What a weekend for area hoops
What a weekend it was for Greene County high school boys basketball!
I saw two games that went down to the wire. One of those was Saturday afternoon at Hoosier Gym in Knightstown, site of the movie Hoosiers. And Friday we had the Game of the Year - Part II - Linton-Stockton at Bloomfield.
I'll start with Eastern Greene taking on Borden in the D-One Hickory Husker Classic at Hoosier Gym.
Eastern Greene withstood a 7-minute dry spell in the second quarter and an 11-0 Borden run during that stretch battling back with a chance to win in the closing minutes.
But in the end Class A No. 8 Borden made the plays they needed to down the stretch, sending the Thunderbirds home with a 45-40 loss.
Eastern Greene got within one point on Colden Roberts' 3-pointer with 1: 13 left. But a steal and four late free throws sealed the win for the Borden Braves.
Despite the loss, Eastern Greene coach Jon Neill didn't seem overly disappointed.
"The bottom line is, Borden made the plays they needed to and we didn't.
"But it was a fun game. The atmosphere is why we wanted to play here, to let the kids experience the way things used to be."
Neill has perspective. He knew where he and his team were Saturday. The T-Bird coach appreciates basketball the way it was in days gone by.
And the players were beyond excited to have the chance to play on the very same court the fictional Hickory Huskers called home.
Looking ahead, Eastern Greene faces its second tough weekend ticket this season.
The first came just prior to the holiday break.
The Thunderbirds lost a one-point heartbreaker on a buzzer-beater at Class A second-ranked Barr-Reeve. The next night against then-undefeated 4A Martinsville the Thunderbirds were still in the game with two minutes to go before the Artesians pulled away from the free throw line.
This weekend Eastern Greene has Bloomfield Friday and South Knox the next night, both on the road.
Last year the Cardinals and Thunderbirds needed five overtimes before Bloomfield prevailed 54-51 at Eastern Greene.
The Thunderbirds have been competitive in all four losses this season. Can they finally get over the hump and close out one of those tough games?
I did not attend Friday's Linton-Bloomfield rematch of the Greene County Invitational championship. But by all accounts I've read the grudge match between these two was every bit the slugfest the GCI final was.
Trailing by three with a minute and a half left the Miners had chances to win but couldn't connect from beyond the arc. Chris Gilmore grabbed a key rebound and knocked down a pair of freebies with 1.4 seconds on the clock for the 35-30 win.
So just like last season the Miners claimed the win in the GCI and the Cardinals took round two in the regular season.
Last year it was Brandon Van Sant with two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and a critical late Gilmore bucket to put away Linton-Stockton on its home court.
It was a banner weekend for Bloomfield basketball. The Cardinals took down two top-10 teams in Class 2A. After knocking off the seventh-ranked Miners the Cards came back with a 46-40 win over No. 9 South Knox at Guy Glover Gym Saturday.
Bloomfield plays at home both nights this weekend. Rival Eastern Greene invades Glover Gym Friday and the 12-2 Cardinals host 5-8 Loogootee Saturday.
No, Linton-Stockton didn't earn a season sweep from Bloomfield. Still, I'm impressed the Miners have been able to hang with the Cardinals in both contests. This is a veteran Bloomfield squad that is a year older and more experienced than last year's edition. Linton-Stockton meanwhile has had to adjust to life without 6-9 Austin Robertson in the middle.
The Miners have a pair of winnable games this weekend, both at home.
Friday conference foe North Daviess comes to town. The Cougars are 8-6 and 3-0 in the SWIAC after Friday's 53-51 win over Shakamak.
Saturday Linton-Stockton takes on Owen Valley. The Patriots are currently 7-7. Two of Owen Valley's losses have been to Eastern Greene and Bloomfield.
The 3A Patriots will likely enter Saturday 8-7 after Thursday's Eminence game.
Why is Owen Valley playing Eminence?
I mentioned North Daviess' 53-51 win over Shakamak. That was the other nail-biter I saw last weekend.
The Lakers dug out of a 19-10 hole to take a late 49-45 lead. But as Borden did against Eastern Greene, the Cougars made the plays down the stretch. Cody Phillips' hoop and harm at the 1:28 mark and Griffin Major's fourth triple of the night gave North Daviess a one-point lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Shakamak didn't fare quite as well Saturday on the Illinois side of the Wabash. The Lakers lost to Marshall for the second time.
The first time the Marshall Lions came out on top 64-50 in the Wabash Valley Classic. This time the Lions won by 25, 74-49.
Shakamak hosts SWIAC foe White River Valley Friday and travels to West Vigo Saturday.
WRV played just once last weekend, losing at home 66-35 to Linton-Stockton Saturday.
For the first time this season we have a deadlock at the top of the weekly rankings. This week Bloomfield and Linton-Stockton share the top spot. Both teams have split in two close games and at this point in the season, I'm not nitpicky enough to split hairs.
I'll just let the schedule continue to play out.
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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