The men’s basketball team had a successful and January. They finished the month with an 8-1 record including a City championship and a win on Senior Night.

The team started the month off with four straight wins, all by more than 20 points. This included a win over rival Roncalli, in which junior Jaron Tibbs scored 25 points and junior Xavier Booker added 15 on the way to a 79-48 victory. 

The team’s lone loss this month was at the hands of Carmel, 71-57 on Jan. 12. However they bounced right back, winning three straight games to capture the City championship. Those wins came against George Washington, Crispus Attucks and Arsenal Tech. Behind great performances from senior Tayshaun Comer, the team’s leading scorer, and juniors Jake Davis and Sincere Germany, the team rolled through Washington and Crispus Attucks, winning by 37 and 35 points, respectively. 

However, then came the City championship game against Arsenal Tech, which, in a regular season game on Dec. 18, defeated the Irish 80-73. This time, though, it was a different story. Comer and Tibbs took over the game, combining for 48 of the team’s 80 points as they came away with a 16-point win. Germany added 12.

At the end of the Tech game, things got chippy between the two teams. With under 30 seconds left, senior Jaxon Edwards went on a fast break and was fouled hard by Tech senior Reggie Bass. The players were separated by coaches from both teams, so no physical fighting occurred. However, as the players were being pulled away, there were verbal altercations between assistant coaches from both teams. The exchange caused the referees to end the game early with the score of 80-64.

After things cooled down after the Jan. 24 City championship game, the two teams met with referees to talk things out. Head Coach Mr. Jason Delaney wrote in a tweet, “We can now both move on and adults and the kids can learn from it.” Delaney did not reply to emails requesting additional information. 

The team finished off the month on Jan. 29 with a 94-51 win over Purdue Poly. This game was also Senior Night for the team, and the starting lineup featured seniors Luke Hern, Gabe Rodriguez, Jaxon Edwards, Jaiden Malachi and Jerren Conway. Comer once again led the team in scoring with 22 points.

The team is back in action on Feb. 5, when they play at Floyd Central in Southern Indiana. That will be the first of seven remaining regular season games for the team before Sectional. The tournament draw will occur on Feb. 20, and the team will play their first Sectional game on either March 1 or March 2, depending on the draw.