Most basketball teams obviously prefer playing with a lead, but few are as dependent upon playing from ahead as the Greenwood boys have been over the past two or three seasons.
On Saturday night, Center Grove never gave the Woodmen that opportunity.
The Trojans scored the game’s first five points and never trailed, answering every Greenwood punch with one of their own on the way to a 41-35 victory in the championship game of the Class 4A Whiteland Sectional. Their reward is a date with Evansville Reitz in the semifinal round of the Seymour Regional.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryGreenwood’s style of play was a big reason why getting out in front of the Woodmen early was a priority for Center Grove coach Zach Hahn.
“That’s why getting off to a good start is so important,” he said. “When you get that five-point lead, it gives you a little bit of cushion when they are patient.
But while the Trojans (14-6) led for all but about a minute of action, it was seldom more than a one-possession game — and Greenwood (18-6) trailed by just a point, 34-33, after Rasheed Elemikan scored down low with 2:48 to go.
Had the Woodmen been able to get a stop on the next Center Grove possession, the outcome might have been different. Center Grove senior Charlie Bemis, though, got the friendliest of rolls on a 3-pointer from the right corner at the 2:28 mark, and that proved to be the decisive blow.
“Coach and the whole team has had confidence in me all year to shoot it, even when it’s not going in,” said Bemis, who hadn’t scored since hitting another 3 for the first points of the evening. “When I shot it, I knew it had a chance of going in, and luckily it did.”
“I think it hit the bottom of the rim and had just enough topspin to roll over and go in,” Hahn added with a masked smile, “but that’s the play of the game.”
Bemis’ shot gave the Trojans the separation they needed at the end of a game in which separation was hard to come by. Greenwood may have been down all night — but until that point, they were never out.
Down 9-6 after the first quarter, the Woodmen took a big hit when Elemikan, who led all scorers with 13 points, picked up his second foul with 7:11 remaining in the half. They weathered the storm for most of the second quarter, tying the game twice on 3-pointers by Brock Kincaid and Charlie Brooks, before a long 3-pointer from Tayven Jackson just before the halftime buzzer gave Center Grove a 21-17 edge heading into the break.
The Trojans looked poised to take control when a Landin Hacker 3 and a powerful fast-break dunk from Ethan Jones stretched the lead to 26-19 early in the third, but the Woodmen slowly whittled away at the deficit, getting back within one at 30-29 when Elemikan scored, drew a foul and put back his own free throw miss at the 6:52 mark of the fourth.
Greenwood remained within a possession for most of the fourth quarter but never got the break it needed to get over the hump.
“It looked flat, and then all of a sudden it popped up and went in,” Woodmen coach Joe Bradburn said of Bemis’ decisive 3. “That’s just the breaks of the game. We’ve got to get that break, and we didn’t get that break.”
In addition to Elemikan’s 13, Greenwood got nine points from Brooks, six from Carter Campbell and five from Kincaid. Center Grove was led by Hacker’s 10 points, nine from Jackson and six each from Bemis, Jones and Shane Bennett.
The Trojans barely survived their first-round game, pulling out a 38-36 triumph over Franklin Central, but that close shave only gave the team a greater desire to keep going.
“Every year, coming into this tournament we know we’re going to play a little bit of a different style,” Bemis said, “but if you play tough, play defense and rebound, you’re always going to have a chance to win at the end of every game.”
Center Grove had lost to the Woodmen in the sectional title game a year ago, putting an end to a 9-15 season that wasn’t always enjoyable for those involved. While this year’s Trojan roster might not score quite as high on the eye test as that one did, it’s exactly the roster that Hahn wanted.
“These guys love each other,” the coach said. “They care about each other — and we were pretty selective on the guys that we wanted in the locker room.
“And they’re not done; this group’s not done yet. We’ve proven we can play with anybody, so we’re excited to celebrate tonight and then it’s going to be back to work on Monday.”
