Greenwood 56, Warren Central 53 —
Jack Roberts scored a game-high 23 points – including 11 in extra minutes – while Ben Carroll dropped 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead the Greenwood boys’ basketball team to a hard-fought 56-53 double overtime victory over Warren Central in the District 14 Tournament semifinals on Wednesday night at Warren Central High School.
The Gators (19-12) controlled the glass from start to finish and battled hard all throughout the affair, propelling them to their first postseason win over the Dragons (17-14) since 1999 and extending their season.
In its loss, Warren Central was carried by Skyelar Potter, who finished with 15 points.
Greenwood, with its win, advances to Friday’s championship game, where it’ll meet No. 1 Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. The Gators also earn a trip to the Region 4 Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena, which begins Tuesday.
Not much offense would be displayed in the opening part of the contest.
At the end of the first quarter, only 19 points had been scored, as Warren Central held a slim 10-9 lead over Greenwood. Both sides struggled to get any type of offensive rhythm going, so both looked to their defenses to help carry them.
Trailing by one, the Gators came out in the ensuing period and outscored the Dragons 17-16 to take a 26-21 advantage into the locker room at halftime. At the break, Central’s Micale Mee led all scorers with 8 points – powered by two made three-pointers – while Roberts had 5 points to carry Greenwood.
Warren Central came out of the break with their minds set on making a comeback – and that’s what they did. Potter scored twice inside the lane to cut the Gators’ lead to 27-25 at the 4:53 mark of the third. Soon after Potter’s bucket, he found the basket again and then Mee and Josh Moss did the same, giving the Dragons a 31-30 advantage with 2:52 left in the quarter.
Potter and Central continued to attack, and with a layup just before the buzzer, the Dragons had a 35-32 lead over Greenwood entering the final period.
Moss’ pull-up jumper at the 4:32 mark of the fourth increased the Gators’ deficit to seven at 39-32, but they responded and made cut Warren Central’s lead to 39-36 with 3:33 left.
Roberts’ free-throws with 1:40 remaining gave Greenwood a 40-39 lead but Moss scored on another mid-range pull-up jumper to give the Dragons the tight 41-40 advantage with 1:01 left to tick. Central would hit a free-throw to tie things, but Roberts stuck again with a jumper to give his team the 43-41 lead.
With just 7.4 seconds left in regulation, Potter caught a pass, drove-in and scored to even the scoreboard at 43-43 and send the game into overtime.
In the first extra-minute segment, neither team scored a single point, but in the second Roberts exploded for 11 points to help Greenwood outscore the Dragons 13-8 in the four-minute period and escape with a hard-fought upset victory.
Bowling Green 70, Greenwood 57 (girls) —
Rose Mary Jackson scored a game-high 31 points, but it wouldn’t be enough for the Greenwood girls’ basketball team, as it fell to Bowling Green, 70-57, in the semifinals of the District 14 Tournament on Wednesday night at Warren Central High School.
The Lady Purples (21-7) and Lady Gators (16-15) showed that they both wanted to win and advance, but only one side could come away victors.
Keely Morrow finished with 16 points to lead Bowling Green, who will face No. 1 South Warren in the championship game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Purples also earn a trip to the Region 4 Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena, which begins Tuesday.
The two sides battled from start to finish.
At the 4:26 mark of the opening quarter, Bowling Green held a slim 9-5 lead over Greenwood. The Lady Purples and Lady Gators exchanged baskets throughout the remainder of the period, as BG outscored GW 10-9 over the four-minute span to be up 19-14 entering the second.
Rose Mary Jackson had all 14 points for Greenwood.
In the ensuing quarter, the Lady Gators came out with a quick 6-2 run and cut their deficit to just one at 21-20 with 4:45 left to play in the first half. Bowling Green would respond by outscoring Greenwood 11-8 throughout the remainder of the quarter and took a 32-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
At the break, Jackson led all scorers with 23 points while Markizjah Mimms was carrying the Lady Purples with 10.
Back-to-back baskets by Heavyn Gray gave Bowling Green a 10-point lead at 40-30 at the 5:10 mark of the third. Greenwood responded with a run of their own and made it 43-38 with 3:10 left in the period after a Riley Hartis three on the right wing. After three full quarters, the Lady Purples led 49-42 entering the final period.
Greenwood opened the fourth with a three from Abigail Turley and then Jackson scored inside to make it 52-49 with 5:30 remaining in the game. Following that pair of scores, Alexus Jessup and Turley both found the basket and suddenly Bowling Green trailed 55-52.
The Lady Purples responded a regained their lead with 3:20 left, as they led 57-53. The lead grew to 62-54 with 1:18 remaining after Nataia Martin’s layup off a rebound at the other end. Greenwood would score just three more points on a layup and free-throw by Jessup, as Bowling Green escaped with a victory that moved it into the title match.
–Follow Sporting Times High School Insider Tyler Mansfield on Twitter @RealTMansfield—
