In one of our boys basketball sectional semifinal broadcasts Friday night, our first stop was in Versailles where South Ripley hosted South Decatur in 2A-44. Thanks to a big second-half defensive effort, the Raiders beat the Cougars 61-44, avenging a seven-point loss from December.
Less an game-opening field goal by the Westport boys, the Versailles crew led the entire game. Ripley held a 21-14 advantage after the first quarter and a 30-29 edge at the half.
At intermission, Zach Gentile’s nine points and eight from Cole Henry were tops for the Raiders. Jacob Scruggs had 14 for the Cougars.
The momentum South Decatur built at the end of the second period did not carry over into the third. South Ripley outscored the Cougars 13-6 to go up 43-35, then continued to play add on in the fourth to win by 17.
The Raiders won this game with defense. After Scruggs hung 14 on the hosts in the first half, Ripley held the sophomore guard to just two points in the second half for 16 overall. But an even bigger story was Team Green gave up only 11 points the entire night to Hunter Johnson. The dynamic senior scorer averaged nearly 33 a game and netted no fewer than 20 all season. Teammate Dale Peters finished with nine.
For South Ripley, Gentile led with 17, Henry scored 14, Nick Schwarte logged 10 while Blaine Ward and Blake Volz put in eight each.
The Cougars led in all major statistical categories except field goal shooting. The Raiders hit 21-of-39 (53%) from the floor while the Cougars connected on just 12-of-50 (24%).
Both teams made 14 free throws but South Decatur was more efficient going 14-of-17 (82%) to Ripley’s 14-of-21 (67%). South Decatur had a 30-26 advantage on the glass but, more notably, a 12-4 edge in offensive boards. The Cougars also had six fewer turnovers (7-13).
In the other semifinal at 2A-44, defending champion Triton Central held on to beat North Decatur 62-57. The Tigers held 11-point leads at the end of the second (29-18) and third (45-34) quarters.
The Chargers got as close as three with under two minutes to play, but TC kept the edge and won by five.
For the Tigers, Caleb Miller had 15 points, Jameson Palmer put in 14, Josiah Blair booked 13 and Josh Kemper contributed 11. Charger scoring went like this: Blake Spears 18, Lance Nobbe 17 and Kaden Muckerheide 16.
South Ripley (13-10) and Triton Central (12-11) play tonight at 7:30 pm for the Sectional 44 championship.
We thank South Ripley AD Jeff Gorrell for the accommodations and hospitality. We also thank coaches Tyler Theising and Kendall Wildey for their information during our broadcast game.