Greenwood Christian senior guard Max Booher cuts a piece of net after the Cougars claimed their first regional title.
Daily Journal file photo
Integrated into Greenwood Christian’s offseason workouts were an abundance of what-ifs.
What if the Cougars had completed their furious comeback against host Indianapolis Lutheran in the championship game of last season’s sectional, played out before a howling packed house of 1,000 spectators?
What if it had been GCA, and not the Saints, moving on to the Martinsville Regional to face Bloomfield, then getting past Loogootee and Rock Creek Academy a week later at semistate?
And, finally, what if it had been the Cougars taking on Southwood in the Class A championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, a game won handily by Lutheran, 97-66?
Everyone affiliated with the program couldn’t help but wonder. None could forget.
“I think it was our main motivator,” said senior guard Max Booher, whose 26 points were a big part of GCA’s 49-42 regional victory over Oldenburg Academy last Saturday. “We thought about it every time we worked out, and every time we practiced.
“We knew that would push us over the edge.”
The Cougars aren’t there yet, but they’re semistate-bound for the first time in 18 seasons of postseason competition. GCA faces eighth-ranked Bethesda Christian in today’s 10 a.m. opener at Washington High School’s historic and architecturally unique Hatchet House, opened in the mid-1960s.
This season represented the third consecutive year a GCA-Lutheran sectional title game took place. In 2022, the Saints knocked off the Cougars, 48-41, in what was the first season for Greenwood Christian coach Jackson Williams. Last season’s championship contest proved particularly riveting, as Lutheran, coasting along with a seemingly safe 16-point lead in the waning stages of the third quarter, saw the Cougars pull to within four points on five different occasions.
Getting over the hump was another matter, however.
The Saints won, 61-57, maintained their momentum another few weeks and picked up their first state title.
“These guys have worked for three years to not only beat Lutheran, but hopefully have a chance to be one of the top teams in the state,” said Williams, who has quietly assembled a 54-24 record in his three seasons at GCA.
“After last year’s loss to Lutheran, everybody kind of recommitted themselves to the weight room. Recommitted themselves to skill work. They just did an awesome job of buying in to how we’ve got to play in order to win, and hopefully make a run in this tournament.”
The commitment was evident early, as the Cougars started the season winning six of their first seven games.
During the team’s fifth outing, junior guard Evan McIntire, he of the game-high 23-point performance in last season’s sectional loss to Lutheran, broke his ankle in a 48-38 win at Covenant Christian.
McIntire missed 17 games before returning to action during the sectional. The Cougars now find themselves riding a six-game win streak, their longest of the season.
Along the way, Greenwood Christian exacted revenge on Lutheran with a 49-46 win.
Defeating the Saints twice in a single season is challenging. Greenwood Christian doing so supplied it with a confidence that will surely come in handy in a semistate that also features No. 1 Barr-Reeve and second-ranked Evansville Christian.
“We always knew (Lutheran) was going to be the team to beat. They’re a really great team,” said Noah Reed, the Cougars’ junior point guard whose ball-handling and floor leadership were crucial in the latter stages of the regional win against Oldenburg Academy.
“And this team, we’ve lost to them the past two years in the sectional championship, so we knew it was going to be our year this year.”
What if it is?
IF YOU GO
Class A Washington Semistate
Greenwood Christian (18-7) vs. Bethesda Christian (21-7), 10 a.m.
Evansville Christian (24-2) vs. Barr-Reeve (24-2), 11:45 a.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Admission: $12 per session, $20 full day; children 5 and under free. All ticket sales are digital via ihsaa.eventlink.com.
