INDIANAPOLIS
After winless Providence Cristo Rey hung around for three quarters in Tuesday’s Class A sectional opener, Greenwood Christian’s boys basketball team dispensed with the drama early in Friday’s semifinal.
Facing one-win Victory College Prep, the Cougars bolted to a 15-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 73-47 win, earning a date in today’s championship game against host Indianapolis Lutheran, which edged No. 6 Tindley at the buzzer, 62-60.
GCA (17-9) never trailed by more than six points after building that 15-4 edge. A 15-0 run that spanned the late second and early third quarters erased any doubt about the outcome.
“We really emphasized the last couple of days coming out and really getting after it from the start,” Cougars coach Jackson Williams said. “Offensively, we really tried to drive, get in the paint, and then kick out to open guys, so hopefully that helped for our hot start.”
Indeed, GCA shot 64% from the floor (16 of 25) in the first half and 26 of 51 overall (51%). The Cougars hit 6 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half.
Meanwhile, the GCA defense opened the game in a 2-3 zone, but switched to man-to-man after the Firehawks (1-23) hit four straight 3-pointers early in the second quarter to cut GCA’s lead to 30-24. After that switch, the Cougars scored eight straight points and 23 of the next 25. That built the lead to 53-26 with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter.
“It was a big emphasis,” GCA guard Max Booher said on getting off to a good start. “We wanted to play well the whole game and put them out early. “We won early, so that was the best part.”
Booher was a big part of that fast start. He led the Cougars with 14 points, all in the first half. He didn’t miss a shot all night, connecting on all five of his field-goal tries, including two 3-pointers, and also hit a pair of free throws.
“We moved the ball well all night,” Booher said. “We didn’t care who was going to score. It was a great offensive night for everyone.”
Booher led a balanced scoring effort. Aden Sloan added 11 points off the bench, while Ian Reed and Blake Shewmaker each contributed 10 points off the bench. Eleven Cougars scored, and eight scored at least four points.
“Everyone really does a good job of contributing, especially here in the last third of the season,” Williams said. “We’ve had some really balanced scoring from all of our guys that get in there in our rotation.”
Tonight’s competition quality will increase exponentially after GCA faced two teams with a combined 1-43 record entering play in the Tuesday and Friday wins. The Cougars lost to ninth-ranked Lutheran 57-32 on Dec. 11.
“There’s definitely some things we’re going to have to work on to come back and play,” Williams said. “It just comes down to us communicating a little bit better and being more mentally engaged for a full 32 minutes on the defensive end.”
