MORRISTOWN — Greenfield-Central shot 70 percent from the field in the first quarter — and held its opponent to only three points — to build an insurmountable lead in a 66-49 victory over Bishop Chatard in its second game of Thursday’s Hoosier Shooting Academy Holiday Classic at Morristown High School.
The Cougars beat Tri-Central 73-43 Thursday morning and improved to 10-0 with the evening win. It’s the best start in school history.
Greenfield-Central is ranked No. 10 in the Class 4A Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (all classifications) rankings.
“(I’m) happy for our kids, happy for our program,” Greenfield-Central head coach Luke Meredith said of the 10-0 start. (We won) 18 (straight) before the Anderson loss (in last season’s sectional) and now 10 in a row to start this season. I’m so proud of these kids. I didn’t know (before the season) what we had with this group and I still don’t know what we have with this group, but if we keep playing this hard and doing things the right way we’ll be alright.”
With scoring contributions from the entire starting five, the Cougars led 17-3 after the first quarter.
Braden Robertson went 3 of 4 from the field for six points. Boston Willard hit both of his shot attempts, including a 3-pointer, for five points. Dallas Freeman, Jake Hinton and Braylon Mullins each scored two points.
“Our first quarter was one of the best quarters we’ve played the entire season,” Meredith said. “Defensively, I loved our communication and how hard we played. That’s a credit to our bottom (of our zone) guys, Braden Robertson and Jake Hinton, setting the tone. And, we stuck shots.”
Chatard had four first-quarter turnovers and hit just 1 of 7 shot attempts.
It was also a great sign for the Cougars to get a big advantage without getting a lot of early-game scoring from Mullins, the 6-5 junior Division I recruit who came in averaging 24.3 points per game.
“Braylon is going to get his attention,” Meredith said. “The plays are going to be for Braylon, but the other players are going to be the beneficiaries of it. They’re going to get good looks. Dallas (Freeman) stuck some shots and Boston has been dynamite all year. He’s just a bulldog. He can take care of the ball, stick an open shot, he’s fearless.”
Point guard Willard’s hot hand continued into the second period. He was 4 of 4 for the half and had a halftime-best 11 points. Hinton, Mullins and Robertson each had six at the break and Freeman had five. G-C had a 34-18 halftime lead.
Chatard was never able to get the Cougars’ lead under double figures.
Mullins made sure of that.
From 3-point range, on dunks and at the free-throw line, Mullins scored 13 third-quarter points. He had 22 in the second half and finished with a game-high 28. Willard finished with 17, one shy of his season-high of 18 in a win over Lawrenceburg. He was 5-for-6 from 3-point range. Robertson scored nine points.
“Braylon has done that in a lot of games this year where he’ll go on a flurry at some point,” Meredith added. “It’s not me. It’s him. It’s not a play, it’s not a call, it’s all Braylon being Braylon. That’s him being a great basketball player. When he does that the other kids get galvanized by it and we start getting stops defensively. That’s one of the reasons why we’re 10-0 and having the best start in school history.”
Chatard (4-2) was led in scoring by talented sophomore guard Ethan Roseman with 23 points.
The Cougars return to action in 2024 with a tough task to start the year. They play host to rival Mt. Vernon on Jan. 5 in a crucial Hoosier Heritage Conference battle.
Greenfield-Central 66, Bishop Chatard 49
Greenfield-Central;17;17;17;15;—;66
Bishop Chatard;3;15;18;13;—;49
Greenfield-Central (10-0): Dallas Freeman 2 0-0 5, Braden Robertson 4 1-1 9, Jake Hinton 1 5-6 7, Braylon Mullins 10 6-7 28, Boston Willard 6 0-0 17, Cooper Robertson 0 0-0 0, Brady Johnson 0 0-0 0, Tucker Brown 0 0-0 0, Blake Evans 0 0-0 0, Clay Mullins 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 12-14 66.
Bishop Chatard (4-2): Ethan Roseman 8 5-7 23, Cash Moore 2 0-0 6, Sam Feeney 1 0-0 2, Drelan Vaden 1 0-0 2, Chris Hill 3 0-0 9, DJ Fisher 0 0-0 0, Colin Guy 1 0-0 3, Harrison Forestal 1 0-0 2, Dajuan Rudolph 0 2-2 2, Aidan Arteaga 0 0-0 0, AJ Priami 0 0-0 0, Evan Tomyn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 7-9 49.
3-point goals: Greenfield-Central 8 (Willard 5, B. Mullins 2, Freeman), Bishop Chatard 8 (Hill 3, Roseman 2, Moore 2, Guy)
