The Centier Bank Performers of the Week are Northridge senior guard Jackson Erekson and Chesterton junior guard Tyler Nelson.
In Saturday’s Class 4A Elkhart boys’ basketball sectional championship game at North Side Gym, the 5-foot-11 Erekson tallied 25 points to help the Raiders claim their first sectional title since 2015 with a 59-46 win over Warsaw. He also netted 10 points in Friday’s 58-57 semifinal round win over Plymouth and added 13 points in Wednesday’s 57-42 opening round triumph over Concord. Northridge (18-8), which now owns a 13-game winning streak, now takes on Munster (22-4) in Saturday’s Michigan City regional semifinals.
In Saturday’s Class 4A Portage boys’ basketball sectional title game, the 6-foot-1 Nelson drained two free throws in the closing seconds to lead the Trojans to a 35-30 win over defending champion Valparaiso for their first sectional crown since 1987. He also chipped in five points in Friday’s 36-28 semifinal round over Michigan City and had 18 points in Tuesday’s 62-39 opener over host Portage. Chesterton (19-6) takes on No. 9 Penn (22-3) in Saturday’s first regional semifinal at Michigan City.
Special recognition also goes out to the Hanover Central boys’ basketball team, which captured its first sectional crown since 1986 with a 50-42 victory over defending champion Calumet. The Wildcats (17-8) take on defending Class 3A state champion Culver Academy (21-3) in Saturday’s South Bend Washington regional semifinal.
The Centier Bank Performer of the Week is open to any male-female student athlete who participates in any IHSAA sanctioned sport and whose school is in the Centier Bank geographic area.