PENDLETON — Both Pendleton Heights and Lapel began the 2023-24 boys basketball season with a pair of tough losses.
Madison County opponent Anderson knocked off both teams, while the Arabians also fell to Wapahani and the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought battle with rival Frankton.
Pendleton Heights was defeated by Anderson 47-38 and Wapahani 53-38. Lapel fell 70-53 to Anderson and 62-58 to Frankton in overtime.
In the loss to Frankton, Lapel held the lead late 55-52, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by the Eagles Joey Wright sent the game into overtime. The Bulldogs struck first, but couldn’t hold on as they were outscored 7-3 in the overtime frame.
Over the course of the game, there were four ties and 12 lead changes.
Bode Judge scored a game-high 23 points, Brode Judge added 14, and Devin Craig scored seven and pulled down six rebounds.
In the season opener against Class 4A Anderson, the fourth quarter was also unkind to the Bulldogs. After three Lapel trailed by just five, 42-37 but were outscored 28-16 over the final eight minutes.
The Indians were led by Damien King who exploded for 34 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
For Lapel, Bode Judge led the team again with 18 points, while Craig scored 11 and finished with seven assists.
In the Arabians matchup against Andeson, they were able to limit King a bit more than Lapel, but the return of head coach Joe Buck was spoiled by the Indians.
King’s 15 points were second on the team, and he pulled down 10 rebounds and had four assists and three steals.
Colin Lewis filled the stat sheet for the Indians and gave the Arabians fits all over the floor. He finished with 16 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and six steals. Nine of his points came in the fourth quarter to close things out.
Pendleton Heights was led by senior Josiah Gustin with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior Evan Mozingo added 13 points and eight rebounds. Newcomer Seth Laravia finished with four points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block.
The Arabians played Westfield Tuesday after press time.
Lapel and Pendleton Heights will square off with each other on Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Pendleton Heights.
