Greene County Invitational all chalk through three nights
So far the 46th annual Greene County Invitational has played out according to seeding.
No major surprises or upsets came from first-round play.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been Shakamak's margin of victory over North Central Thursday. The Lakers cruised to a 75-57 win over the Thunderbirds.
Shakamak will meet Clay City, 49-31 winners over tournament host White River Valley, in the GCI fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m Saturday.
Vincennes Rivet weathered 1 for 13 shooting in the first quarter to outlast Clay City 46-44 Wednesday night.
The Patriots will face Bloomfield in Friday's second semifinal contest at 7:30 p.m.
Rivet was part of the four-team field in the season opening Bloomfield Invitational. The Patriots and Cardinals did not meet. Rivet lost to Owen Valley 60-53 in the opener.
Bloomfield as expected handily dispatched White River Valley in Wednesday's second game.
Perhaps the most impressive takewaway from that game was Chris Gilmore's 11 steals.
That's some hustle.
One bright spot for White River Valley was the play of Jarrett Rose. The 6-4 sophomore battled Bloomfield's bigs Brandon Van Sant and Eli Combs for nine points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.
WRV plays North Central in the seventh-place game Saturday at 10 a.m.
Speaking of Eli Combs the Bloomfield forward was honored twice this past week.
Combs earned a Founder's Scholarship to Franklin College. And before Wednesday's game he was named the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Character Counts award winner.
Congratulations Eli. Both honors are well-deserved.
Eastern Greene coach Jon Neill posed the question to Bloomington Herald Times sports writer Andy Graham Monday, "Is Shakamak really only the sixth-best team in the field?"
Neill's question is a testament to the quality of the basketball teams in the Greene County Invitational.
I said last week if anyone falls asleep on the Lakers, look out.
And while the Thunderbirds didn't fall asleep, they needed a late kick-start from junior guard Jeff Graham to put the game away.
Twice in the fourth quarter Shakamak got within four points. Graham buried a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:34 remaining to push the lead back to seven.
Tanner Yeryar answered with an old-fashioned three-point play to again cut it to four. Graham responded with a driving layup and a dish to Trevor Yoho for an esay bucket to make it an eight-point ball game.
Friday's first semifinal between Eastern Greene and Linton-Stockton promises to be an intriguing matchup.
There are so many story lines to this one.
Both teams have garnered state-wide attention from the Associated Press. The Thunderbirds are ranked 12th and the Miners seventh in the latest Class 2A poll.
Third-seeded Eastern Greene upped its record to 7-2. No. 2 seed Linton-Stockton enters Friday 8-3.
Neither of the T-Birds two losses could be considered "bad losses." Eastern Greene lost by one on a desperation heave that banked in at the buzzer at 2A No. 2 Barr-Reeve. The next night against 4A Martinsville the Thunderbirds were in the contest until the Artesians sealed the outcome at the free throw line in the final two minutes.
The same can't quite be said for the Miners' three losses.
Linton-Stockton came out flat in the second half losing by 17 at Barr-Reeve. The Miners played Terre Haute South to a two-point game for 21 minutes in the Wabash Valley Classic. But they couldn't keep pace with the Braves' athletic sharpshooters for the full 32.
The next night Linton-Stockton's 28 percent shooting led to a disappointing loss to West Vigo.
Both teams have demonstrated the ability to score the basketball.
Eastern Greene entered the GCI with four scorers averaging double figures, led by Nathan Eckerle's 13 per. Graham, Caleb Hamilton and Trevor Yoho are all averaging double digits as well.
The Miners counter with Josh Dieball, Jacob Clothier and Tyler Meurer, all of whom can fill it up. Dieball presents matchup problems for opponents all over the floor. The junior standout is arguably the most versatile player in the area.
Jon Neill's T-Bird squad seem to have rectified its early-season turnover bugaboo. After 17 turnovers at Mitchell and 20 more against North Knox, they cut that number down to five at Barr-Reeve and just four in the Martinsville game.
But if there's team that can force turnovers, it's Linton-Stockton.
Can either team contain the other's scoring weapons? And can they take care of the basketball?
Those questions will be answered Friday.
Either team will be a worthy championship game contestant.
Not enough has happened yet to warrant any change to the weekly rankings. We'll see what happens Friday and Saturday.
One final word - I hope to see the Switz City Gym packed to the rafters Friday and Saturday. Come out and support our Greene County basketball teams.
Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.
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