The Huntington Eagles varsity boys’ homeschool basketball team won the Indiana Christian Basketball Alliance state championship in Greenwood on Saturday, March 6. Photo provided.
Jed Landis banged in 44 points to carry the Huntington Eagles varsity boys' homeschool basketball team to a 72-66 victory over the Indianapolis Homeschool Wildcats to take the team's first Indiana Christian Basketball Alliance Boys' State Basketball Championship title at the Gathering Place in Greenwood on Saturday, March 6.
Matt Weaver backed up Landis with a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Featherston added 11 points.
The Eagles will move on to the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships in Springfield, MO, during the week of March 15-20.
Huntington, 36-4, managed to quickly establish dominance in the first quarter, building a 14-5 lead. However, Indianapolis pushed to get back in the game, making up the difference to close the stanza within four points of Huntington at 17-13. Both teams continued to battle, totaling 15 lead changes in the first half alone. A last-minute two-pointer by Landis left Huntington clinging to a 39-38 lead at the half.
The second half began right where the first left off. Huntington maintained an edge throughout the third quarter, and tied Indy just once.
But with just over four minutes to go in the match, the Eagles found themselves down four points at 61-57. Just over 90 seconds later, Huntington had regained control, only to have the Wildcats tie the score at 66-all with one minute to go. But two more successful shots by Featherson and two free throws by Landis spelled the end for the Wildcats as Huntington took the championship.
The No. 2-seeded Eagles had pushed through the tournament, playing one game prior Saturday and two on Friday.
Huntington started the tourney by rolling over the No. 15 M.C.A.C. Wildcats, 66-45.
Landis had 22 points and Featherston had 19. Samuel Daniels and Weaver each had nine points, and Daniels also grabbed eight rebounds.
The win put the Eagles against the No. 7 Tippecanoe Tornadoes, and Huntington put the hurt on them with an 82-60 win.
Landis again led the team, with 36 points. Featherston added 20. Weaver took 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Finally, the Eagles reached the Final Four, the fifth time the team reached that level, and beat No. 3 Varsity Laurel Christian Rams 74-62.
Landis canned 42 points and took seven boards. Daniels had 15 points, and Weaver took eight points and had nine rebounds.
Landis finished the weekend with 144 points in four games, an average of 36 points per game, against the state's best.
Complete caption: The Huntington Eagles varsity boys' homeschool basketball team won the Indiana Christian Basketball Alliance state championship in Greenwood on Saturday, March 6. The boys will move on to the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships in Springfield, MO, next week. Team members are (front row from left) Trevor Lloyd, Brice Hitzfield, Jed Landis, Jonathon Yarde, Chris Lieffers and Heath Rush and (back frow from left) Coach Mark Featherston, Caleb Featherston, Samuel Daniels, Brock Hitzfield, Matt Weaver, Caleb Lieffers and Coach Jeff Humbarger.
