Huttenlocker breaks Tiger Cub hearts with three at horn

Winning is hard to do.

The Greencastle Tiger Cubs found that out again on Saturday night at McAnally Center.

A day after losing a tough game to county rival North Putnam, the Tiger Cubs had their heart broken as Carson Huttenlocker nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Edgewood Mustangs a 41-39 victory in a Western Indiana Conference basketball game.

Greencastle led most of the second half but could not close the game out as they hit just 8-of-18 free throws and went 3-of-16 from behind the arc to spoil a good defensive effort. The loss dropped Greencastle to 2-11 on the season and 1-7 in the WIC. Edgewood improved their record to 6-9 and 5-3 in the conference.

“I told the kids that winning doesn’t care. We had a great week of practice and we worked really hard. We probably played better than our opponent for a majority of two games, but we still lost,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said.

The Cubs dug themselves a hole as Edgewood scored the first five points of the game, but Cole Hutcheson answered with a trey and a dunk to tie the score at 5-5. Hutcheson continued to score for the Cubs and paced Greencastle with nine points as they led 14-11 after one period of action.

The teams battled evenly in the second quarter with no one gaining more than a three-point advantage. Anthony Adams kept the Cub offense going, getting seven of his nine points in the quarter, as he answered Huttenlocker, who came off the bench to nail a pair of shots from deep behind the arc, helping Edgewood lead 28-27 as the teams headed to the intermission.

The Cubs really slowed the game down in the third quarter. Neither team could get much going in the period, trading a smattering of baskets throughout the quarter as Adams was able to tie the score at 33-all with two late free throws heading into the final quarter.

The evenly-matched squads traded buckets throughout the final stanza. Jacob Simmerman gave the Cubs a 39-37 with a free throw with :36 left but Greencastle could not close the game out.

The visitors took a timeout after rebounding a missed Cubs free throw with :03.5 left to play, advancing the ball to midcourt on one pass and taking another timeout with :02.8 left to set the stage for the game-winner.

Edgewood fed the post and kicked the ball out to Huttenlocker who drained it from the left side to send the Cubs to locker room with the 41-39 loss.

Greencastle failed to put the game away as they hit just 4-of-7 free throws in the final quarter, including missing the front end of the bonus situation twice. Greencastle struggled with its shooting most of the night, hitting just 31 percent (14-of-44) from the field and 44 percent (8-of-18) from the line for the game.

“Our inability to shoot the ball really hurt us. We couldn’t hit enough shots from the line or anywhere at all. We played well enough to win, but could not make enough shots,” Rector said.

Huttenlocker led the Mustangs with 12 points. Hutcheson had 15 to lead the Cubs, while Sam Gooch added 12.

Greencastle will next travel to South Vermillion next Friday night.

EDGEWOOD (41) – Hammonds 1-10 0-0 3, White 0-0 0-0 0, Boggs 4-6 0-0 9, Norris 3-9 1-2 7, Ranard 3-6 2-4 8, Huttenlocker 4-11 0-0 12, McCullough 0-1 2-2 2, Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-43 FG, 5-8 FT, 41 TP.

GREENCASTLE (39) – Gooch 4-17 3-4 12, Adams 3-9 2-5 9, Sutherlin 0-1 2-7 2, Simmerman 0-2 1-2 1, Hutcheson 7-15 0-0 15, Ensley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-44 FG, 8-18 FT, 39 TP.

3-point shooting – EHS 6-23 (Hammonds 1-7, Boggs 1-3, Norris 0-2, Huttenlocker 4-11), GHS 3-16 (Gooch 1-5, Adams 1-4, Hutcheson 1-7). Rebounds – EHS 30 (Hammonds 1, Boggs 7, Norris 7, Ranard 8, McCullough 4, Young 1) GHS – 31 (Gooch 7, Adams 8, Sutherlin 4, Simmerman 4, Hutcheson 5, Ensley 1) FG Pct. – EHS 34.9, GHS 31.8. FT Pct. – EHS 62.5, GHS 44.4. Turnovers – EHS 9, GHS 8.