GREENFIELD — On the night the school inducted members into the Greenfield-Central Athletic Hall of Fame, it got a preview of a young man that will likely join them in the near future.
Greenfield-Central junior Braylon Mullins scored a career-high 44 points, 31 in the first half, and became the boys basketball program’s 11th member into its 1,000-point club in Saturday’s 64-31 victory over Eastern Hancock.
Mullins, one of the top Division I recruits in the state, only played in the first three quarters. He was 16 of 24 from the field, including 8 of 15 from 3-point range, and hit 4 of 5 free-throw attempts.
Saturday’s performance was done in front of Indiana University assistant men’s basketball coach Brian Walsh.
“The first three shots I shot they all went in,” Mullins said. “They kept telling me to go for it. It’s a county game, I felt like it might be a good game to go for it and I’m just happy I got 1,000.
“Getting 1,000 points, that’s always a milestone and has always been a milestone through all of high school. I felt like getting it was a big accomplishment, but I want to do more this year. We want to win the sectional.”
Mullins helped get the Cougars off to a great start. They led 14-0 — with eight points from Mullins — before the Royals got their first points on a bucket from Caiden Willis with 1:50 remaining in the opening period. Greenfield-Central scored the last eight of the quarter and led 22-2 going into the second.
“We went on a 14-0 run at the beginning of the game,” Mullins said. “Our gameplan, we had to start off hot and get the tempo in our favor. The last time they were in here they beat us and we wanted it a little more [Saturday].
Mullins made it 4 of 4 from 3-point range with his first shot of the second quarter, giving G-C a 25-2 lead.
“Not too many in the history of the school that have worn a Greenfield-Central Cougar basketball jersey that are better than No. 24 Braylon Mullins,” Greenfield-Central coach Luke Meredith said. “This was his night, a special night, a special kid and a special talent.”
Mullins had 31 of the team’s 45 first-half points. Senior Braden Robertson had 10. Eastern Hancock’s Kayden Ruble, who led the Royals with 18, had 12 second-quarter points.
In the Greenfield-Central student section there was a countdown sign to Mullins reaching the 1,000-point milestone, an enormous feat for any high school player, let alone one that is just a junior.
Meredith said the points were scored in the normal offense, and the 6-5 talented guard didn’t start looking to shoot until his coach told him he had just a short time to get his final three points.
“When he had 39 against Mt. Vernon, someone had to tell me he had 39 points,” Meredith said. “It comes within the flow of the offense and comes where he makes it look so easy. Even tonight, at halftime, I’m going through the normal stats that I ask for and someone asked if I knew he had 31 points. I had no idea.”
“I asked [in the third quarter] how far is he away? ‘[I told him] you’ve got 1:13 and you’re three away.’ That’s the very first time we saw him do some hunting for shots. That’s just not who he is. It’s not in his DNA. He doesn’t like the timeout and the congratulatory stuff. That’s not what he’s about. He’s about winning and doing what’s best for the team.”
It was a big night for the team, too.
The win was the 13th straight to start the season, most in school history. The team has won 31 straight regular season games. Released Sunday evening, they are currently ranked No. 7 in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll.
Another big accomplishment for a club that graduated four starters from last season’s school-record 21-win season.
“It’s great, and to beat every team in the county, but that’s not our end goal,” Meredith said. “Braylon has been phenomenal, but it’s also the complementary pieces, Dallas (Freeman) B-Rob (Braden Robertson), Jake Hinton, Boston (Willard) have been phenomenal and Cooper (Robertson) off the bench. We’ve got a good group right now and they believe. They are playing hard all the time, which is what we talk about, the standard. I’m just so proud to be their coach and proud of how far they’ve come as a team.”
It was a tough night for the Royals, a 2A school punching above their weight against the 4A state-ranked Cougars. Despite the big loss, the Royals had come in winning two of their last three, with the one loss coming to 2A top-ranked Wapahani, in a game Eastern led in the fourth quarter.
Eastern Hancock returns to Mid-Eastern Conference action on the road at Monroe Central and home against Shenandoah, Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Greenfield-Central is scheduled to host Shortridge Tuesday and have a Hoosier Heritage Conference game Saturday at Shelbyville.
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Greenfield-Central 64, Eastern Hancock 31
Eastern Hancock;2;14;7;8;—;31
Greenfield-Central;22;23;17;2;—;64
Eastern Hancock (5-6): Caiden Willis 3 1-2 7, Luke Schilling 0 0-0 0, Kayden Ruble 7 3-8 18, Luke Morris 1 3-4 5, Charlie Halcomb 0 0-0 0, Eli Manship 0 0-0 0, Caden Powers 0 1-2 1, Garrett Shaw 0 0-0 0, Myles Wennen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 8-16 31.
Greenfield-Central (13-0): Braden Robertson 4 0-0 10, Dallas Freeman 0 0-2 0, Jacob Hinton 1 0-0 2, Boston Willard 3 0-0 6, Braylon Mullins 16 4-5 44, Cooper Robertson 1 0-1 2, Brady Johnson 0 0-0 0, Tucker Brown 0 0-0 0, Clay Mullins 0 0-0 0, Blake Evans 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 4-8 64.
3-point goals: Eastern Hancock 1 (Ruble). Greenfield-Central 10 (B. Mullins 8, B. Robertson 2).
