INDIANAPOLIS — To kick off Saturday’s Forum Tip-Off Classic, Greenfield-Central came in and handily beat the host school, Southport.
In the first of a jam-packed day of high school basketball inside the Southport Fieldhouse, the Cougars defeated the Cardinals 71-56.
While the win was already impressive on paper, it capped off a hard-fought 3-0 week for Greenfield-Central that proved the Cougars are among Indiana’s best this season.
“It’s just great for our program. We always use the quote ‘winners know why they win’. We found ways to win all three games this week,” Greenfield-Central head coach Luke Meredith said. “At Decatur Central, at New Palestine in a rivalry game, and then to show up at noon and beat the host school Southport at their place is big for our kids and our program.”
In three road games, G-C won 59-50 at Decatur Central on Tuesday and 58-54 at New Palestine on Friday night before defeating Southport on Saturday.
The three-win week moved the Cougars record to 5-0 and 1-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference, and helped them enter the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Poll at No. 15.
Coming off of an emotional, physical battle the night before at New Palestine, the Cougars turnaround was a quick one and led to a slow start.
Southport began the game on a 5-0 run and led 14-10 after the opening quarter behind three made 3-pointers.
“That was my biggest fear. It was a physical game against New Pal. Waking up we did ice tubs and hot tubs, so our athletic trainers did a great job getting us ready,” Meredith said. “My biggest fear was us starting flat, but after that first quarter we really just put it together.”
Led by Braylon Mullins’ 16-point outburst, G-C poured in 25 second-quarter points.
A Cooper Robertson layup midway through the quarter trimmed the Southport lead to one, 19-18, and after a Mullins jumper, Boston Willard’s layup capped off a 7-0 G-C run and put the Cougars ahead 22-19.
A 3 by Southport’s Caleb Wolsiffer tied things back up at 24, but Mullins reeled off the next 11 G-C points including a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer to put the Cougars ahead for good 35-27 at the break.
The Cougars offense wasted no time growing the lead out of the break. Braden Robertson knocked down his first of two second-half three-pointers and Willard added a basket to push the G-C lead to double digits early in the third quarter.
A Willard trey later in the quarter grew the lead to 16, 48-32.
“We were just sticking shots. Sometimes when you’re making shots you start to play a little bit harder,” Meredith said. “We always talk about how the standard is the standard. If we’re going to say anywhere, anytime, any place that has to be true.”
A 3-pointer by Southport’s Donovan Brewer trimmed the lead back down to 12 with just over three minutes remaining, but the Cougars immediately answered with a Dallas Freeman 3.
Freeman scored seven fourth-quarter points to keep the Cardinals at bay.
The Cougars were led by Mullins who poured in a season-high 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting. He knocked down 3 of 4 from deep and was 6-for-7 at the charity stripe while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
Braden Robertson added 13 points, Freeman scored 12, and Willard finished with seven.
The G-C win was the first of six games on the day. Warren Central defeated Center Grove 60-44, Guerin Catholic defeated Heritage Hills 52-42, Noblesville beat Crispus Attucks 51-46, Lawrence North beat Fort Wayne Wayne 72-51, and Fishers capped off the day with a 77-55 win over Kokomo.
“It’s great to get to play in this event. We get to play in the Southport Fieldhouse, and it’s kind of the who’s who of the state of Indiana right now,” Meredith said. “It’s some of the best players and some of the best teams right now. It’s just good for our kids and our program.”
–
Greenfield-Central 71, Southport 56
Greenfield-Central;10;25;16;20;—;71
Southport;14;13;11;18;—;56
Greenfield-Central (5-0): Braylon Mullins 11 6-7 31, Braden Robertson 4 3-3 13, Dallas Freeman 4 2-2 12, Jacob Hinton 1 3-4 5, Boston Willard 3 0-0 7, Cooper Robertson 1 0-0 2, Brady Johnson 0 0-0 0, Cole Mullins 0 1-2 1, Tucker Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 15-18 71.
Southport (1-4): Michael Johnson 5 0-0 12, Cristian Webster 1 0-0 3, Nilyn Compton 3 1-2 8, Jye Rudolph 1 1-1 3, Caleb Wolsiffer 2 0-0 6, Donovan Brewer 3 1-2 8, James Kalala 4 1-2 9, Jack Turner 2 3-4 7. Totals: 21 7-11 56.
3-point goals: Greenfield-Central 8 (Mullins 3, Freeman 2, Robertson 2, Willard); Southport 7 (Johnson 2, Wolsiffer 2, Webster, Compton, Brewer).
