Indiana high school basketball doesn’t have a shot clock.
And when Hanover Central took on Lowell on Saturday in a sectional championship game, it showed.
The final score: Hanover 18, Lowell 13.
It’s a championship for Hanover, achieved quite deliberately.
It’s the second-lowest combined score in the class era for a sectional game in Indiana high school basketball history:
LOWEST COMBINED SCORE,
SECTIONAL GAME, CLASS ERA
30, Norwell 16, Fort Wayne Wayne 14, 2007
31, Hanover Central 18, Lowell 13, 2026 [final]
39, Valparaiso 22, Portage 17, 2002
43, Eastern (Greentown) 26, Madison-Grant 17, 2016
44, Loogootee 23, Vincennes Rivet 21, 2OT, 1999…— John Harrell (@JohnRHarrell) March 8, 2026
Local reporter Mason Williams wrote on X after the 6-4 first quarter, “Both teams have been … patient in their offensive approach. Wildcats and Red Devils each content to pass around a zone defense and play their offense close to the chest thus far.”
His halftime update, when it was 10-9: “Almost a carbon copy of the first eight minutes — a slow pace, not many shot attempts for either team. HC’s six turnovers haven’t helped either, but the Red Devils have missed more looks from the field.”
The third quarter had just a single bucket, which sent Lowell to the fourth up 11-10.
The fourth quarter was blistering by comparison, Hanover outscoring Lowell by an 8-2 margin to win the game.
Indiana needs a shot clock https://t.co/WOZ1zPC3Xq
— Tyler Devitte (@TylerDevitte) March 8, 2026
Implementing shot clocks across a state obviously isn’t easy. There’s a lot of initial cost involved.
But an 18-13 basketball game certainly will have people thinking about the possibility of that change.
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