COLUMBIA CITY-In 49 states, it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana. It’s that special time of the season. March always has something synonymous and sentimental in the state of Indiana.
It’s that point of time where the weather is starting to get better, winter is slowly ending, near the end of the school year, and we have March Madness of course. We like to fill out those brackets hoping to achieve that perfect bracket or pick the correct champion.
However, not a single prognosticator would have realized the kind of sections championship game we would be witnessing at the Bird Cage in Columbia City as the Eagles repeated as sectional champions in a bruising 31-22 win over the NorthWood Panthers. 3A #6 Columbia City (22-4) was favored to win this sectional. Meanwhile, NorthWood (14-12) caught fire at the right time winning 9 of the previous 10 games after posting a midseason record of 5-10.
NorthWood came out to play at the start as they sported a 6-0 run off of the hop to put some pressure on the Eagles. Columbia City failed to make a single field goal in the opening frame, but they got two free throws to cut it down to 4. That started a 10-2 run in the 2nd quarter as the Eagles finally got some shots to fall started by a reverse layup from Owen Marshall to take an unusual 10-8 lead into the locker room.
Head Coach Matt Schauss stated that his team’s effort characterized a championship team where despite only shooting 11-32 on the game, they found a way to win a sectional title. Both teams had their looks all game, but shots were not falling consistently all night long.
Throughout the entirely of the game, the Eagles and the Panthers worked for every possession and every basket.
“That’s credit to both teams defensively, right?” said Schauss. “We had a good plan for them. They had a great plan for us. Both teams (were) super physical. They (Refs) kind of let us play. But we just knew that the first 3 minutes of that 3rd quarter, we had to have to get like, a 4-0 or 6-0 run, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but in the game that we were just playing there, it was.”
Just a moment of winning the little battles, taking care of the little things. Getting to the free throw line, and getting some stops. Trey Deckman was 0-6 from the floor in this game, but he was second on the team with 7 rebounds. Columbia City was 8-9 from the charity stripe, while NorthWood failed to get to the free throw line all night long.
“I think coming out, (with) me getting the two free throws to start it, I think we had 3 stops there to start the 2nd half,” said Marshall on the mentality coming out of halftime. That sets you off for success when you know a team can’t score, they can’t win. So when you do the little things like that, it’s easy to be successful and come out on top.”
Marshall’s performance would be the start of a great performance. Just like last season’s sectional run at NorthWood, Marshall played his best week at the most important time of the season where he put up a career-high 32 points and 8 rebounds in the first-round win over West Noble. Tonight, Marshall finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-10 shooting, made the lone three in Columbia City’s 9 three-point attempts, made 5 of his 6 free throws, 3 rebounds, and a steal. In the second half, Marshall scored 12 of his 18 points when his team needed that spark to take this game to the finish line.
Schauss said his performance was big-time and provided a huge emotional boost to settle down the emotions and persevere through a tough, length NorthWood defense.
“We shoot the ball pretty well from the outside,” said Schauss. “In the past 2 nights, for whatever reason, we got great looks, just felt like there was a lid on the bucket. So for Owen to get downhill, get to the rim some, find his little turnaround fader and see that going the net a couple times. That was big for him and big for us as a group. Put some points on the board.”
A future Bethel Pilot, Owen Marshall’s performance against NorthWood last season sent shockwaves statewide as his team upset state-ranked NorthWood 46-45 in the semifinal round. His three from the volleyball line forced overtime in last year’s sectional championship game against Tippy Valley, while his cousin Stratton Fuller-now at Army West Point, made the game-winning bucket in OT to break the hearts of Valley fans.
Tonight, roughly one calendar year later, it was a very familiar sight with the Eagles cutting down the nets, this time at the Eagles’ nest.
“I think it’s the positions that my teammates and coaches put me in to be able to be successful,” said Marshall. “Kudos to everyone on the team with a program that, leads to those little things, like me making a layup, me making a three. It was a team effort. I’m really appreciative of this, this whole team and program. I think everyone’s bought in and it’s amazing.”
As for Landon Richmond, a future Huntington Forester, it was not quite his typical performance of his season averages of 19 points and 9 rebounds as he was held to 11 points and 8 rebounds on 4-7 shooting and 2 blocks. That said, Richmond’s presence was felt going head-to-head with future Olivet Nazarene Tiger Mason Pearson of NorthWood. Pearson was held to 6 points on 3-4 shooting and grabbed 4 rebounds and a steal.
“He’s a physical guy,” said Richmond on Pearson. “I play him a bunch on my AU team and everything. So it was a lot of fun down (there) against them, but overall, I just had to be physical and stay strong. I was going to be fouled a bunch, but it didn’t matter. I just had to keep playing through it.”
Richmond admittedly stated that his team believed they were going to “blow the out of the water. However, with him and the team not playing or shooting as well as they normally do, they needed to come out of halftime playing a more physical brand of basketball-and that they did.
There is a family history at Columbia City for basketball. His father, David Richmond, is a 2002 Columbia City grad and a 2006 Grace College alum-who is currently on the Eagles’ coaching staff. Landon said being a Columbia City Eagle one more time on the home court is an awesome feeling knowing where his future will be after high school.
“It’s close enough to the community in Columbus City that I feel like it won’t even be a change,” said Richmond on the transition to college. “It’ll be a different school, but the community at Huntington’s just as good as here in Cumbus City. So, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.“
This state tournament is a reminder of the opportunities that these players will get to have at the collegiate level as March and basketball are synonymous for postseason hoops.
“It’s amazing, man. I love this type of bonus, it is what I live for,” said Marshall on the opportunity to play in March. “It might sound cocky, but I love being out there and putting on a show for the big crowd. So, I’m appreciative of this community showing up every night, and I’m excited to get after it.“
The standard has been set by the seniors at Columbia City to bring some success back to a storied-rich program. After winning a sectional title a season ago to go with their 2 NE8 championships and taking South Bend St. Joseph to their limits in last year’s regional, the bar was set so high to do it again. Coach Schauss reflected on this moment with sincerity on the team’s grind to get to where they are now as a back-to-back sectional champion for the first time in a decade.
“I’ll just be honest, it was a hard week. Right?” said Schauss. “Really from the start of the year, this is what we think about. Not that there’s pressure and these guys kind of like that, but there were some expectations for this group. You know, we felt that as coaches, they felt that as players, but I think we kind of, we shine in those moments when we feel some of those things. So, again, just proud of our group, (being) super resilient, (and) find ways to win. It doesn’t matter how it looks like in March.“
For NorthWood, the Panthers shot 11-31 from the floor and never got the lead back despite that 6-0 start. NorthWood was led by Brogan Ferrell with 8 points on 4-6 shooting.
Columbia City will face Hanover Central on Saturday March 14 at Plymouth.
Check out the highlights from Saturday’s sectional championship game on the ANEC Sports YouTube page.