The Rossville Hornets were defeated in overtime of the Regional Championship game against North Vermillion 59-54.
Saturday’s Regional Championship in Frankfort’s Case Arena was a battle between the Falcons of North Vermillion and the Hornets of Rossville.
Both offenses struggled early. The Falcons led 2-0 halfway through the first quarter.
Brayden Thiele-Hahn got the scoring started for Rossville, but North Vermillion’s big man Andre Buchhaas was a force down low and helped the Falcons take a 9-8 lead to the second.
Thiele-Hahn’s offense continued to shine in the first half, but the Falcons shut the rest of the Hornets’ offense down. Rossville players not named Brayden Thiele-Hahn scored just nine first-half points.
Graham Young came out hot for North Vermillion. Young hit two first-half threes and finished with 16 points as the Falcons led 34-27 at the break.
Early in the second half, North Vermillion pushed its lead to double figures before Buchhaas picked up a third foul and went to the bench.
With the Falcons’ interior presence out of the game, the Hornets went on a run, trimming the deficit to two heading to the fourth quarter.
Andrew Woolen and Aiden Schaumburg led the charge for Rossville in the second half. Both finished in double figures and combined for 18 second-half points.
Back-to-back threes from Schaumburg gave the Hornets their first lead of the half with five minutes left.
Lane Thomann tied the game at 49 before Brody Skinner gave Rossville the lead right back.
After a defensive stop, Rossville slowed things down, leading 51-49.
With under a minute to play, Cooper Dunn went to the line but couldn’t convert on the free throws.
Buchhaas drew a foul on the other end, fouling out Brody Skinner. After making the first, Buchhaas rebounded his own miss but couldn’t get the putback to fall.
Dunn was fouled again and made one of two to give the Hornets a 52-50 advantage with less than 30 seconds left.
Out of a North Vermillion timeout, Falcons’ sophomore Teagan Leonard attempted an elbow jumper that was just off, and Buchhaas picked up the offensive rebound and put back with less than five seconds left.
The final heave from Rossville was short, and the game went to overtime, tied at 52.
Rossville was the first to strike in overtime. Andrew Woolen was fouled jumping on a loose ball and hit both free throws to give the Hornets a 54-52 advantage.
Teagan Leonard answered for North Vermillion, hitting two free throws and then connecting on an and-one on the next possession to give the Falcons a 57-54 lead.
With 15 seconds remaining, Cory Dunn called a timeout to draw up a final play, needing a three to tie.
Nolan Britt got a good look from the top of the key, but missed. Cooper Dunn flew in for an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Schaumburg, who was fouled going up.
Schaumburg went to the line needing to make all three.
After missing the first and second, Schaumburg tried to miss on purpose, but missed the rim, resulting in a lane violation and the ball back to North Vermillion.
Teegan Dowers iced the game with two free throws for the Falcons, and North Vermillion won 59-54.
It’s the second-ever Regional championship for North Vermillion, the first since 1969.
Rossville ends the season 20-6, their best win total since 2002.
The broadcast of the 2026 Regional Championship was brought to you by:
Milner Community Healthcare
Rossville Consolidated School Corp.
The Farmers Bank
Skiles Electric
Extreme Outdoor Solutions
Wampler’s Services, Inc.