REGULAR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS,1999-2000 Feb.25th, On Tues,Feb. 22nd, the Loogootee Lions ended there regular season on a downslide as the Lions lost their third straight game, 55-44, at Eastern Greene.
The Lions were a step slower than the Thundbirds, throughout the early part of the first half, falling behind 22-9, before mounting a good rally to cut lead to 32-25, at the half.
In the second half the Lions seemed flat as they fell behind by 18 with 3:20 to go. Butcher cleared the bench at that point, and the hard playing reserves pulled the Lions within 11 by the end of the game, to make it more respectable. The Thunderbirds played an up tempo style offense that benefited them all night, with impressive cuts to the basket by their talented guards, Levi Carmichael, and Craig Quimby. The Lions were again led in scoring by workhorse, Brett Bradley, with 19pts. On a lighter note, his father Marty Bradley, put on an excellent halftime performance, winning $20. while sinking a big shot from the top of the key ! Hey Jack, suit this guy up!
Lions finish regular season at (15-5).
Feb.19th, On Thurs.Feb 17th, The Loogootee Lions lost their second straight game. Heritage Hills came to Loogootee and defeated the Lions, 67-63.
Heritage Hills standout Junior Jay Cutler led the Patriots with 26pts. Heritage Hills led at all stops, 11-7,32-25,47-42.
The Patriots took their biggest lead of the game midway thru the third, 41-29, before the Lions rallied cutting the lead to 47-42 by end of third. The Lions acctually drew even with Heritage Hills twice at 55 all with 4:18 left in fourth, and again 57 all with 2:44 left. Lions missed some critical free-throws down the stretch that could have tied the game on a couple of other possesions, two were front end of one on one's.
The Lions seemed to come out of the gate slow and never really picked up the defensive pressure until they made their run late in third quarter. Patriots seemed to be able to drive baseline at will for most of the first three quarters. Brett Bradley had another stellar performance to lead Lions with 29pts. The Lions now fall to (15-4) with the loss.
Feb.13th, The Loogootee Lions saw their 11 game win streak come to an end by a determined group of North Knox five players and two referees, 60-58.
The Lions were leading 47-41,late in the game, when the Warriors were aloud to play by international rules! Several possesions ended when the Warrior players hooked the ball away from the Lion guards!
The Lions on the game hit a good 52% from the field,23-44, and 83% from the free-throw line on 10-12 shooting. For the record North Knox hit 28 of 33 free-throws, a gift from their friends who refereed the game!!
Sr.Brett Bradley, WRZR player of the game scored 32pts. followed by So.Kevin Lannan with 13pts.
The play of the game was a unbelievable Technical foul called on the Loogootee crowd with under a minute to play!!! Even with that the Lions had a shot to win at the end a three by Kluesner that bounded off! Well Lions players don't hang your heads to much on that loss! It took a tremendous team effort to counter the North Knox seven! If this game were to be made into a movie, they would call it, "The ambush at Bicknell!". Also congratulations to our JV team who lost to undefeated No. Knox 30-28, on tip in at buzzer. In that game, the Warriors "good old boy referee's",ensured the Lions never! never!, shot a free-throw!,unbelievable man! The Lions are now 15-3, and No.Knox improves to 13-4. Lions finish BCC at 5-3.
Feb.12th, The Loogootee Lions led by a very balanced scoring attack defeated the Orleans Bulldogs, 51-33 on friday, Feb.11th. Loogootee fronted at the end of every quarter, 11-7, 25-17 at the half, and 38-29 heading into the fourth quarter.
Orleans played inspired and scrappy all night and kept the Lions from pulling away until the fourth quarter as the Lions outscored the Bulldogs, 13-4.
The Lions were led in scoring by Soph. Kevin Lannan with 15pts. Followed by Jr. Brett Bradley and Sr. Josh Jeffers, with 14pts a piece. Sr.Ricky Lyon added 6pts.Jr. Jordan Schnarr came off the bench and hit the boards well and contributed 2pts. Alan Burch helped out alot in the second half as Josh Jeffers had some foul trouble.
The Lions improve to 15-2, winners of their last 11, Jack Butcher now has 769 wins, the Lions travel to North Knox (12-4) tonite for a key Blue Chip Conf. matchup.>
In other pressing matters concerning the future of Hoosier Hysteria, Governor O'Bannon has put his seal of approval on Legislative Action to rein in the untouchables on Meridian Street, the IHSAA!
A news report I heard yesterday morning, stated that over the weekend, the leaders of the Legislature and the IHSAA will meet to try to hammer out an acceptable compromise to the Legislation certain to pass in the Senate on Monday, Feb.14th. Sen. Pro Tem, Garton, warns if the IHSAA isn't willing to listen to reason, then he will proceed with the Legislation on Monday.
Could this mean the hoped for Restoration of Hoosier Hysteria !! Keep your fingers crossed!

Feb.9th, Look to link below about my memories of the house at 100 Pine Street, Loogootee that was torn down today.

Feb.5th, The Loogootee Lions won their 10th straight win, with a thrilling 64-60 2 o.t. victory over the highly regarded 3A Mitchell Bluejackets !
The Lions started strong using a 3-2 zone that shut down the much taller Jackets as the Lions built a 30-20 halftime edge.In the second half the Jackets forced it inside to Sanders,who scored 30pts last nite against the Hatchets on 15 of 15 from the field. By the end of the third the Jackets were within 38-32.
The Lions went to their famous 3 out 2 under in the fourth quarter, but the Jackets played a great collapsing defense, coupled with the Lions unable to clinch it from the free-throw line in regulation.After a time out a stellar soph. for the Jackets, Seth Miller sank a three pointer to force overtime. In the first overtime the Lions and Bluejackets exchanged free-throws, as both teams headed into a second overtime, tied 51 all! The Lions to advantage of some key rebounds and free-throws to hold off the Jackets for their 10th straight win, 64-60!
The Lions hit 28-42 free-throws for the game for 67%.The Lions scored all of there pts. in both o.t.s from the free-throw line.Soph. Kevin Lannan WRZR player of the game, hit for 17 big pt.s. Jr.Brett Bradley, Seniors,Josh Jeffers, and Ricky Lyon all hit for 13 big pts. apiece. Jr.Andrew Kluesner hit for 6pts. and Jr.Jordan Schnarr had 2pts. Sr.Tony Sanders led the Bluejackets with 23pts. This was a big win over a much taller and stronger Bluejacket squad, the Jackets start two 6'6" at 210 & 230 #'s and 6'4" at 200lbs. A great team effort as the Lions challanged the Jackets on every possession forcing them into some bad passes and shots.Lions are now 14-2, Jack wins # 768 !!

Jan.30th,Check out my Southwest Top 10 update below: Or should I say top 15,this is difficult year with so many good teams and so much parity.

On Friday, Jan.28th, the Loogootee Lions won their 9th straight as the Lions defeated the Linton Miners, 54-36.The Lions opened up a 27-16 halftime lead. The Miners closed to within 36-29, after 3 quarters.The Lions regrouped to double the score on Linton in the final quarter, outscoring the miners,18-9, mostly on layups and free-throws as the Lions ran the delay to perfection.
The Lions were lead in scoring by junior, Andrew Kluesner with 15pts. Fellow Junior Brett Bradley followed with 12pts., Senior Rickie Lyon added 9pts,followed by Soph.Kevin Lannan with 7pts.Senior Josh Jeffers played an excellent floor game,and scored all 6pts. from the line.Juniors Kevin Downey and Jordan Schnarr came off the bench and contributed nicely.
Special guest at the Loogootee game,friday nite 1/28/00, was State Rep.Laurance Buell,(R) of Michigan City. Rep.Buell and I had a nice talk about a hoped for bright future of high school basketball in Indiana, once the IHSAA has accountability.

Jan.25th, Jack Butcher won his 766 th victory in his 1000th game, as the Loogootee Lions defeated the Springs Valley Blackhawks, 67-49. The Lions opened up a 10 pt lead early in the second quarter, as the Lions went into halftime up 37-25.The Lions coasted the rest of the way to their 8th straight win. The Lions trapping defense forced the Blackhawks into 21 turnovers for the game. The Lions were lead in scoring by Brett Bradley with 19pts., followed by WRZR player of the game Rickie Lyons with 17. Kevin Downey back after a lengthy illness, came off the bench with 7pts.
The Lions 12-2, host Linton, Friday,the 28th. In other related news, the Lions varsity, coaching staff, and superintendent Green, went to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly today,Jan.25th,2000. Mr.Butcher was formally presented, the Sagamore of the Wabash.

Jan.21st, The Loogootee Lions moved to 11-2,with a 61-49 win over the homestanding Bloomfield Cardinals. Jack Butcher wins # 765,against 234 losses. Jack Butcher will coach in his 1000th game tues. at Springs Valley. The Lions broke open a close game in the third quarter to move ahead 46-36. The Lions coasted to the win with Jack Butcher's pattened 3 out 2 under offense. The Lions were lead in scoring by WRZR player of the game,Brett Bradley with 18pts. Kevin Lannan followed with 16pts. Josh Jeffers added 13pts.

Jan.19th, House Bill 1018,passed the Indiana House,65-32. It was passed with two amendments, one offered by Rep.Buell. This will have the power to oversee interscholastic sports. Review the bankrupt class basketball fiasco? I hope!! The bill is now reffered to the Senate,and has two co-sponsors.

Jan.16th,Last night was one of the most special nights in the storied history of the Loogootee Lions.

A crowd of around 4,000,gathered for a massive celebration,honoring Jack Butcher as Indiana's all-time winningest Coach.Several special awards were presented to Coach Butcher and his wife,Rita.The Mayor gave Jack a key to the city.State Rep.Crooks presented Jack with a certificate naming Jack a Sagamore of the Wabash,Indiana's highest honor.IBCA president Griffin gave Jack a plaque.The Hall of Fame honored Jack also.
The 1970 State Finalist,& 1975 State Runner-up teams were honored.All other former players,all part of the Loogootee Basketball Family were also recognized.
Now after all that the GAME.The Loogootee Lions improved to 10-2 on the season,with a 55-52 upset of 1A#1Barr-Reeve.With the win the Lions are now 5-2 in the BCC.Barr-Reeve struck first opening up a 13-9 lead.The Lions came back to lead 22-16 late in second before the Vikings rallied to take a 23-22 halftime lead.After several lead changes,the third quarter ended in a tie,37all. The fourth quarter also saw several lead changes before the Lions opened up a 52-45 lead with 1:30 left.Barr-Reeve charged back with a three pointer by Zane Bowman,and a quick steal to cut the lead to 52-50,with :58 left.The Lions held off Barr-Reeve with key free-throws and a key steal with 1.7 sec. left to seal the victory.
The Lions were lead in scoring by Josh Jeffers and Brett Bradley with 16 a piece. Andrew Kluesner in probably the best game of his career had 13 pts.Aaron Ash lead the Vikings with 17pts.,Darren Wilcher followed with 12pts.Both teams hit several key three pointer throughout the game,Loogootee hit 7,Barr-Reeve 6.
Look for an equally exciting re-match between these teams in the Loogootee Sectional.

Jan.11th,The Loogootee Lions coasted to a 60-39 victory over the Pike Central Chargers.The Lions moved to 9-2 on the season,as Jack Butcher collected win #763.The Lions were lead by Kevin Lannan with 17pts.and Josh Jeffers with 16pts.WRZR player of the game Lance Mathias come off the bench in the fourth quarter with 9pts.and 5 big rebounds.

Jan.9th,The Loogootee Lions improved to 8-2 & 4-2 in the Blue Chip Conference with a 56-43 victory over Washington Catholic.
The Lions broke open a close game early in the 2nd quarter with a 13-0 run to lead 35-21 at the half.The Lions were lead in scoring by Brett Bradley 15pts.,WRZR player of the game Sophmore Kevin Lannan with 14pts.Josh Jeffers had 11pts.The Lions hit 56% from the field and hit 7-8 free throws.

Jan.7th,Jack Butcher gets win number 761,as the Loogootee Lions defeat Evansville Day,65-53.The Lions raced to a 29-18 halftime lead,and coasted the second half with 92%free-throw shooting.Josh Jeffers lead the Lions with 21pts.,followed by Brett Bradley with 14 and Kevin Lannan with 10pts.Travis Welch lead a very inspired Day Eagles with 23pts.Lions raise their record to 7-2.

Dec.21st:Jack Butcher ties official record at 759!!! Lions came back from 42-36,with 4 min. left to defeat arch-rival Washington at Historic Hatchet House,52-50.WRZR player of the game was Soph.Kevin Lannan leading Loogootee with 21pts.Brett Bradley and Josh Jeffers each added 10pts.Lions hit 57% from field and 8-11 free-throws.It was very much a Sectional atmosphere tonite.Washington like So.Knox on Friday was not wanting to let Butcher tie record on their home floor.Dave Omer Hatchet head coach,presented Jack with game ball and gave a very complimetary talk after game.As we headed home tonite I almost expected to see the fire trucks waiting at the edge of town.Lets bring back the single class tourney!!Loogootee is now 26-15 against Hatchets since Jack Butcher became head coach.