By J.D. Neiswanger
For the Daily Journal
SPENCER
The calm before the storm felt like smooth sailing in the first half for Indian Creek Friday night, but the hurricane to follow in the second half was just a little too much.
After losing a lead, battling back and forcing an overtime, the Braves wound up falling to Edgewood, 76-72, in the semifinal round of the Class 3A Owen Valley Sectional.
“It was a great high school game. I thought the kids played extremely hard; we made some big plays and so did they,” Creek coach Drew Glentzer said. “At halftime, I knew they would hit shots in the second half. We played well in the first half, and they did in the second.”
Junior guard Adam Crouch had a night to remember for Indian Creek. He had 34 points, while Bobby Emberton pitched in 14. Crouch willed his team down the stretch when things didn’t look good, even converting a four-point play with his team down three in the final minute. Late in the game he drew foul after foul and his clutch free throw shooting — 14 of 15 from the line — gave the Braves a chance.
“I was happy for him,” Glentzer said of Crouch. “He hit some big shots. He was so good tonight.”
Some sharp shooting and ball-hawking defense gave Indian Creek the early lead. It was 21-7 Braves after three different players hit treys in a dominant first-quarter performance. From the middle of the first to the early part of the second quarter, IC went on a 20-0 run. The Mustangs tried man-to-man, zone and even picking up fullcourt, but Creek had all the answers. The second quarter was more of the same as the Braves kept hitting shots and extended the lead to 18 before going into the half up 32-15.
Edgewood had a solid third quarter, while Indian Creek faded. The fourth quarter was one for the ages and included Edgewood freshman Caden Jones (19 points off the bench) hitting 3s and the Mustangs completing a huge comeback to take a six-point lead with two minutes to go.
Indian Creek battled back, though, with big shots from Crouch. He tied it at 56 with a jumper, then gave the Braves the lead with a gigantic four-point play. The top of the key 3 plus one with 23 seconds left gave Indian Creek a one-point lead, but Jones hit another triple with :06 left to put Edgewood up by two.
Crouch once again rose to the occasion, as he drove the length of the court and drew a foul with half a second to go. He stepped to the line and sank both free throws to get it to overtime.
The OT saw both teams match each other for five consecutive possessions with layups and jumpers until the game was tied at 70. Indian Creek took a two-point lead at 72-70 before a 3-pointer for Edgewood made it 73-72. The Braves couldn’t answer again and after three free throws in the final nine seconds, one of the best high school basketball games in the state on this Friday night came to an end.
The heartbreaking defeat ended the season for Indian Creek at 15-9. It didn’t end with a sectional title, but considering the Braves lost their leading scorer two months ago, Glentzer felt like this team showed a lot of resilience.
“We had a good year. Losing Landon Sichting was tough and we still figured out how to win a conference championship, but we really wish were playing Saturday night, ” an exhausted Glentzner remarked after the game. “Our seniors are great; Trent Volz, Brady Connell and Carter Modlin are three kids that I just love.
“Tough night.”
