SEYMOUR
As Center Grove boys basketball coach Zach Hahn noted, there are nothing but good teams left by the time you reach a Class 4A regional — and the margin for error shrinks significantly.
The Trojans had one or two errors too many on Saturday afternoon, and the end result was a 63-61 overtime loss to Evansville Reitz in a semifinal tilt at Seymour.
Each side had its share of momentum-shifting plays, both good and bad, in a game that featured seven ties and eight lead changes.
A red-hot start from Landin Hacker helped jump-start the Trojans (14-7). The senior guard knocked down all four of his 3-point tries in the first quarter, helping the Trojans build an 18-13 edge by the end of a back-and-forth period. Turnovers, though, slowed Center Grove’s momentum at times in the second period, allowing the Panthers to come back and tie the game at 22-22 before a 7-0 spurt got the Trojans back out in front.
Holding a 31-24 lead after Tayven Jackson scored with 1:41 left in the half, Center Grove appeared poised to go into the intermission firmly in control, but an intentional foul call after a turnover allowed Reitz to turn the tide over the final minute plus. A deep 3 in the closing seconds from Owen Dease — who got half of his game-high 30 points from behind the arc — got Reitz to within three, 34-31, by the midway point.
"We talked about how good of a player Dease is, and he was comfortable from the start," Hahn said. "We knew that he shoots NBA 3s; we knew all that, and the kids knew it. We said, ‘You’ve got to contest out there; let’s make him a two-point shooter.’ And he was comfortable, and that got us off to a bad start.
"I thought defensively, in man-to-man, we did not guard their stuff very well at all."
Reitz (17-4) carried that energy over into the third quarter, scoring the first five points to regain the lead and getting as far ahead as 46-38 with two minutes left in the period. The Panthers still led by eight, 52-44, with 6:04 to go in regulation, at which point the Trojans’ sense of urgency kicked into overdrive.
First, the defense forced a Reitz 10-second violation, leading to an Ethan Jones basket that cut it to four. Then, Tyler Cerny came up with a steal and a layup to get it to two. After yet another takeaway, Jackson found Hacker in the corner for a 3-pointer that capped a 9-0 surge and put Center Grove up 53-52 — its first lead since the opening seconds of the third quarter.
"I feel like that timeout right beforehand really made us all realize our season could be over, so we just went out there and tried as hard as we could," said Hacker, who paced the Trojans with 18 points.
A trey from senior Charlie Bemis with 2:14 to go left Center Grove with a 56-53 advantage, but Dease answered with one of his own 20 seconds later. After Hacker hit a pair of free throws, Dease was fouled at the other end with 33.3 seconds left, giving Reitz a chance to tie.
He missed the second, and Bemis appeared to get inside position and secure the rebound — but he was called for a foul, which allowed Jordan Jarvis to go to the line and make it 58-58.
"You can’t zero in on one play," Hahn said, "but that is a critical play in the game because we should have been shooting free throws. Instead, they get to shoot free throws and they get to tie it up."
The Panthers actually had a chance to win it in regulation when Jarvis came up with a steal, but he missed both of the ensuing foul shots.
Dease opened the overtime scoring with his final two points, and Ethan Higgs was able to break free off a long rebound for a dunk that put Center Grove in a 62-58 hole. Hacker missed the front end of a one-and-one after a steal, but Bemis chased down the offensive board and found Cerny at the top of the key for 3, making it a one-point game with 37.6 seconds remaining.
Forced to foul, the Trojans sent Higgs to the line, where he made one of two. Jackson eventually wound up with a decent game-winning look from 3 at the other end, but the shot was off the mark and the rebound was deflected out of bounds with a tenth of a second left.
The defeat stung particularly hard for a group of seniors that had worked hard to resurrect a culture after a disappointing season a year ago.
"I’m really sad for our seniors," Hahn said. "This is a special group, and this team, they just transformed themselves from last year to this year and gave us a chance to be here."
"We have a great coaching staff, and we’ve all built a culture where we can all just play as a team," Hacker added. "I hope the young guys learn from this lesson and carry on the torch."
Jones finished with nine points in his final game, while Jackson, Cerny and Marcus Ankney — all of whom return next year — added eight apiece. Bemis chipped in six points and six rebounds.
