Published: March 05, 2009 02:25 am      

CLASS A: Red-hot Kirchgessner shoots down Rock Creek

HENRYVILLE — Lee Kirchgessner had his typical first-game jitters for Borden.

That’s usually good news for the Braves.

Kirchgessner was nearly perfect in the first half on Wednesday, helping defending-champion Borden blitz Rock Creek Christian 76-44 in the opening round of the Class A Henryville Sectional at Furnish Gymnasium.

Kirchgessner came off the bench to score 17 of his game-high 20 points in the opening two quarters, hitting his first six shot attempts, including five from 3-point range.

It was a performance almost identical to a year ago, when Kirchgessner opened sectional by posting a career-best 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers in a sectional-opening victory over Henryville.

“I think it’s the atmosphere,” said Borden coach Doc Nash. “Not a lot of guys are used to playing with 2,200 people in the gym. Lee does not seem to mind it at all. He says a little first-game jitters sometimes are a good thing — I just told him he better be nervous again on Friday.”

The Braves will look to continue their quest for a second straight sectional crown on Friday when it plays Lanesville in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles advanced on Wednesday with a 61-31 win over South Central in the nightcap. New Washington will meet Christian Academy of Indiana in the first semifinal at 6 p.m.

Borden wasted little time announcing it had every intention of playing for a sectional repeat. The Braves hit their first nine attempts from the floor and used a 16-2 run in the opening quarter to grab a 27-13 lead.

The Braves finished the first half 16-of-20 from the floor, holding a 44-31 advantage at intermission.

“Borden is a team blessed with outstanding basketball players,” said Rock Creek coach Chris Brown. “My team is athletes who sometimes play basketball. Their kids are skilled and know how to play the game. The way they executed in those first two quarters really throughout the game, they would beat a lot of (Class) 2A and 3A schools.”

As perfect as the Braves’ offense played in the first two periods, the defense was just as effective in closing things out after intermission.

Borden held the Lions to 13 points in the final two quarters, including three in the final eight minutes.

Chris Beam and Chance Clark each had 16 points in the win for Borden (16-5). Clark was a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and Beam was 6-of-8 with a pair of 3-pointers. As a team, Borden shot 32-of-44 from the field (73 percent).

“We did a poor job of contesting their shot attempts from start to finish,” said Brown. “If you look at the film from this one, it will look like we didn’t play any defense at all.”

Kendrick Dale had 10 points in the loss for Rock Creek (10-13). Freshman De’jon Garner finished with nine off the bench in the setback.

“Our focus as a team this summer and beyond will be to become a better basketball team,” said Brown. “Our basketball skill level has to improve for us to compete with the teams we play on our schedule going forward.”



ROCK CREEK CHR. 16 15 10 3—44

BORDEN 27 17 15 17—76

Rock Creek (10-13) — Todd 5, Major 3, Mayes 8, Dale 10, Austin 4, Bennett 2, Warner 9, Hawn 3.

Borden (16-5) — C. Beam 16, Potts 9, Chester 6, Wagoner 7, Clark 16, Kirchgessner 20, Rich 2, B. Beam 0, Little 0, Scott 0, Martin 0.

Three-point field goals — Rock Creek Christian 3 (Todd, Major, Hawn); Borden 7 (Kirchgessner 5, C. Beam 2).

Rebounds — Rock Creek 9 (Mays 5); Borden 13 (Clark 5).

Turnovers — Rock Creek 19, Borden 13.