INDIANAPOLIS
Greenwood Christian’s boys basketball team didn’t flinch when its leading scorer, Champ McCorkle, was limited by Indianapolis Lutheran’s box-and-one defense.
Instead, the Cougars utilized alternative scoring strategies and a stout defense to hold off the host Saints in Friday’s Class A sectional semifinal.
McCorkle took only three shots and scored just eight points, well below his 19.6-per-game average. But his teammates picked up the slack, hitting 10 3-pointers and shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor en route to a 54-49 victory.
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The win catapulted GCA (14-10) into tonight’s championship game, where it will play Providence Cristo Rey. The Cougars will try for their second sectional crown in school history and first since 2014.
“It would mean everything,” said senior Quentin Steele, who scored seven points for the Cougars and handled the ball well throughout the game from his point guard position. “I feel like we’ve worked harder than any team in the state for this. My first three years here, we went 0-3 (in the sectional). I’m not satisfied yet. We have to win the game tomorrow.”
GCA withstood a couple of second-half runs to hold off the Saints (9-13). The Cougars took a 30-21 lead with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter, but Lutheran scored six straight to cut it to 30-27 less than two minutes later. GCA responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Styles McCorkle and Steele to build the lead back to 36-27 with 50 seconds left in the period.
In the fourth quarter, the Cougars appeared to be in control when they built a 47-35 lead with 2:49 to play, but the Saints scored nine straight to whittle the lead down to 47-42 with 58 seconds to go. GCA scored on each of its last four possessions, however, including 6 of 6 from the free-throw line, to hold off Lutheran’s late charge.
“We hit clutch free throws,” said senior guard Payton Modlin, who finished with six points. “Styles grew up tonight. He had a big game, and a bunch of underclassmen helped us get this win.”
Styles McCorkle played an incredibly efficient offensive game, leading everyone with 18 points on just five shots. He hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and hit 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Andrew Anderson added 12 points for GCA, including three 3-pointers. The Cougars shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range (10 of 16).
“Payton and Styles and Andrew hit big shots,” Cougars coach Johnny Marlin said. “Q handled the ball like crazy. They did a really good job taking away Champ. I’m very proud of Champ and how he accepted his role as a screener, and I think that gave confidence to everyone else.”
