Circumstances dictate Franklin and Whiteland play a home-and-home in a span of 11 days.
Great news for the Warriors, who following Tuesday night’s wild 67-64 home victory in the opening round of the county tournament won’t wait long to test themselves for a second time against their longtime county and conference rival.
The quick turnaround also provides the Grizzly Cubs a chance at redemption.
Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Whiteland clawed back into a game it was close to being out of, using two free throws from senior guard Wiatt McLaughlin with 4.0 seconds remaining to provide the final tally.
The win secures the Warriors (9-5) a spot in Friday night’s 6 p.m. semifinal against Class A No. 6 Greenwood Christian (9-3) at Center Grove.
Franklin, which came in riding a nine-game win streak, drops to 10-2.
“We were like, if we just finish plays, what we’re doing is good enough,” Whiteland coach Nate Cangany said. “When we went down to Lawrenceburg (in late December), we played some really good competition. We played Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, which won (Class 2A) state last year, and we made a mistake in the third quarter, trying to get points back too quickly.
“We weren’t taking the best shots. We weren’t getting the best possessions. Tonight, the mindset was to just get it possession by possession. Don’t try to rush it.”
Six of the previous seven games played between Franklin and Whiteland were decided by eight or fewer points; the Grizzly Cubs had won five, including two in overtime.
Whiteland turned the tables on Tuesday by placing four starters in double figures, led by junior wing Gavin Stubbe with 18 points, and senior guard Jazz Banwait with 16. The Warriors’ pick-your-poison approach extended to junior Ethan Edwards scoring 13 and McLaughlin 10.
This contrasted with Franklin, which saw senior guard Micah Davis produce 35 of his team’s points, 20 in the second half. Junior forward Kolt Nelson was next with 11.
Davis’s off-balance 3-pointer from the top of the key after rebounding his own miss just beat the buzzer to give the Cubs a 37-27 advantage at halftime.
The squads were tied at 9-9 at 4:25 of the opening stanza when Franklin closed with a 12-3 scoring run — including Nelson splashing a triple from the left wing at the horn — to create some separation.
Whiteland gamely hung in through much of the second, cutting it to 30-25 at 3:41 after senior post Akol Akol delivered a 3 from the right wing.
Again, the Grizzly Cubs closed the quarter strong, this time stringing together a 7-2 run powered by the 6-foot-6 Nelson driving the lane for a two-handed slam, a short shot from Davis and the aforementioned hurried trey.
The outset of the third told a much different story, starting with Banwait’s 3 from the top of the key and a putback from Akol to bring the Warriors to within five points. Whiteland had six different players score in the third period as the hosts rallied, went ahead of Franklin through three, 53-49, and warded off the Davis-fueled Cubs from that point.
With 20 seconds remaining and the Warriors ahead, 65-64, Whiteland committed a turnover just past midcourt. The Cubs returned the favor at the 10.0 mark, failing to get the ball inbounded in five seconds.
McLaughlin eventually was fouled, making good on the pressure-packed charities.
“I felt the crowd a little bit, but I wasn’t too nervous. I had faith in myself that I would make them,” McLaughlin said. “This is a really big win for us. Franklin is one of the best teams we play on our schedule, and their record shows that.
“It’s big for us to come out here and take care of business on our home court.”
