Complete team. Complete tournament. Lawrence North rolls to Marion County championship

Ready for takeoff.

That line applies to the Lawrence North basketball team, which might already be midair after it completed its four-wins-in-a-week run to the Marion County tournament championship with a 78-53 win over Franklin Central on Saturday night at Southport Fieldhouse.

And it definitely applies to senior guard Kobi Bowles, who put the finishing touches on the Wildcats’ win by taking off like an F-15 fighter jet from the runway for a thunderous one-hand dunk midway through the fourth quarter.

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“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Bowles said. “I’m a high-flyer but I haven’t been able to dunk in the games much with the pack-line defenses we’ve been going up against. Getting in the lane where I could finally take off felt great.”

Felt great. Looked great. On back-to-back nights against North Central and Franklin Central, the Class 4A second-ranked Wildcats (14-0) showed why they are going to be a difficult team to oust in about six weeks in Sectional 10 — and possibly beyond.

“They used to say some years it’s tougher to win Marion County than it is to win state,” Lawrence North coach Chris Giffin said. “I wouldn’t say that anymore. But certainly, four games in (five) nights against quality competition in this hotbed of basketball is tough. Hopefully it gives us some experience going into that sectional, which is murderous.”

Experience in addition to a little bit of everything else the Wildcats possess On Saturday night, 6-7 sophomore Brennan Miller took his turn leading Lawrence North with 22 points and 14 rebounds. But it is far from ever being a one-man show. Kai McGraw, a 6-8 sophomore, added 15 points in the championship and 6-2 junior guard Azavier Robinson went for 13 points and six assists. Bowles added 10 points and Myles Baker had nine.

Franklin Central (8-7), coming off a comeback 55-49 win over Warren Central on Friday night, trailed from the opening seconds, falling behind by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. Senior guard Josh Moriarty drilled three 3-pointers in the third quarter to rally the Flashes, who got as close as nine points in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

But back-to-back baskets by Robinson quickly pushed the lead back to 15 and Franklin Central never got it to single digits again. Giffin, who won four Marion County tournament titles on the girls’ side at Lawrence North, became the first coach to win championships coaching the boys and girls.

“Their guards as good of guards as we’ll see all year,” Franklin Central coach Kyle Ballard said of Lawrence North. “It’s not that they have one. They sort of have a three-headed monster out there and they make shots. They share the ball and find the open jersey. And we’re behind and trying to speed it up so we’re in scramble mode, knowing we’re going to get beat at times. There’s a reason Robinson is a Division I player and those other guys are really good, too.”

Standout sophomore Ed Hazelett III led Franklin Central with 17 points. Moriarty scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and Carson Back added 10 points for the Flashes, who were playing in the Marion County tourney championship for the first time since winning it in 2007.

Lawrence North also started the 2020-21 season 14-0. That team lost game No. 15 to Fletcher Loyer, Luke Goode and Homestead in overtime before going to play in the state championship in a 28-3 season, losing to Carmel in overtime.

This team is capable of making a similar tournament run. There is plenty of motivation out there to continue winning, though the standard may be the Wildcats themselves instead of upcoming opponents. There have been times this year Lawrence North has flipped the switch when necessary to put an opponent away.

“As long as we set that standard and play up to it, nobody can stop us,” Bowles said. “As long as we put in the work to get there, we’re good. I think we’re taking pride in defense a lot more and playing a lot more together, which is an important thing.”

There are certainly tough tests ahead, including North Central and New Palestine later in January and Carmel, Fort Wayne North Side, Ben Davis and 4A top-ranked Fishers, among others, in February. But those opponents have plenty to worry about with the Wildcats.

“I’m glad I don’t to have to guard them,” Giffin said of his guards. “It’s a guards’ game, but Miller and McGrew scoring off the boards was huge for us. We have some balance, some depth and some of the guys who contributed a lot last night (against North Central) maybe not so much (Saturday). But we had other guys who did. That’s the beauty of this team right now.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.