The rivalry continues between the Panthers, Wildcats

North Central and Lawrence North, fierce Marion County boys basketball rivals, are something like the Hatfields and the McCoys. No holds barred. Look for and land the knockout punch. Shoot or be shot upon. The north side neighbors know one another quite well. Not like feuding kin, but certainly well enough to know they don't much like each other . . . on the basketball court. "Yeah, you could say we know each other pretty well . . . no surprises,'' said Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer. "We figure we'll probably see them again in the sectional." It's always a war, one of those ongoing feuds where even home turf doesn't necessarily always mean all that much. North Central (14-0) and Lawrence North (12-2) are regarded as strong, very strong, state contenders. The state powerhouses split last year with North Central eliminating Lawrence North in a second-round sectional game and snapping the Wildcats' sectional championship win streak at five. North Central, No. 1 in the Indiana Basketball Coaches' Association poll, knocked off the then-No. 3 Wildcats in the Marion County Tournament last week. That was just round one of a possible three rounds this season. They renew their long-standing feud tonight at Lawrence North, and a third possible meeting could come during the first week of March (March 3-7) at the Arlington Sectional. Once-beaten Cathedral and Warren Central, a senior-laden team that lost to the then-No. 2 Panthers in the county final , are also in the field at Arlington. The sectional draw for the 99th IHSAA state tournament is Feb. 19. The plot may have thickened even more this season. Lawrence North, which has the tallest team in Hoosierland with a front line averaging 6-9, may have more talent than the teams that won three straight state titles (2004-06), led by Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. I know, that doesn't seem possible, does it? Well, even Keefer alluded to that possibility after winning the T-Mobile Invitational, a national event held in late December at Ball State University. Nowadays, Keefer's main goal is to strive for more inspiration and effort on the court and to figure out why his team hit a pothole, not just a bump, against North Central. His Wildcats didn't play with the necessary emotion, or as Keefer pointed out after that loss to quick-afoot North Central, which outrebounded the Wildcats 39-28, "they didn't come to play . . . didn't play Lawrence North basketball.'' Keefer, winner of four State Finals and over 600 games in his Hall of Fame coaching career, didn't say so, but it stands to reason a victory tonight and another one in March would be quite a shot in the arm for a team that entered the season with such high aspirations of contending for a state championship. And it's a team that certainly has all the pieces needed to fit a championship puzzle. But, in winning at county, Panthers coach Doug Mitchell prevented Keefer of possibly walking away with his ninth championship, which would have been the most by a coach in the history of the Marion County Tournament. Keefer and former Southport coach Blackie Braden are co-leaders with eight titles. Still, no matter what happens tonight, a possible tie-breaker in the sectional could be the one to propel North Central or Lawrence North to bigger and better things, namely a state championship. And be rest assured both coaches and their teams and their fans will be champing at the bit over that possibility. To contact Mark Morrow, post a comment or e-mail him at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net.