Rep the western suburbs, Brownsburg, go ahead. And feel good about it.

How 'bout them Bulldogs? You know, it's actually nice to see a fresh face making a deep run in 4A boys basketball. Seems like it has been the same five or six area schools for the past 10 years. But Saturday, Brownsburg dealt two stiff blows to the pride of Indy's north side by taking out North Central and Carmel -- getting the team in purple its first regional title since 1995.

Maybe the best part about it? Just seeing the Brownsburg student section do its thing. They came deep and they came strong, even being Julian Mavunga's bowling pins during pregame warm-ups.

From a basketball standpoint, coach Josh Kendrick and his squad controlled the pace of play in the 63-59 championship against the Greyhounds. Brownsburg was not going to win that game had the score gotten into the 70s, but it didn't happen. The Bulldogs didn't allow it to happen.

While Mavunga (17 points, 11 boards) and Gordon Hayward (21 points, 11 boards) carried the load offensively, I was just as impressed with the team's defensive performance in controlling the pace. As a unit, the Bulldogs were smart to get back quickly to the defensive end which prevented Carmel from running the floor too much. Brownsburg also spread the floor defensively which, in turn, spread out the Carmel offense. They Greyhounds aren't the same team when Daniel Moore can't penetrate or run the fast break as he does so well. I also felt like the Carmel offense wasn't patient enough in the half-court set to work the ball inside, but with the Bulldogs leading much of the game, sometimes the 3-pointer can seem like the quickest and best way to climb back or keep within striking distance.

After one of the more memorable Saturdays in the program's history, Brownsburg will now sit and wait until late Tuesday night to know its semistate opponent. They'll play the winner of the Seymour Regional that was postponed until tonight and tomorrow, where consensus 4A No. 1 New Albany (24-0) resides. New Albany faces East Central (16-7) tonight, while Evansville Reitz (16-7) and Terre Haute North (11-12) are in the other regional semi at that site.

REGIONAL SNAPSHOT
  • Another tip of the hat to Lutheran, a squad I mentioned last week for winning its first ever sectional title. Well, the Saints marched on with a regional championship with convincing wins over Shakamak (19-6) and South Decatur (14-10), both by double digits. Always great to see a group of seniors make some history at their school. Seniors Jared Broughton, Zach Cutshaw, Eric Borst, Ryan Maddigan, Austin Glander and Jordan Jones all had a say in Saturday's triumph. Lutheran's (21-4) next opponent will either be Borden (19-5), Tecumseh (19-5) or Orleans (20-1).
  • The area's two other regionals with local squads, 3A Shelbyville and 2A Greenfield-Central, will be played tonight and tomorrow due to the March snow storm (it's almost painful to even type those last three words). For a 2A bracket click here and for a 3A bracket click here.
  • Around the state, there were some great regionals that are worth noting this time of year. In 4A, defending state champ East Chicago Central fell in a triller, 61-60, to SB Riley (22-5). The 4A preseason No. 1 team, Marion (23-4), stayed alive with a 42-40 overtime win against a New Castle (18-6) team that had already beaten Lafayette Jeff (23-2) in the afternoon semis. Marion now plays SB Riley in this coming weekend's semistate. Also, In 3A, Tyler Zeller and Washington had a heck of a regional performance at home in the Hatchet House by avenging an earlier loss to Edgewood (23-3) and then claiming the regional title against Evansville Memorial (21-2).
  • Last, an in-house note to remind you to check back to our homepage later this afternoon and the rest of the week. We'll be putting together stories about the hockey state finals and a look ahead to boys hoops semistate on Thursday morning....among other updates, of course.