Richmond boys basketball wins second straight Bob Wettig Tourney, 12-0 for first time since '87

RICHMOND, Ind. — Playing four full-regulation basketball games in two days isn't easy for anyone.

It can take a physical, mental and emotional toll on the body, but winning a championship at the end of all of it makes the pain a little more bearable.

That was the case for the Class 4A No. 15 Richmond boy's basketball team last weekend, as the Red Devils outlasted 15 other teams and won their second straight tournament title in the 17th Annual Bob Wettig Memorial Tournament title (sixth overall) on their home floor, going 4-0 after defeating Class 3A No. 16 Heritage Christian 61-34 in the championship game last Friday night, Dec. 29.

Their performance over the two days improved their record to 12-0, the best start in the team's history since 1987 when the Red Devils advanced to the single-class IHSAA State Championship game.

After defeating Indianapolis Homeschool 76-49 in the first round and East Central 51-28 in the second round, the Red Devils had their toughest game of the season in the semifinals against Greensburg, but narrowly won that one 48-45 to advance to the championship.

"It was another tough game," Red Devils coach Billy Wright said of Greensburg. "I think our fan base may have been a little spoiled, winning our first eight games by 20 to 25 points, but it's not going to always be like that. This is Indiana high school basketball. Teams can play, and when you get to late December, teams scout you and they try to take some things away."

Against the Pirates, Richmond had to make defensive stops down the stretch until senior Zion Deloney sank two free throws late to give his team the three-point advantage.

In the championship against the Eagles, Richmond found itself down only at the start of the game when Heritage Christian's Luke Peters hit a hook shot to put his team up early.

Red Devils senior Gavin Haynes quickly answered with an offensive rebound followed by a layup to get the Red Devils on the board.

Shortly thereafter, senior Ryder Cate scored back-to-back baskets to give Richmond some breathing room until a three from Heritage Christian's Josh McGee cut the deficit back to one.

Richmond junior Cedric Horton swung the momentum back his team's way with his first of two dunks of the night, the first an alley-oop and the second being an exclamation point at the end of the game with 1:42 left that put Richmond up 54-34.

Following Horton's first slam of the night, senior Mason Carpenter hit a three-pointer followed by one by Cate that forced an Eagles timeout at 3:14.

Carpenter and Horton were both named to the tournament's All-Wettig Team at the end of the night, as the two finished with 51 and 60 points over the two days and Carpenter was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

"Mason's one of the hardest workers I've been around as far as consistency day-to-day," Wright said. "He's an energy giver, and he works at it tirelessly. He's hard on himself because he wants to be great, and I respect him for that. I'm just thankful he's on my team. He does a lot for our team and this school and we're happy for him to get the MVP."

Later on towards the end of the first half, the Red Devils faced a tough loss as Cate went down at the 1:43 mark. He had to be helped off the court by teammates and could not put weight on his left foot as he headed to the locker room. He came out near the end of the third quarter wearing a boot and did not play the rest of the game.

Cate had 22 combined points in the team's first three games of the tournament and had nine against Heritage Christian before he went down.

After the game, Wright said he did not know of Cate's condition, saying that he tweaked it and that there was "a little bit of swelling" while adding that they were going to follow medical advice and get Cate an X-ray to make sure nothing was broken.

Senior Braiden Hogg came in for Cate and finished with a game-high 12 points.

"Braiden definitely stepped up," Carpenter said. "I think that he did a very good job and it's not like he just got added to the team. We've been playing with him and grew up with him. It's just something that he fit right in."

The third quarter did not have much offensive output from either team, with the Red Devils outscoring the Eagles just 8-7, but they found their form again in the final eight minutes when they outscored Heritage Christian 21-8.

"I'm just pleased for our guys who bought into what it was going to take to change the culture of the program," Wright said. "That process started two years ago, and our seniors are continuing to uphold the culture of the program. No one's perfect, but they try to do what's right on and off the court and it was just a total team effort."

First Round games

Heritage Christian 55, Seton Catholic 53 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Fort Wayne North Side 52, Indianapolis Shortridge 36 (Played at Dennis Middle School)

NorthWood 59, North Decatur 47 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Indianapolis Tindley 68, Centerville 65 (Played at Dennis MS)

Bloomington South 57, Bellmont 42 (Played at Dennis MS)

Greensburg 54, Indianapolis Scecina 52, OT (Played at Tiernan Center)

Richmond 76, Indianapolis Homeschool 49 (Played at Tiernan Center)

East Central 58, Phalen Academy 48 (Played at Dennis MS)

First Round Consolation games (All played at Dennis MS)

Seton Catholic 81, Indianapolis Shortridge 71, 2OT

North Decatur 63, Centerville 46

Bellmont 51, Indianapolis Scecina 46, OT

Indianapolis Homeschool 89, Phalen Academy 72

Quarterfinal games (All played at Tiernan Center)

Heritage Christian 61, Fort Wayne North 55

Indianapolis Tindley 59, NorthWood 56

Greensburg 59, Bloomington South 50

Richmond 51, East Central 28

Second Round Consolation games

Centerville 46, Indianapolis Shortridge 33 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Indianapolis Scecina 63, Phalen Academy 35 (Played at Dennis MS)

Seton Catholic 63, North Decatur 59 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Bellmont 61, Indianapolis Homeschool 44 (Played at Dennis MS)

NorthWood 58, Fort Wayne North Side 49 (Played at Dennis MS)

Bloomington South 50, East Central 31 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Semifinal games

Heritage Christian 51, Indianapolis Tindley 47 (Played at Dennis MS)

Richmond 48, Greensburg 45 (Played at Tiernan Center)

Placement games

Championship: Richmond 61, Heritage Christian 34 (Played at Tiernan Center)

3rd Place: Greensburg 51, Indianapolis Tindley 48 (Played at Tiernan Center)

5th Place: NorthWood 59, Bloomington South 47 (Played at Tiernan Center)

7th Place: Fort Wayne North Side 57, East Central 49 (Played at Dennis MS)

9th Place: Bellmont 67, Seton Catholic 54 (Played at Tiernan Center)

11th Place: North Decatur 66, Indianapolis Homeschool 61 (Played at Dennis MS)

13th Place: Centerville 42, Indianapolis Scecina 30 (Played at Tiernan Center)

15th Place: Phalen Academy 67, Indianapolis Shortridge 66, 2OT (Played at Dennis MS)

Final standings + Final Record

1st: Richmond (4-0)

2nd: Heritage Christian (3-1)

3rd: Greensburg (3-1)

4th: Indianapolis Tindley (2-2)

5th: Northwood (3-1)

6th: Bloomington South (2-2)

7th: Fort Wayne North Side (2-2)

8th: East Central (1-3)

9th: Bellmont (3-1)

10th: Seton Catholic (2-2)

11th: North Decatur (2-2)

12th: Indianapolis Homeschool (1-3)

13th: Centerville (2-2)

14th: Indianapolis Scecina (1-3)

15th: Phalen Academy (1-3)

16th: Indianapolis Shortridge (0-4)

All-Wettig Team

Mason Carpenter (Richmond) (Most Valuable Player) 51 points

Cedric Horton (Richmond) 60 points

Mason Harvey (Seton Catholic) 98 points, 43 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 7 blocks

Shea Hollendonner (Centerville) 83 points

Luke Peters (Heritage Christian)

Jack McKinsey (Greensburg) 80 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 11 steals

Damon Van Horn (Indianapolis Tindley) 69 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists

Tyler Raasch (Northwood) 79 points

Ethan Wolfe (Northwood) 67 points

Kaden Muckerheide (North Decatur) 83 points, 41 assists

Kord Fuelling (Bellmont)

Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email at eweaver@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: 17th annual Bob Wettig Memorial Tournament Boys Basketball Recap