BRAZIL
Fourteen minutes of allowing host Northview to hang around with Indian Creek was more than enough for the Braves’ liking. Just as it had all season, the Creek defense needed to make a play.
The Braves ended up making two.
With Northview trailing by four points and time running out in the first half, the Braves forced a steal that Landon Sichting turned into an easy layup. On the next possession, the same thing happened, this time leading to a Bobby Emberton layup.
Suddenly, the Braves had an eight-point halftime lead, and things only snowballed from there. By the time the Knights hit another basket, the run was 14-1 and Creek had the game in hand. Adam Crouch led all scorers with 24 points, and the rest of the Braves locked down on defense, earning a 60-43 win over the host Knights in a Class 3A sectional semifinal on Friday evening.
“Our defense is our offense,” Indian Creek coach Drew Glentzer said. “We’re the kind of team that if we can get someone to turn the ball over and get some offense, we can get some momentum. We play really hard on that end, and I thought we had a lot of guys play hard.”
That proved critical in stopping Northview star Drew Cook, who entered the night scoring 23 points per game. The Braves (13-8) opted for a two-pronged strategy against the senior guard, putting Trent Volz on Cook and attempting to frustrate the rest of the Knights (9-16) with tough defense.
The strategy worked wonderfully for Indian Creek. Cook finished with just 12 points, his second-lowest total of the season. In the process, the Knights had to sit point guard Brayden Goff when he picked up four fouls trying to stop the Braves’ fast break.
That forced Cook to become his own point guard, limiting his effectiveness. He didn’t sink a shot in the second half until the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, well after the Braves had sealed the win.
“When you’ve got to bring it up and pass it and then try to get it back, it’s harder,” Glentzer said. “It’s especially harder when Trent was doing a really good job of not letting him have touches. That’s not his game to have to bring it up and try to shoot it. Trent did a nice job chasing him all over the place.”
Meanwhile, Crouch consistently found himself with plenty of space to finish off plays. Once the Knights started to run themselves into mistakes, the Braves seized the moment, attacking the inside and forcing Avery Perry and Christian Roembke to join Goff in foul trouble.
“We’re really good in transition,” Crouch said. “We were just trying to get the ball inside and get some fouls to get them out of the game.”
The Braves now have a shot at their first sectional crown in 23 years tonight when they play South Vermillion. Once again, they’ll rely on defense to do the job.
“I look for it to be a grind,” Glentzer said. “It’s going to be physical, and we’ll have to play well.”
