Center Grove, winners of four of their last five games, takes on Ben Davis tonight at 7:30. Their latest win, a 35-28 victory over Greenwood in the County Championship game, was a huge confidence booster for the team. 

“We have felt better about how we are playing, but we know we can be even better,” Ankney said. “But we also know we can be better. We can share the ball on offense and get stops on defense.”

Head Coach Zach Hahn says the key to a win against Ben Davis is rebounding. Ben Davis averages 53.9 rebounds per game with leading rebounder Zane Daughty pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game. 

“The keys for us are our rebounds and turnovers,” Hahn said. “When teams are really athletic, we have to limit offensive rebounds. If we turn the ball over, we give them easy buckets, and they’re really good in transition.“

Senior and leading scorer Landin Hacker said Center Grove will also focus on limiting turnovers. Ben Davis, which averages 8.9 steals per game and 5 blocks per game, uses defensive stops to score easy buckets on the fast break.

“If we limit turnovers and get good possessions on offense with more than one reversal we will be in good shape,” Hacker said. “[We will try to] limit turnovers by not throwing careless passes and executing coaches’ game plan will give us good possessions on offense.”

The team will likely look to Hacker for an offensive punch. Ankney said Hacker is the key to Center Grove’s offense. 

“He just makes plays for everyone else and he is a good leader,” Ankney said. “He brings us energy and confidence.”

A win against Ben Davis would boost the team’s confidence and help the team continue their current win streak. 

“MIC wins boost our confidence that we can beat any team on our schedule if we play the way the coach asks us to play,” junior Jordan Vaughns said. “MIC games are important because they put our name out there more.”