A pair of big three-pointers by Colin Moore and a late free-throw from Daniel Moore propelled the South Warren boys’ basketball team to a tough 61-60, come-from-behind win over Greenwood on Friday night in an electrifying District 14 showdown.
In a back-and-forth contest, the Spartans (3-4 overall, 1-1 District 14) took some time to get going and found themselves in a big hole early but, with much heart and effort, were able to fight back and claim a big victory.
“I am so proud of my kids. That last possession told it all,” South Warren head coach Nelson Cundiff said. “Just so proud of my kids. We did not play well the first and second quarter and were right there in the ball game because of heart, hard work and the way they played together.”
With the game tied at 60-60 with just 1.8 seconds remaining, Daniel Moore drove into the lane, put up a shot and drew contact to earn a trip to the free-throw line. By making just one of the shots, he gave South Warren a 61-60 lead – and that ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
As Moore finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, an additional trio of Spartans produced nice outings. Tyler Martin scored 15 points – including a three and pair of free throws prior to Moore’s game-winning foul shot – while Terry Reed tallied 11 and Colin Moore added 8.
“It’s a great win (and big) to start 1-1 in the district,” Martin said. “It started out rough but tonight we were able to pull it out.
Greenwood (3-3, 0-2) controlled the tempo of the game early, taking a 10-0 lead at the 5:22 mark of the first quarter after Luke Littrell converted a three-point play. For the first of many times on the night, South Warren responded and outscored the Gators 12-9 throughout the remainder of the period, but Greenwood still led 19-12 after one.
The Gators opened the second by scoring five straight to push their lead to 24-12 but the Spartans continued to battle back. With 1:42 remaining in the quarter, South had cut its deficit to seven at 33-26 before going into halftime only down 35-29.
“We went into the locker room knowing that we were down but just came out (in the second half) and tried to chip away piece by piece,” Martin said. “We knew one basket couldn’t get us back, but we had to slow down, play good defense and come down and score on offense.”
At the break, Jack Roberts was leading all scorers with 17 points while Littrell had 10. Reed had scored nine for South Warren while Daniel Moore had eight. Littrell finished with a game-high 24 points while Roberts scored 20.
The Spartans continued to battle throughout the second half.
In the first minute of the third, buckets by the Moores trimmed South’s deficit to 35-33. Another score by Daniel Moore at the 5:29 mark evened the scoreboard at 35-35.
Greenwood retook the lead with 1:35 remaining in the quarter on a rebound and put-back by Ben Carroll, which made it 43-41 – and that’s what the board read entering the final period.
“This was every bit of a big game to these guys – (South Warren) may be their main rival,” Greenwood coach Bob Pels said. “Jack and Luke are pretty much our whole offense – and that’s just not gonna work out. We’ve gotta get some help from other guys that should be able to play better.”
Reed’s drive into the lane and score off the left side of the glass put South Warren in front at 47-46 but Littrell quickly responded with a three from the left wing on the opposite end to make it 49-47 in Greenwood’s favor.
The Spartans used a pair of threes from Colin Moore to build a 55-51 advantage at the 3:16 mark. The second of those shots – a deep ball from the right wing – brought the South Warren student section to life.
“Colin Moore hit two big threes to get us over the hump… and that was awesome,” Cundiff said. “My guys, I’m just so proud of their effort. They’ve been working so hard in practice and buying in.”
Things got interesting over the course of the next three minutes.
With the game tied 60-60, Daniel Moore drove into the lane and drew contact while in the act of shooting. At the line for two free throws, Moore knocked down the first to put South Warren up 61-60.
Having to go the full length of the court, Greenwood’s deep inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds left was knocked away as the Spartans recorded a marquee victory.
“They refused to quit and Greenwood was fighting, too,” said Cundiff. “This was just a great high school basketball game. Greenwood should be very proud of themselves, too.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
