Greenfield-Central’s Rune Carpenter-Jones’ emotions overcome him as he walks off the court for the last time in his high school career after Greenfield-Central lost to Anderson during the Class 4A Sectional 9 quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 2, 2022. (Tom Russo/Daily Reporter)
By James Howell Jr./For Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — The electricity of sectional basketball was felt Wednesday night at Greenfield-Central High School when the hosting Cougars (15-8) took the court against the Class 4A No. 10 Anderson Indians (20-4).
Despite the energy provided by the students, parents and fans in the stands, the Cougars were unable to continue their season against the Indians, losing 64-39, during the Sectional 9 quarterfinals.
With nerves shaking, the Cougars took advantage early as the Indians found themselves among the raucous crowd. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the Indians found themselves quickly and began to take over.
After jumping ahead 7-1, the Cougars’ spark dissipated quickly, as the Indians mounted a 12-0 run to end the quarter.
Throughout the night the Cougars fell victim to these runs. Cougars head coach Luke Meredith explained what the runs did to cancel out the home-court advantage his team felt early.
“Against a legitimate top-10 team in the state, and the standing NCC champs, you can’t give up runs like we did tonight,” Meredith said. “Against the athleticism and size Anderson possesses, you’re just not going to come back from what we allowed in the first quarter and eventually in the third quarter.”
The fire still burned despite giving up the big run to end the first quarter. In the waning moments of the second quarter, Dylan Moles hit a 3-pointer to not only give the team a lead but give him the individual accomplishment of 1,000 career points.
After a short timeout to recognize the accomplishment, the Indians caught fire that was simply too hot for the Cougars to handle.
Beginning the third quarter with a 26-23 lead, the Indians went on a 15-0 run that spanned nearly the entirety of the quarter. The Cougars were able to stop the run with 1:57 remaining in the quarter, but those would be the only points put on the board in the quarter for the home team.
Down as many as 24 in the fourth quarter, this sectional experience became a lot about learning for the Cougars.
With the team’s two leading scorers and playmakers (Moles and Braylon Mullins) returning, the Cougars had the opportunity to take Wednesday night’s loss on the chin ahead of what is expected to be another strong campaign next season.
Meredith sees bright days ahead for the program.
“We viewed Wednesday night as a game where we could really take that next step,” Meredith said. “After winning a sectional game last year, we saw this as a chance to start a winning streak in the tournament. Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be this year. We still accomplished so much and every player on the team deserves credit for it.”
Among the Cougars’ accomplishments, as Meredith stated proudly of his team, were a second-straight winning season – something the Cougars program has not seen since the Dan Carmony days in the early 2000s.
Another achievement the Cougars will take with them into next season is at least one victory over each of their HHC foes in the past two years.
The Indians came in with something to prove Wednesday night. The team hit 30 field goals as opposed to the Cougars 14.
Four Indians finished in double figures while the Cougars had just one (Mullins 13).
Anderson 64, Greenfield-Central 39
Anderson;13:13;19;19;—;64
Greenfield-Central;7;16;2;14;—;39
GREENFIELD-CENTRAL (15-8): Braylon Mullins 4 3-3 13, Dylan Moles 2 1-2 6, Joey Roland 3 1-2 7, Rune Carpenter-Jones 3 0-0 6, Tyler Kerkhof 2 0-0 6. Totals: 14 5-7 39.
ANDERSON (20-4): Ahmere Carson 5 1-2 12, Ty Willis 5 0-0 10, Jaquan Ingram 5 0-1 10, Jaylen Murphy 5 0-0 10, Sean Paige 3 0-0 6, Lathan Averhart 2 0-0 6, Kedric Anderson 3 0-0 6, Damien King 2 0-0 4. Totals: 30 1-5 64.
3-point field goals: Greenfield-Central 5 (Mullins 2, Kerkhof 2, Moles 1), Anderson 3 (Averhart 2, Carson 1).
