(Batesville, IN) – Batesville built a third-quarter cushion, absorbed a strong Greensburg comeback, and made enough plays late Thursday night to earn a 58-51 Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference win over the Pirates.
The Bulldogs improved to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the EIAC, while Greensburg dropped to 4-9 and 0-3 in conference play.
Batesville led by as many as 13 in the third quarter before Greensburg worked its way back into the game and tied it 44-44 with 4:44 left in the fourth. The Pirates never took the lead in the final period, and Batesville responded with defensive pressure and execution down the stretch to pull away in the final minutes.
“We got up, I think… 13, right?” Batesville coach Aaron Garrett said. “We had some tough misses, some tough turnovers, and Greensburg just methodically came back, came back, came back.”
Garrett said Greensburg’s zone defense forced Batesville to stay disciplined, especially as the game tightened late.
“There’s a reason why we run zones, right?” Garrett said. “It discombobulates you. It slows you down. I thought they did it that effectively against us.”
Senior Brayden Maple led Batesville with 18 points, including a strong night at the free throw line where he finished 10-of-12. James Hughes added 16 points, and Batesville leaned on late execution to stay unbeaten in conference play.
“I thought Brayden Maple … did so much more for us than just score,” Garrett said. “He was in the guy’s ears and just made some tough, tough plays on both ends.”
Greensburg was led by Andrew Bowman, who scored 24 points with an inside-outside performance that kept the Pirates within striking distance all four quarters. Jacoby Miller added nine points, with Max Buening scoring six. Ethan Smith had four, Logan Simpson finished with five, and Jonah Hellmich scored three.
Batesville made the difference at the free throw line, going 16-of-22 for the game and getting to the stripe repeatedly in the fourth quarter to protect the lead.
“This was a much more important win for us than the 28 point win in December,” Garrett said. “Just because you had to make winning plays.”
Both teams return to action this weekend, with Batesville set to face Southwestern (Hanover) and Greensburg scheduled to host South Dearborn in another EIAC matchup.
In the JV game, Greensburg pulled away late for a 42-32 win over Batesville.