INDIANAPOLIS
Nothing about a three-game losing streak hints at momentum, though Whiteland boys basketball coach Nate Cangany might take the opposite stance.
The Warriors’ last-second 63-60 loss Friday night to a good Beech Grove ball club only affirmed Cangany’s opinion.
“I think other than minutes here and there — we’ve got parts of games where we don’t play the way we want to — but I don’t think there’s been a single game this year where we haven’t competed,” Cangany said. “We were able to beat Decatur Central, Speedway and Martinsville without some of our bigs.
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“We were down some guys. We’re getting them back in. They still need to knock off some rust, but Beech Grove has a very nice team. They’re 15-5, but tonight, we started defending. In the second half, the adjustments were good. We got more focused and we gave ourselves a chance to be in the game.”
Prior to recent close losses to New Palestine and Southport, the Warriors had won eight of nine.
Starting Tuesday, Whiteland hosts a Class 4A sectional, but it drew a bye and won’t play until the 6 p.m. semifinal on Friday against the winner of the first-round game between Greenwood and Franklin.
Though Center Grove and reigning champion Greenwood look to be the favorites, Cangany says his players know they are capable of taking home fragments of nets themselves.
“We don’t have to convince them,” said Cangany, whose squad ends the regular season with a 12-9 record. “Going into the fourth quarter against Center Grove, it was a tie game. Against Greenwood, we had the first part of the third quarter that killed us and we ended up winning the fourth quarter.
“In every game we’ve played against sectional opponents, we beat Franklin Central, beat Franklin and beat Shelbyville. The goal is you try to play your best ball in March, and I think we’ve consistently gotten better. One thing that is special about this team is guys know their roles and they’re playing really hard in those roles.”
The 84th meeting between Whiteland and Beech Grove (the series is now tied, 42-all) came down to the final seconds when Hornets senior guard Jadyn Curry drained an ice-water 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.6 ticks showing.
The scoreboard initially showed 0.6, but officials determined Whiteland called a timeout at 2.2. The full-court pass to junior Max Sullivan was successful, but Sullivan was forced to launch an off-balance shot from the right wing that caromed off the backboard.
Beech Grove’s win came despite Warriors’ senior guard Logan Willoughby scoring a game-high 27 points, leading a comeback after Whiteland trailed by 11 at halftime. Willoughby’s triple from the right wing with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter put his team ahead briefly, 52-51.
On the ensuing possession, Hornets sophomore Cameron Brown’s four-point sequence after being fouled on a 3-pointer gave them the lead. Whiteland clawed back to tie it, 60-60, on two free throws from junior forward Kyson Jones and the first of two from senior backup Kayden Welling.
Beech Grove appeared to turn the ball over at 39.9, but officials said it was tipped by a Warriors defender before going out of bounds. The Hornets called a timeout at 21.8 and Curry took it from there, scoring the last three of his 22 points.
