Greenwood’s Jake Mosemann shoots the ball during Tuesday’s game at Indian Creek.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
There’s close, and then there’s what unfolded Tuesday night in the Indian Creek gymnasium.
The Braves and visiting Greenwood were basically inseparable on the scoreboard throughout, the game going down to the final buzzer with the Woodmen squeaking out a 51-50 win.
How close?
Fifteen lead changes, five ties and 16 occasions when the squads were only one point apart. Yeah, that close.
Greenwood (8-13), led by senior guard Jake Mosemann with 15 points, freshman forward Benjamin Hommell with 13 and junior guard Isaac O’Neal with 11, has put together a mini-win streak of three games.
“Anytime you go on the road, it’s going to be difficult. I don’t think we shot the ball very well, which had been one of our strengths,” first-year Woodmen coach Keith Witty said. “But at the end of the day, we battled our way through and had one more point at the end.”
The lone points scored by Greenwood sophomore guard Acen Swain, a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:31 remaining, put the visitors on top, 49-48. Indian Creek answered right away, with junior forward Brayden Lowhorn scoring down low on a nice feed from senior guard Trent Volz.
Mosemann’s two free throws at 1:01 accounted for the final tallies. However, the final minute packed plenty of drama.
Braves guard Adam Crouch drove to the basket for what would have been the go-ahead points with 22 seconds remaining. Mosemann had different ideas, getting his hand on the ball for a block and forcing a jump ball.
The possession arrow favored the Woodmen, who inbounded and got Mosemann to the foul stripe at the 19.1 mark. His first offering circled the rim and spun out; the second was long, giving Indian Creek one final shot at the win.
Crouch took the game’s final shot, his attempt from the left wing being too strong.
“That was rough, especially after — I think I was 6 for 6 before that,” Mosemann said, laughing. “Getting up to the line, I was feeling confident, and the first one is in and out. Not sure what happened, but lucky to get away with it.
“This is a very important game. We were coming in on a two-game win streak, were looking to make it three and that’s exactly what we did. We wanted to keep the win streak alive and gain momentum going into sectional.”
Leading Indian Creek (13-8) were Lowhorn with 13 points, Crouch with 12 and Bobby Emberton with 10 off the bench.
Statistically, the teams were nearly identical. Greenwood made 18 of 45 field goal tries compared to the Braves’ 19 of 45.
The game presented four lead changes in the opening quarter alone. The Braves led by as many as seven points, 15-8, after senior Carter Modlin drained a triple from the left corner late in the first.
Greenwood responded, pulling to within a point on four occasions during the first half of the second stanza until tying it, 24-24, on Hommell’s 3-pointer.
The Woodmen briefly led when sophomore forward Parker Doolin slid inside for a hoop at 2:31 of the second, but Indian Creek responded with a Crouch layup and short jumper in the lane for a 28-26 halftime advantage.
Indian Creek plays its final regular-season game Friday night at South Putnam. The Woodmen are at home that same evening against New Palestine.
