Pendleton Heights returns to the boys Four on the Floor rankings this week after snapping a four-game losing streak.
The extremely young Arabians — Michael Maxwell is the team’s lone senior — have weathered a rugged early-season schedule and appear poised to make a run in next week’s Madison County Tournament.
After opening the season with a 76-54 win against Alexandria (a team that has won five of six games since), Pendleton Heights dropped consecutive decisions to Delta (67-59), Westfield (69-66), Hamilton Southeastern (65-46) and Mount Vernon (59-50).
The Arabians stopped the skid last Friday with a 52-38 win at Shenandoah, last week’s No. 3 team, and followed Saturday with a 76-70 victory against Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Rushville.
Pendleton Heights has received huge contributions from junior Nathan Hendershot, the team’s leading scorer, and freshmen Kendall Watters and Kellen Dunham.
Arabians head coach Brian Hahn said at the season’s outset his youthful team would need to improve each week of the season.
Judging by last week’s results, they appear to be on schedule.
“We’re starting to understand what it takes to win, and that makes Christmas a lot happier,” Hahn told The Herald Bulletin after the Rushville win.
Without further ado, here are this week’s rankings:
1. Anderson (4-0). Next game: Tuesday at home against Indianapolis Washington. The Indians’ North Central Conference opener against Logansport was iced out last Friday. So the Tribe will be on a 13-day hiatus when they return to action Tuesday at the Wigwam.
2. Lapel (5-1). Next game: Saturday against Tri-Central at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs responded to their first loss of the season two weeks ago against Highland with impressive back-to-back victories over Knightstown and Guerin Catholic. A rematch with the Scots awaits in the county tourney.
3. Highland (3-3). Next game: Saturday at Indianapolis Arlington. The Scots haven’t played since a disappointing 70-47 loss to city rival Anderson on Dec. 17. Expect a focused, and possibly angry, performance against Arlington.
4. Pendleton Heights (3-4). Next game: Jan. 5 against Frankton in the Madison County Tournament. The Arabians will have been off for 15 days when they open county tourney play. We’ll see if their current hot streak can survive the break.
There will be no Four on the Floor column next week. It will return Jan. 10, the day after the boys county title game.
Local Sports
Boys Four on the Floor: Pendleton Heights returns to rankings
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