MUNCIE — It was yet another close Hoosier Heritage Conference game for the Greenfield-Central Cougars on Thursday night, and unfortunately they were not able to pull out a victory.
Despite a shot at the end of regulation to win it, the Cougars fell 57-53 in overtime to Delta.
“We didn’t come out on top tonight, but I’m so proud of these boys,” Greenfield-Central coach Lukas Haworth said afterwards. “With the way (Delta’s) shots were falling, our boys honestly had no reason to keep fighting, but they kept coming back and gave themselves a chance to win against a great team.”
For the first three quarters of the game, it seemed as if every shot Delta took went in. The Eagles made 11 3-pointers in the game, with nine of those coming in the first three quarters.
However, a shot at the end of the third quarter sparked life into the Cougars, as Logan Graddy stole the ball with 1.5 seconds remaining and heaved it three-quarters of the court to bank it in at the buzzer.
Down only four points heading into the fourth quarter, the Cougars clamped down on defense, allowing only four points in the quarter to force overtime.
Three Cougars seniors — Matt Turner, Will O’Connor and Brian Long — led the offensive charge on the night in Each finished with 20, 16, and 11 points, respectively. Turner and O’Connor each hit four 3-pointers on the night.
“Our senior leadership on this team is great,” Haworth had. “After the two losses we had last weekend, for them to come out and play so hard and so well tonight shows a lot about their character.”
The Cougars were unable to keep the momentum going during overtime, however, as Delta scored 12 points in the extra period to secure the victory.
The loss drops the Cougars to 4-12 on the season and 1-6 in HHC play, but for Haworth, he knows his team is capable of challenging anyone.
“We are just going to keep working and working,” Haworth said. “If we play like we did tonight I know we can give anyone a game.”
