In a top 10 clash of 3A opponents at Sectional 29 Wednesday, No. 10 Greensburg pulled off an improbable comeback against host No. 9 Connersville at the Spartan Bowl.
As heard on WRBI, the Pirates trailed the Spartans by 11 after the third quarter, but outscored the defending 29 champs 19-5 in the final frame to win 39-36.
Greensburg scored the game’s first four points, but a 9-2 run by Connersville gave the Sparties a 9-6 edge at the end of the first period. An 8-1 run by CHS in the second upped Connersville’s lead to nine before the two teams settled on a 21-14 spread at the half.
Lucas Barron was a big part of the Spartans second quarter and had six points at the break. Teammate Kaleb Sparks had five. Greensburg’s Colin Comer kept the Bucs close with eight points at intermission.
Connersville had a better shooting first half making 9-of-16 compared to Greensburg’s 6-of-18.
In the third, the Spartans increased their lead to 31-20 despite a pair of threes from Comer. Connersville’s Josh Williams and Sparks combined for eight of the team’s 10 points in the stanza.
And with only eight minutes to go plus Connersville’s ability to defend, control tempo and minimize possessions, Greensburg’s 11-point hole appeared to be too deep to climb out of. But somehow, the Pirates defied the odds and did just that.
A combination of a few but untimely Spartan turnovers, a small yet critical set of missed shots around the rim, plus the sheer will and execution by the Pirates turned what looked to be a season-ending loss for Greensburg into a tournament extending win.
A steal and deuce by Jeter Edwards got the Bucs within one. After a Josh Williams bucket for Connersville, Comer’s two charity tosses made it a one-point game again. Then Ki Dyer made a great second-chance, inside put back for the go ahead two. Following a missed front-end 1-and-1 by Connersville, the Pirates completed a transition possession capped by an insurance lay-in from Brenden Stanley. Greensburg won 39-36.
Comer finished with a game-high 23 and Stanley followed with seven for the now 21-4 Pirates. For the 18-7 Spartans, Josh Williams led in scoring with 10, Sparks scored nine and Barron booked eight.
Greensburg’s biggest statistical advantage was 3-point shooting. While the Pirates made a middle-of-the-road 5-of-16 trifectas, the Spartans converted just 1-of-7 from distance, a difference of a dozen points.
Game number two between Franklin County and Batesville didn’t have the glitz and glamour of state ranked teams, but was entertaining in its own right as it resembled a grind-it-out, backyard brawl. The Wildcats defeated the Bulldogs 33-25.
Scoring was at a premium in the first half as the Brookville boys led 4-2 after the first quarter and 10-7 at the half.
Through 16 minutes, Franklin County’s Chad Cox had six points and Batesville’s Cole Werner had three.
The Cats made 5-of-16 shots in the first half compared to 3-of-14 by the Dogs.
In the third, both teams tallied a half-dozen points. It was 16-13 at the stop. Then in the fourth, the two teams combined for 29 points, equaling their combined total through the first 24 minutes. But Franklin County had a 17-12 advantage in the fourth to win by eight, 33-25.
Cox finished with 16 points for the 17-5 Wildcats. FC teammate JD Stokes put in eight. For 10-13 BHS, Thomas Raver led with eight and Cole Pride added six.
Franklin County had opportunities to stretch out the lead but left a lot of points at the free throw line making just 9-of-19. At one point, the Cats had made just 3-of-11.
Batesville won the rebounding battle in the second half including 6-2 on the offensive end, but simply struggled to score. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 10-of-38 for 26 percent. Franklin County was 12-of 32 for 38 percent.
Greensburg will face Franklin County in Friday’s second semifinal game on Friday back at the Spartan Bowl. You can hear it on Country 103.9 WRBI starting around 7:30 pm. Our early game Friday will be South Decatur at South Ripley in 2A-44 with coverage starting at 5:40 pm.
We thank Connersville AD Brent Duncan for the accommodations and hospitality along with coaches Stacy Meyer, Kerry Brown, Mark Foster and Aaron Garrett for their information.