The Center Grove Trojans beat the Greenwood Woodmen 48-45. Clark Wade/IndyStar
GREENWOOD – Johnson County rivals Franklin and Center Grove will face each other in Saturday's Class 4A sectional final at Greenwood after both picking up semifinal wins Friday night.
Center Grove won narrowly 48-45. Greenwood tried to control the tempo against the favored Trojans (18-6) with a slow methodical pace. The Woodmen had several possessions that lasted for more than a minute.
The speed of the Trojans was too much for Greenwood in the first half. Center Grove started the game on a seven-point spurt. Trayce Jackson-Davis could only be stopped from the free-throw line. He had eight points, six rebounds in the first half, including a slam dunk on an offensive rebound in the second quarter. Center Grove took a 23-18 lead into halftime.
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Greenwood was able to use a 3-point barrage to take advantage of Jackson-Davis’ 5-for-10 from the free-throw line to keep it close. The Woodmen saw their only lead of the night at the 6:12 mark in fourth quarter on a Jeffrey Reynolds 3-pointer. The lead was short lived, as free throws from Ben Nicoson put the Trojans back in the lead.
The Woodman trailed by two with just under a minute remaining but failed on two occasions to tie the score.
“That was key for us,” said Center Grove coach Zach Hahn. “We kept letting them keep it close, so we had to make key stops when it counts.
Baskets from Joey Klaasen and Jackson-Davis gave Center Grove a four-point lead with 30 seconds remaining. A 3-pointer by Reynolds with 9.7 seconds put Greenwood within one.
“He (Reynolds) was killing us tonight from deep,” said Hahn. “We had guys step up as well, (Spencer) Piercefield was huge for us tonight, Jackson-Davis came up when we needed him.”
Piercefield closed out the game with two from the free-throw line.
After a Center Grove timeout, Isaiah Drew missed the game tying buzzer-beater to seal the 48-45 win for the Center Grove Trojans. Greenwood’s Reynolds led all scorers with 21 points, including five 3s. Jackson-Davis and Piercefield led Center Grove with 13 points.
In the first semifinal, Franklin advanced with a 59-46 win over Mid-State Conference rival Whiteland. The Grizzly Cubs took advantage of an eight point-run in the first quarter and another to close out the second.
The opening quarter was a sloppy start for both teams as there were more 13 turnovers and only 10 points scored. Reece Thomson of Franklin led all scorers with 19 points.
CENTER GROVE 48, GREENWOOD 45
Center Grove 9 14 13 12 — 48
Greenwood 7 11 16 11 — 45
Center Grove (18-6) — Nicoson 2 0-0 6, Greller 0 0-0 0, McClain 1 0-0 2, Piercefield 4 4-4 13, Petty 1 0-0 2, Klaasen 4 2-4 12, Jackson-Davis 4 5-10 13. Totals 17 11-18 48.
Greenwood (14-8) — Reynolds 8 0-1 21, Moenkhaus 4 1-2 10, Dowling 1 0-0 2, Raker 2 0-0 4, Kincaid 2 1-2 5, Drew 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 2-5 45.
3-Point goals: Center Grove 3 (Nicoson 2, Piercefield), Greenwood 7 (Reynolds 5, Moenkhaus, Drew).
FRANKLIN 59, WHITELAND 46
Franklin 8 17 15 19 — 59
Whiteland 2 15 16 13 — 46
Whiteland (11-13) — Higdon 2 2-2 7, Weatherspoon 0 2-2 2, Welling 0 0-0 0, Ebeyer 0 0-0 0, Angerer 0 1-2 1, Neal 1 4-4 6, Helton 3 0-0 8, Cole Ferguson 0 0-0 0, Crowe 6 2-2 16, Chase Ferguson 1 4-5 6. Totals: 13 15-17 46.
Franklin (15-9) — Richards 6 3-3 15, Thomson 4 8-10 17, Byerly 3 7-10 13, Miles 3 0-0 6, Mahler 1 0-0 2, Sellers 1 4-5 6. Totals: 18 22-28 59.
3-Point goals: Whiteland 5 (Crowe 2, Helton 2, Higdon), Franklin 1 (Thomson).
More IHSAA sectional coverage:
- Sophomore Dre Davis leads Lawrence Central past rival Lawrence North
- After IHSAA sectional semifinal wins, Beech Grove facing No. 6 Danville should be a gem
- X-factor Dawand Jones leads Ben Davis into sectional title game against Pike
- Isaiah Thompson explodes for 44 points as Zionsville heads to sectional title game
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