Our second broadcast game Friday took us to the Spartan Bowl for a 3A-29 semi where Franklin County upended No. 10 Greensburg 51-35.
It was 6-4 Wildcats at the end of the first quarter and 15-11 at the half.
Franklin County’s Chad Cox collected eight points through the first 16 minutes and Brant Ertel followed with six. Greensburg’s Colin Comer recorded four.
FC started to pull away in the third leading 26-16 at the stop then went on to post a 16-point victory thanks to a 25-19 fourth frame.
Cox led all scorers with 22, Ertel followed with 13, Bridger Bolos only scored six but they were all fourth-quarter free throws. JD Stokes also had a half dozen. Comer’s 16 points were a Pirate best. Addison Barnes-Pettit posted six.
Franklin County held Greensburg to just 36 percent shooting (13/36) while the Cats shot 46 percent (18/39). FC converted 11-of-19 at the line (58%). G’burg hit 7-of-10 at the stripe.
The victory was the 18th for the Wildcats, adding on to the most ever for the program post consolidation (previous record 16 in 2001-02). They are now vying for the team’s first-ever sectional title since the changeover from Brookville to Franklin County.
To get that elusive piece of hardware, the Wildcats will have to go through Lawrenceburg in the title match. LHS came from 11 down at the start of the fourth quarter to force overtime and defeated South Dearborn 57-51.
The Tigers did lead 8-6 at the first stop but trailed 21-18 at the half. The Knights were eight points better in the third to up their advantage to 36-25.
If we learned nothing more from Wednesday night, we know an 11-point lead at the start of the fourth is not safe. Lawrenceburg proved that point again, outgunning the Aurora boys 24-13 to square the game at 49-49 through regulation. The Tigers had the upper hand in the extra session, 8-2, to win by six.
Lawrenceburg’s Jackson Bobo had a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four blocks. Teammate Garrett Yoon also scored 15. Dayha Patel contributed 11 points, six boards and four assists.
For the Knights, Ryan Willoughby had a game-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Teammate Eli Hoffman recorded 11 points and five caroms.
Lawrenceburg won this game at the line, doubling up the Knights 24-12. South Dearborn had the better floor shooting effort making 19-of-40 (47%). The Tigers converted 14-of-40 (35%). Rebounds were nearly a wash (27-26 SD). The Knights did commit three more miscues than the Tigers (14-11).
Tonight’s 3A-29 final at 7:30 pm will be Franklin County (18-5) and Lawrenceburg (19-7). You can hear that game online at WRBIradio.com starting at 7:10 pm.
We thank Connersville AD Brent Duncan for the accommodations and hospitality along with coaches Joe Foster and Stacy Meyer for their information in our broadcast game.