Tesmer lifts GHS to sectional opener win

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Greencastle senior Jesse Tesmer is mobbed by teammates and fans following his game-winning shot against Brown County Tuesday.

When the IHSAA Sectional rolls around, the name of the game is surviving. It doesn't matter how you do it, you just need to do it. Greencastle's boys' basketball team survived to fight another day on a thrilling last second play Tuesday against Brown County.

Greencastle forced a jump ball and had one final chance to win the contest with 0.8 left on the clock. After a quick timeout, the Tiger Cubs set the play in motion and Hayden Stuckwisch hit Jesse Tesmer hanging in the lane, who tapped the ball in for the 66-65 win.

Following the contest, GHS head coach Troy Greenlee when asked if the play went like he drew it up on the sideline, gave credit to his kids for their execution and finding the open player.

"I'd love to say just yes, but in reality as a coach what you try to do is set your kids up in a situation where there are chances to make plays," he said. "After that, they just have to make the play. We didn't know if Nick was going to be open, we didn't know if Jesse -- we didn't know who was going to be open. But Hayden did a magnificent job of finding the guy who was open, which was Jesse, and make an incredible pass over a 6'11 kid."

Greenlee said he was happy his team got the win, but hated it coming against a friend in Brown County head coach Roger Fleetwood.

The Tiger Cubs had control of the game for much of the second half Tuesday, but a hot shooting Brown County team, especially senior guard Jordan Rose, eliminated that lead and looked poised to move on to the second round. The Eagles' Caleb Wedan gave his team the lead 65-64 with 24 second left in the contest.

The Tiger Cubs brought the ball down the court, failing on a few attempts, but Nick Hutcheson fought for the rebound and got the jump ball that set up Tesmer's opportunity.

In the first half, Greencastle jumped out to a nice lead of 11-4, but watched as Brown County chiseled away at it and tied the game up at 13-all at the end of one quarter.

Brown County took the lead itself in the second quarter, but a GHS rally nullified their advantage and outscored the Eagles 9-2 to close the first half and take a 28-25 lead in the halftime.

Greencastle's offense continued to click in the third quarter as it went up by as many as eight 38-30 and found itself holding onto a 45-41 edge going into the final quarter.

The Tiger Cubs enjoyed an 11-point lead when Trevor Huber hit a shot making it 55-44, but that's when Brown County got hot and began its late charge. Down the stretch Rose hit three from behind the three-point arc, with Konner Graber and Wedan adding a three-pointer each.

But winning is all about the team that makes the most plays to win and on Tuesday that team was the Tiger Cubs. They hit shots in the final seconds of the game when they need to and Greenlee couldn't have been happier with the effort.

Greenlee said the entire team put forth a great effort on the night and praised a few players in particular following the win. He noted the defensive pressure Huber applied on Brown County and the quality minutes Michael Muncie delivered off the bench.

He also praised Tesmer for making what he called the "50/50" plays, essentially the plays that could go either way. Greenlee also pointed out that the final second heroics wouldn't have been possible if senior Nick Hutcheson hadn't fought for and received the jump ball call.

"Just little things like that were huge. Again, it's just a very exciting win for our team to say the least," Greenlee said.

He said he loved how his team continued to get after things even when they were enjoying a sizeable advantage.

"When you have a lead like that, you can almost play too conservatively and be afraid to make play and I didn't think our kids did that tonight, which is a credit to our kids," he said.

Awaiting the Tiger Cubs in the sectional semifinal is Owen Valley, a team they faced off against a little more than a week ago. The first outing went to the Patriots, but Greenlee believes his team will be ready when the game tips off on Friday.

"We played them a week ago today and didn't play very well," he said. "They were physical with us, we allowed them to bang us a little bit and our kids didn't respond very well. They're going to be physical again. They're going to come out and pressure us, but I think our kids have a little different mindset this time. I think our kids have a lot of confidence right now.

"We know Owen Valley's going to be ready, but I'll tell you what, I know our guys are going to be ready too. I'm pretty excited about Friday night," Greenlee added.

Huber led the Tiger Cubs with 18 points, with Hutcheson adding 15 and Brad Haussin 14 points. Tesmer chipped in nine points, while Stuckwisch had six and Muncie scored four in the win.

Greencastle and Owen Valley will do battle at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Class 3A No. 28 Greencastle Sectional semifinal.

At Greencastle

Class 3A No. 28 Sectional

Brown County 13 12 16 24 -- 65

Greencastle 13 15 17 21 -- 66

Individual Stats

Brown County -- Rose 22, Robinson 14, Goral 9, Norman 9, Graber 6, Wedan 5. Totals: 14-32 FG. 3-5 FT, 65 TP.

Greencastle -- Huber 18, Hutcheson 15, Haussin 14, Tesmer 9, Stuckwisch 6, Muncie 4. Totals: 23-46 FG, 11-18 FT, 66 TP.