The third quarter was extremely kind to the Ben Davis boys basketball team this past weekend.

The Giants outscored Roncalli 12-0 in the third quarter of Friday’s semifinal game and then used a 6-0 run to open the third quarter of Saturday’s championship game to survive a 41-40 sectional championship win over rival Pike.

Pike missed a potential game-winner in the final seconds and the ball rolled out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, sending the Ben Davis crowd into celebration mode. It marks the second straight sectional for the Giants and 19th overall n school history.

“We expected a war and it was,” coach Mark James said of the win.

The win sets up a regional showdown with No. 1 Warren Central in this weekend’s Class 4A semistate action at Southport. Ben Davis and Warren will play the second game Saturday morning following the 10:30 opener between Mount Vernon and Terre Haute South. The winners return at 8 p.m. for the regional crown.

Warren Central is 28-0 and has beaten Ben Davis twice this season. Ben Davis is 21-5 and lost 47-39 to the Warriors in December and 55-43 in the championship game of the Marion County tourney in January.

Gallery • 38 Photos