By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
GREENWOOD – When Southport pulled its massive upset of Class 4A No. 5 Center Grove in the Sectional 11 opener March 2 at Greenwood, it threw the title up for grabs among the rest of the field. On Wednesday evening, two sizeable underdogs from the Mid-State Conference did their best to take advantage of the opportunity.
Both Whiteland and Greenwood eventually fell short, but not before giving Conference Indiana foes Perry Meridian and Franklin Central all they could handle. Whiteland finally fell to the Falcons, 67-62, while Franklin Central overcame Greenwood, 41-30.
In the March 3 opening contest, it appeared Perry Meridian (13-9) was well on its way to an easy victory. The Falcons led 29-15 at the half thanks to the sizzling outside shooting of senior guard Jazz Drane and a defense that totally stifled the Whiteland attack. The Falcons spent most of the game in a 2-3 zone and, in the first two quarters, Whiteland showed no ability to attack from the perimeter.
The lead grew to 15 early in the third quarter, and then a funny thing happened on the way to the finish. Midway through that third stanza, Whiteland suddenly found not only its touch from the outside but also a willingness to use it.
The Warriors drained four 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the period, closing within seven at 40-33.
Perry Meridian began the fourth quarter by scoring the first six points, increasing the margin back to 13. Yet Whiteland still refused to go quietly into the offseason.
By the 4:15 mark, the Warriors had closed back within nine at 50-41. When junior guard Beau Bensheimer scored on successive possessions, Whiteland was within five at 55-50 with two minutes to play.
It didn’t help the Falcons’ cause that they showed spotty accuracy from the free throw stripe throughout the final eight minutes. They did manage to connect on four charity tosses over a stretch of three trips, but when Bensheimer again connected from long distance, the lead was down to 59-55.
The charge continued, and when senior forward Josh Gabhart netted yet another Whiteland trey with under 30 seconds left, the cushion was only three at 65-62.
Whiteland (8-14) tried to stretch the game by continuing to send Perry Meridian to the line. Fortunately for the Falcons, the man they fouled in the late-game critical situation was junior Matt Landis, who stepped to the line with 17 seconds remaining and sank two charity tosses to finally end the suspense.
Landis finished the evening with 21 points, while Drane tied for game-high honors with 22 markers. Gabhart also scored 22 for Whiteland.
If the first contest looked like a mismatch, the second seemed a sure bet to be a rout. Franklin Central faced a Greenwood team that won only five regular-season contests and didn’t start a player taller than 6’1”.
Once again, the early play went according to form. The Flashes started the game on a 12-3 run and led 12-5 at the end of the first stanza. Then things again went haywire.
Greenwood continued to struggle putting points on the board. In fact, consider these statistics: For the entire game, the Woodmen had a total of 11 rebounds, only 10 baskets, and nine turnovers. But here is the kicker:
With less than two minutes to play, this was a four-point basketball game. How did Greenwood stay within reach while posting those kind of numbers?
The answer is two-fold. First, the Woodmen played a 2-3 zone about as well as it can be played. They draped Franklin Central shooters all evening and, on most occasions, prevented the ball from entering the middle. Secondly, those baskets Greenwood did manage to score were nearly all from beyond the arc.
Of the 10 Woodmen field goals, seven were threes.
Sophomore guard Tevis Byrne netted one of those 3-pointers with just over two minutes to play to cut the Franklin Central lead to 31-27. Unfortunately for the Woodmen (5-17), they turned the ball over on their next two trips, and the Flashes put the game away from the free throw line.
Juniors Jason Riley and John Goodlow led the Flashes (13-8) with 10 points each.
This wild and wacky tournament will continue Friday when Cinderella Southport (5-15) faces Franklin (14-6) and conference foes Perry Meridian and Franklin Central square off beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
11. Greenwood Sectional
Game 1 – Southport 72, 4A #5 Center Grove 69
Game 2 – Perry Meridian 67, Whiteland 62
Game 3 – Franklin Central 41, Greenwood 30
Game 4 – Franklin vs. Southport. Fri 6p
Game 5 – Perry Meridian vs. Franklin Central. Fri 7:30p
Championship – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5. Sat 7:30p
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