against Alexandria, which beat Pendleton Heights in the title game last season.

Against Liberty Christian, the Arabians shot 58.9% (10 of 17) from 3-point range and 55.3% (26 of 47) overall. They also won the rebound battle against an opponent for the first time this season.

“We were getting ball reversals, getting the ball inside and back outside,” said Ballard, who was hired to take over the program this summer after spending the last five seasons at Covington High School. “We were taking good 3’s. When you take good 3’s you’ve got a better chance to make good 3’s.

“We’ve got some guys that are very good 3-point shooters when their feet are set. When we get them in a position where they can catch and shoot, those are shots we feel we are very capable of making more often than not.”

Five different players hit at least one three-pointer.

Junior Jamison Dunham led the Arabians with 20 points and had a team-high four steals. Sophomore Gabe Simons had a season-high 18 points and team-best nine rebounds. Junior Luke Candiano was perfect from the field, all from 3-point range (4 of 4) and had 15 points. Senior Zion Cook had nine points and eight assists. Junior Ethan Ross grabbed eight boards and had five points.

“As far as (a key to victory goes), I thought the key was that we really got tough on the glass,” Ballard said. “We had 11 offensive rebounds, which by far was a season high. We had 32 rebounds to their 25, and it was the first time we’ve won the rebounding battle this season.

“Offensively, we shared the ball and worked for great shots.”

The Arabians had 18 assists on their 26 made baskets.

“It truly was a team win,” Ballard added.

Ballard added that, defensively, having everyone on the same page helped throughout the week in getting to and winning the county title.

Pendleton Heights had come into the tournament with an 0-4 record, with three of the four losses by 19 points or more. It had shown gradual improvement, leading but falling short in an 81-74 loss to Hamilton Heights prior to the three-game run in the county tournament.

“We’re definitely getting better and starting to figure things out,” Ballard said. “Our kids are starting to trust the things we’re trying to do offensively and defensively. When that starts to happen, you have a chance to make a big jump.

“Now, the key is, can we refocus and get back in the gym and try to get better versus getting satisfied and relaxing?”

In the win over Frankton, Dunham led the way with 17 points. Candiano followed with 14. Eight players scored, with Simons scoring six; Ross, Cook and Josiah Gustin each scoring five; and Evan John and Carter Aldredge scoring two points apiece.

Winning the county tournament can be marked off the Arabians checklist. They will now look ahead to the Hoosier Heritage Conference title and the sectional.

“At the beginning of the year we sat down and mapped out what our goals for the season would be. One of the first things the kids brought up was the county championship,” Ballard said. “It’s a big deal in Madison County, and it’s something that our kids thought enough about that it was the first goal they wanted to achieve.

“Following that was winning the conference and winning the sectional. Like I told them the other night, we can check that one off, and now we can focus on what’s coming next.”

They are the only member of the eight-team league that has not played a conference game. They are scheduled to play seven conference games from Jan. 15 to Feb. 16. The first game is a home contest with New Palestine on Friday. Saturday’s game against Shelbyville has been postponed due to COVID-19 related issues in the Golden Bears program.