Brownstown Central begins their quest for another sectional title on Wednesday. The Braves will face off with Henryville at 7:30 p.m. at Southwestern (Hanover) High School, following the Clarksville and Southwestern game, which starts at 6 p.m.

Head Coach Dave Benter spoke on the opening matchup with the Hornets.

“Henryville has a 6’7” senior who averages almost 24 points and 13 rebounds,” Benter said. “We will have to control him and not let any of their other guys get hot.”

Brownstown enters the postseason at 21-4, finishing their 2023-24 season on a 12-game winning streak, while Henryville comes in at 8-14 after dropping their final game to West Washington 56-41.

Benter spoke on the hot finish to the season for the team.

“The big thing about our win streak is we have gotten healthy. We haven’t been healthy for any of our losses,” he said. “The other thing is we are defending at a higher level. We have taken strides in that area since the start of the season. Our pace and ball movement have also been excellent.”

The group of four seniors, Parker Hehman, Jack Benter, Adam Stahl and Caiden Gwin have been a focal point for leadership during this season. Coach Benter spoke on that leadership from this group of kids.

“The leadership both by example and vocally by this group of seniors has been excellent,” he said. “This team probably has the best culture of any team I’ve coached in 26 years. Your culture is usually directly related to your leaders and they have definitely shown great leadership.”

Jack Benter continues the climb up the all-time scoring list for Indiana boys’ high school basketball. Benter currently sits at 2,387 career points, which is tied for 16th all-time. He sits with James Blackmon Jr. who played college basketball at Indiana University and even got a little bit of time in the NBA.

That total will begin to climb with the start of sectionals, how far it will go, depends on how far the Braves advance in the postseason. Benter is also the all-time leading scorer in Jackson County and is on his way to play in the Big Ten at Purdue University.

Coach Benter spoke on what makes this Braves’ team a special one to coach in his opinion.

“I would say close knit unity has been something truly special to coach,” he said. “In addition, the schedule we have been fortunate to play and the following/fan support we have had has been very rewarding.”

The sectional won’t be easy, as three of the top ten Class 2A teams, based on sagarin ratings are in the Southwestern Sectional. Brownstown is ranked first, followed by Providence who is second. The host school in the Rebels are ranked 9th in the ratings.

Sectional Tickets

Tickets for the boys basketball sectional at Southwestern (Hanover) can be purchased digitally. Tickets are $7 or $15 for the entire session. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Brownstown Central plays the second game on Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. against Henryville. This is all-digital and no cash will be accepted to get into the event.

All-session ticket link: public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=69382

Wednesday only ticket link ticket link: public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=69383