Greenwood boys earn big conference win

The Mid-State Conference boys basketball showdown between Greenwood and visiting Perry Meridian offered little, if any, room for error.

Based on the way the teams played defense Friday night, there wasn’t room for anything else, either.

The Woodmen’s 43-37 triumph positions the Woodmen, now 10-2 overall 5-1 against league competition, well for a league showdown at Class 4A No. 8 Plainfield on Feb. 12.

Senior forward Rasheed Elemikan led Greenwood with 18 points and inspired defense on 6-foot-4 Falcons guard Jayden Taylor, who has signed to play at Butler. Taylor led all scorers with 21, but was tested early and often by Elemikan’s athleticism.

“Rasheed, he was different tonight,” Greenwood coach Joe Bradburn said. “He’s had some good games, but he took on a personal challenge tonight and wanted to defend. He did a good job on Taylor. Guys understood their roles and knew they needed to help because (Taylor) is so aggressive and his first step is so awesome.

“We knew it was going to be a tight game like that, a low possession game. That’s the way both Mark (James) and I coach.”

The Woodmen have now won six straight over Perry Meridian, but it took clutch defense and free throw shooting over the game’s final 2:32 to make this one happen. Greenwood made 11 of 14 charities during that stretch, including Elemikan going 8 of 10. Up to that point, the game featured four ties and five other occasions when the Woodmen clung to a one-point lead.

Senior guard Charlie Brooks scored nine points for Greenwood, with junior forward Noah Apgar good for eight points and tying Taylor for game rebounding honors with five.

“(Apgar) always keeps things alive,” Bradburn said, alluding to Apgar’s ability to win the 50-50 ball and hit the boards. “His competitiveness, his energy and his fire is contagious.”

Brooks and Elemikan combined for all of Greenwood’s points in the first half as the Woodmen withstood three steals and dunks by Taylor in the second stanza alone for a 16-13 lead.

Perry Meridian was down a point in the waning seconds of the quarter and hoping to take the lead when Elemikan stole the ball with five ticks remaining and converted a contested layup right before the buzzer. The senior’s block of a Taylor shot at 1:18 of the final period and Greenwood ahead 35-31 also proved huge.

“Coming into the game, we knew both teams had the same playing style, liked to play slow and look for a good shot,” said Woodmen junior guard Brock Kincaid, who played his customary heady floor game. “It would be the team that played better defense, stayed disciplined on defense and stayed on their fundamentals that would win the game.

“Coach has the motto of ‘tougher longer’ and I think we were tougher longer tonight.”

In the night’s opening game, the Perry Meridian girls led Greenwood all the way, winning 56-33 behind the 12 points of senior forward Sally Mortensen and 10 from senior guard Ali Dale.

Freshman Brooklyn Bell had 10 points for the Woodmen (2-14, 0-6), with teammates Jenna Sawyer and Quinn Kelly producing six and five rebounds, respectively.

Both Greenwood squads are at home today with the girls facing Decatur Central at approximately 1:30 p.m. and the boys hosting Roncalli at night.