Greencastle loses cool; drops tough game to Indian Creek

Greencastle's Ian Williamson manages to split a pair of Indian Creek defenders for a basket during Saturday's 74-40 loss.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

It wasn’t so much that Greencastle lost to Indian Creek in the boys’ basketball nightcap of a four-game day at McAnally Center Saturday.

It was the way in which the Tiger Cubs were able to be undone mentally by the Braves once an already physical game was allowed to nearly get out of hand as the visitors used a mini 8-0 burst in the second quarter that turned a tied game into a runaway 74-40 win for the visitors.

“Indian Creek is very good and I was impressed with them,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said. “They’re athletic, shoot the ball well, are very disciplined and I was happy with the way we started the game after getting used to the physicality.

“The officials lost control of the game tonight; it didn’t change the outcome but changed the way we played the game, not allowing us to compete hardly at all tonight. With that said, most of our team, players and coaches, allowed emotions to get the best of them at times tonight.

“Really good teams find ways to forget what happened on the last play and not let it affect the next play,’ Rector added. “Tonight, our emotions got away from us and we went from up six to down 12.”

Indian Creek’s intense style of play caught Greencastle flat to start the game as Carter Modlin scored on a drive and a three while Landon Sichting added a floater and Adam Crouch scored as part of a 9-2 start, one keyed on four early offensive rebounds.

Once the hosts got to terms with the physical play, however, the lead soon flipped as Sam Gooch scored twice, Nathan Sutherlin converted a three-point play, Judah Amis scored his only basket of the night and Taygan McRoberts capped the quarter as Greencastle led 13-9 after eight minutes.

“We did a nice job of making an adjustment and when that happened, we were able to make a run at the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter,” Rector said about getting control of the boards, which the hosts won 11-6 in the opening frame.

Sutherlin scored again to make it 15-9 early in the second quarter before Crouch scored and Trent Volz added two baskets to tie the game at 15-15.

During the same timeframe, several non-calls had seen play take a dangerous turn and the game threatened to spill over entirely when Sutherlin was barged over off the ball by Landon Martin, who was then fouled by Sutherlin on a basket, the latter assessed a technical foul in the aftermath.

Martin proceeded to hit all three fouls shots and followed with a three to make it 23-15 in a matter of seconds.

Though Gooch released some of the pressure with a dunk on the other end, Martin and Sichting added baskets while Crouch converted a three-point play and added a final score as the Braves took a 32-21 lead into the halftime break.

The visitors, whose defense was constantly creating turnovers all night, helped spark a 13-0 run early in the third quarter that extended the lead to 45-23.

Greencastle found its footing and played the latter half of the period on level footing but still continued to fall behind with Crouch adding eight points later on to make it a 60-34 game with eight minutes to play.

“We can sit and talk a variety of factors but Indian Creek is one of, if not the best, team in the WIC,” Rector said about losing the third quarter 28-13. “They’re going to be a tough team to beat and give them credit for doing what they needed to do.”

Indian Creek wouldn’t get to the running clock in the final period but held the Tiger Cubs to six points in the final frame before tempers flared again as the benches emptied with technical fouls assessed to both teams in the final minute.

Scoring

Indian Creek (22-44 2FG; 7-22 3FG; 9-12 FT) — Crouch 21, Martin 17, Volz 8, Modlin 8, Connell 7, Sichting 6, Lowhorn 3, Staats 2, Robertson 2

Greencastle (16-29 2FG; 1-14 3FG; 5-6 FT) — Gooch 12, Sutherlin 11, Evans 6, McRoberts 4, Sullivan 3, Amis 2, Willamson 2

Statistics