Greenfield-Central’s Braylon Mullins hits the game-winning shot in Friday’s double-overtime win at Pendleton Heights.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
For the second time in three weeks and third time this season, Greenfield-Central 6-foot, 5-inch junior guard Braylon Mullins was named the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association District 2 Player of the Week.
Mullins was selected for his outstanding performance in a double-overtime win at Pendleton Heights Friday.
The highly-recruited star had a school-record 51 points in a 74-72 Hoosier Heritage Conference victory, the Cougars only game last week.
Mullins hit the game-tying shot to force the first overtime, a pair of game-tying free throws in the opening overtime to force the second, and then the game-winning 3-pointer as time ran out.
He hit 18 of 31 field-goal attempts, including four 3-pointers. He also hit 11 of 13 at the charity stripe. In addition, Mullins had four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Mullins scored 41 of his 51 points in the second half. He had 19 of the team’s 21 overtime points and 10 of the Cougars’ 12 fourth-quarter points.
It is the third time the IBCA has honored Mullins. He was named the district player of the week for games played Jan. 8-13 and Dec. 4-9.
IBCA player of the week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls’ winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Girls State Finals. Boys’ winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Boys State Finals.
For last week’s games, District 1 winners were Valparaiso junior Jack Smiley and Homestead sophomore Myah Epps. West Lafayette senior Adrianne Tolen joined Mullins for District 2 honors. District 3 recipients were Brownstown Central senior Jack Benter and girls’ co-winners New Washington senior Kaidin James and Indian Creek senior Faith Wiseman.
Smiley, a 6-2 guard, scored 49 points in two Vikings’ wins. He just missed a triple-double in an 80-63 victory over Merrillville, recording 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. He had 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds in a 62-55 win over Munster.
Epps helped key her team’s win in a double-overtime victory over Fort Wayne Northrop. In a 72-71 win, the 5-10 guard made play after play, including a critical score late in regulation, as well as the game-tying basket to push the game into the second overtime period. All in all, she scored 27 points and had eight rebounds and nine assists.
Tolen, in two wins last week, combined for 37 points, 12 steals, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 53-42 win over Harrison and 56-28 victory over McCutcheon. Against Harrison, the Missouri S&T recruit had 27 points and eight steals.
Purdue University recruit Benter helped his Braves to three Mid-Southern Conference wins last week. The 6-5 guard scored 76 points in the three wins, hitting 28 of 44 shots, including a combined 16 of 25 (64 percent) from beyond the arc. He added a total of 22 rebounds and 15 assists.
James, a 5-7 guard, posted the rare triple-double, exploding for 38 points, pulling in 11 rebounds (6 offensive), and stealing the ball 15 times in a 67-26 win over Crothersville. She also handed out six assists and even blocked a shot for good measure. She was 13 of 14 from the charity stripe, and surpassed the 1,500-point mark for her career.
Wiseman, an Indiana University recruit, is sharing District 3 honors with James because of an even rarer quadruple-double she posted in their 69-35 Western Indiana Conference win over South Putnam Thursday night. The 6-4 forward scored 18 points and collected an outstanding 26 rebounds in the contest, to go along with 10 assists and 10 blocked shots. Wiseman also joined the exclusive 1,000-rebound club.
This is the 16th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, and the fourth season it is being presented by Franciscan Health, a corporate sponsor of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
