The defending state champion Tigers bolted out to an early lead and marched into the State B boys' basketball title game for the sixth straight year with an 86-55 semifinal win over South Central.
"When you get to state, it feels good, but you know that this is a business trip," said White River senior Nic Waln. "You have three games to get through. The first one is always the most important, because we never like to play in the afternoon. You always want to play in the night games. And then you take your next step like we did tonight. Right now we have that one final step to get to and that will be our ultimate goal is the state championship."
White River jumped out to a 9-0 lead and was never in trouble against the Cougars.
While the Tigers were proficient on offense all night, it was the defense that drew the praise of White River coach Eldon Marshall.
"The guys were ready to go," Marshall said. "I thought offensively we were patient and we hit the open guys, moved the ball well, played good team ball all around, but it started with the defense."
As is usually the case, the Tigers were able to turn defense into offense, forcing 28 turnovers, many of which led to transition baskets.
"We have a tough defense, especially that full-court defense," said Gilbert Morrison, who led the team with seven steals. "That's tough."
When the Tigers weren't scoring in transition, they were knocking down one three-point field goal after another. White River made 11 treys in all.
"We knocked down some threes. That will happen when you move the ball around like we can and hit open guys," Marshall noted. "Guys had their feet set and stroked it."
The Tigers opened up a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and the margin never got back to single digits the rest of the way.
"When you talk about experience, White River's had a lot of experience up here," said South Central coach Clayton Steele. "I think that's key to why they're where they are. There's no substitute for experience."
While the Tigers were never threatened, South Central never backed down, either. The Cougars played the defending champs to near even terms in the final 16 minutes.
"You have to credit them. That's one of the reason why they're here I'm sure, is because they never give up," Marshall said. "That says a lot about their coaches and their team."
That kind of effort was nothing new to Steele who has seen it all season.
"They're a bunch of kids that just keep plugging away," Steele said. "We needed to just execute our offense better, not turn the ball over and block out a little better, but White River is a good team."
Tyler Frank scored 18 points and Dakota Votaw added 11 for the Cougars.
South Central, 22-3, meets Dupree for third place at 6 tonight.
Waln led White River with 18 points. Morrison followed with 16, Wyatt Krogman contributed 15 and Matthew Gillen added 12.
Morrison, who started last year, has thrived in his role off the bench this season.
"We've got a lot of great players out there and I accept it. I'm fine with it," Morrison said. "If we're down, I'm going to try and spark it."
White River, 24-1, is now back in familiar territory, facing Viborg-Hurley in a rematch of last year's championship game at 8 tonight.
While the Tigers have won three of the last five state titles, the squad still feels like it has unfinished business on its current trip to the Hub City.
"We like to mix business with pleasure," Waln said. "The pleasure is on the court, but overall, it's a business trip."
SOUTH CENTRAL: Garrett Bruns 2-5 2-2 8, Josh Tuttle 3-6 0-0 7, Dakota Votaw 3-6 4-4 11, Tyler Frank 6-11 6-6 18, Sam Hazen 2-5 2-4 6, Tyson Vogt 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Sebern 2-4 0-0 5, Dell Drey 0-0 0-2 0, Ethan Fernau 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Owen Andrews 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Sachtjen 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-38 14-20 55.
WHITE RIVER: Gilbert Morrison 6-10 0-0 16, Joe Cameron 2-5 0-0 5, Nic Waln 6-11 3-3 18, Wyatt Krogman 6-11 2-4 15, Matthew Gillen 6-10 0-4 12, Justin Prue 0-1 0-0 0, Cory Rogers 2-3 0-0 6, Tavis Burbank 2-3 1-1 5, Tre Iyotte 1-7 1-2 3, Vinny Charging Hawk 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Folkers 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 33-66 9-16 86.
South Central (22-3) 6 22 41 55
White River (24-1) 19 48 66 86
3-point field goals - South Central 5-10 (Bruns 2-4, Tuttle 1-1, Votaw 1-3, Sebern 1-2); White River 11-27 (Morrison 4-8, Cameron 1-3, Waln 3-6, Krogman 1-2, Rogers 2-2, Iyotte 0-5, Charging Hawk 0-1). Total fouls - South Central 13; White River 17. Rebounds - South Central 28 (Frank 9); White River 33 (Gillen 10). Turnovers - South Central 28; White River 9. Assists - South Central 15 (Votaw 5); White River 16 (Krogman 7). Blocked Shots - South Central 2; White River 1. Steals - South Central 6; White River 19 (Morrison 7). Officials - Landon Arnold, Royce Wuertzer, Pete Entringer.