<p>INDIANAPOLIS</p><p>Nothing about a three-game losing streak hints at momentum, though Whiteland boys basketball coach Nate Cangany might take the opposite stance.</p><p>The Warriors’ last-second 63-60 loss Friday night to a good Beech Grove ball club only affirmed Cangany’s opinion.</p><p>“I think other than minutes here and there — we’ve got parts of games where we don’t play the way we want to — but I don’t think there’s been a single game this year where we haven’t competed,” Cangany said. “We were able to beat Decatur Central, Speedway and Martinsville without some of our bigs.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>“We were down some guys. We’re getting them back in. They still need to knock off some rust, but Beech Grove has a very nice team. They’re 15-5, but tonight, we started defending. In the second half, the adjustments were good. We got more focused and we gave ourselves a chance to be in the game.”</p><p>Prior to recent close losses to New Palestine and Southport, the Warriors had won eight of nine.</p><p>Starting Tuesday, Whiteland hosts a Class 4A sectional, but it drew a bye and won’t play until the 6 p.m. semifinal on Friday against the winner of the first-round game between Greenwood and Franklin.</p><p>Though Center Grove and reigning champion Greenwood look to be the favorites, Cangany says his players know they are capable of taking home fragments of nets themselves.</p><p>“We don’t have to convince them,” said Cangany, whose squad ends the regular season with a 12-9 record. “Going into the fourth quarter against Center Grove, it was a tie game. Against Greenwood, we had the first part of the third quarter that killed us and we ended up winning the fourth quarter.</p><p>“In every game we’ve played against sectional opponents, we beat Franklin Central, beat Franklin and beat Shelbyville. The goal is you try to play your best ball in March, and I think we’ve consistently gotten better. One thing that is special about this team is guys know their roles and they’re playing really hard in those roles.”</p><p>The 84th meeting between Whiteland and Beech Grove (the series is now tied, 42-all) came down to the final seconds when Hornets senior guard Jadyn Curry drained an ice-water 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.6 ticks showing.</p><p>The scoreboard initially showed 0.6, but officials determined Whiteland called a timeout at 2.2. The full-court pass to junior Max Sullivan was successful, but Sullivan was forced to launch an off-balance shot from the right wing that caromed off the backboard.</p><p>Beech Grove’s win came despite Warriors’ senior guard Logan Willoughby scoring a game-high 27 points, leading a comeback after Whiteland trailed by 11 at halftime. Willoughby’s triple from the right wing with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter put his team ahead briefly, 52-51.</p><p>On the ensuing possession, Hornets sophomore Cameron Brown’s four-point sequence after being fouled on a 3-pointer gave them the lead. Whiteland clawed back to tie it, 60-60, on two free throws from junior forward Kyson Jones and the first of two from senior backup Kayden Welling.</p><p>Beech Grove appeared to turn the ball over at 39.9, but officials said it was tipped by a Warriors defender before going out of bounds. The Hornets called a timeout at 21.8 and Curry took it from there, scoring the last three of his 22 points.</p>
