Leal, Bloomington South Cruise in Class 4A-14 Sectional Opener

Indiana signee Anthony Leal scores 18 points in No. 1 ranked Bloomington South's easy win over Columbus East.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bloomington South's run to a state title starting off in fine fashion Tuesday night as Indiana commit Anthony Leal and the Panthers cruised to an easy 67-34 victory over Columbus East.

No. 1-ranked Bloomington South (24-0) had an impressive 33-2 run in the first half to end all doubt about the outcome. Columbus East (4-19) shot just 31 percent and had 17 turnovers.

“I thought our defense was really good in the first half,” South coach J.R. Holmes told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “We got them a little trigger happy on offense. Not that they weren’t open, but they shot them from really deep. I thought defensively, we took them out of their stuff and they couldn’t score.''

It gets much tougher for South on Friday night against host Columbus North (18-5). In the other semifinal, Bloomington North (19-5) takes on East Central (16-8)

“We have a bigger goal, but we know it’s one game at at time and we’ve been focusing on that since the end of the regular season and getting ready for Columbus East,” said Leal, who signed with Indiana in November. “We’re happy with this one, but now we’ve got to start getting ready for Columbus North on Friday.

“That kind of mentality helped us out since we all want to be on the same page and focusing on winning together us going to help us down the road.”

Leal led the Panthers with 18 points. Connor Hickman and James Bomba added 11. Leal  was happy with the improved defensive effort.

“They kind of killed us on the backdoors when we played them at their place in the regular season,” South senior Anthony Leal said. “So from watching film and walking through it, they emphasized that and just staying calm.

“Because if their backdoors weren’t there, they never really knew what to do with it. And that’s what led to more steals. It just confused them and took them out of what they wanted to do. It was just staying true to our scheme.”

Class 4A, Sectional 14 results, schedule

Tuesday, March 3

• Bloomington South 67, Columbus East 34
• East Central 68, Martinsville 58

Friday, March 6 (Semifinals)

• Bloomington South vs. Columbus North, 6 p.m. ET
• Bloomington North vs. East Central, 8 p.m. ET

Saturday, March 7 (Finals)

Championship game, 7 p.m. ET

Related 'Next Generation' stories on Indiana recruits

• Meet Culver's Trey Galloway: It's been a family affair on Trey Galloway's journey to Indiana. CLICK HERE
• Meet Bloomington South's Anthony Leal: His team in unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the state, so he wants a state title run before heading off to Indiana. CLICK HERE