A big fourth quarter propelled the Greenwood boys to their first win in three games with a gutsy 43-40 win over visiting conference rival Perry Meridian on Friday night.
It was Bryce Hoffman who was a big spark in the win, as the 5-10 junior scored nine fourth-quarter points, including a 3-point shot to give Greenwood the lead with 1:59 left.
Hoffman also used his defense, stealing the ball and making what turned out to be the final points on a layup with 37 seconds left.
“My teammates did a good job in setting me up for the score,” Hoffman said. “T.J. (Price) did a great job of trapping and I just came over and took the ball.
“We’re starting to come together as a team instead of as individuals.”
Despite losing its previous two games, the Woodmen have been playing good basketball, losing both in overtime to Center Grove and Decatur Central.
Greenwood won without their big man Gavin Dowling, who sat out with an injury.
If Greenwood and Perry Meridian wanted to enforce a quick pace in the first quarter, that got scuttled quickly due to some suffocating defense and tentativeness on the part of both teams. The Woodmen only put up five shots, the Falcons four.
That resulted in a 6-6 quarter, but game opened up for Greenwood from the outside when the Woodmen hit on four 3-point shots. Perry Meridian (6-9, 1-4 Mid-State), for its part, decided to speed things up inside and see what the outcome was.
What happened was a much higher scoring quarter and one that saw the Falcons race to a six-point lead, 28-22.
The third quarter was a repeat of the first as each teams scored eight points. Again, the next quarter opened up — but this time, only for the Woodmen.
And it was Greenwood’s defense that did the job, limiting the Falcons to four points.
Perry Meridian didn’t get those points until the 4:04 mark, on two free throws by Noah Pendleton. The Falcons had to wait nearly two more minutes before getting what turned out to be their only field goal of the quarter.
Greenwood (5-8, 2-3) played with poise and a seemingly effortless, workmanlike style that ultimately secured not only the lead, but the win.
“I’m ecstatic with how our guys have been playing,” said coach Joe Bradburn. “Bryce is leading the charge and he finds different ways to get his shot, and we have different guys stepping up in different ways.”
“We were calm and stable with what we did.”
Hoffman led all scorers with 18 points.
Greenwood doesn’t have much time to savor the win, as the Woodmen wind up their three-game homestand against Roncalli tonight at 7:30 p.m.
