No Surrender: Cougars nearly upset Red Devils, fall in sectional

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Greenfield-Central’s Braden Mundell (11) puts up a shot between two Richmond defenders during their first-round sectional game at Muncie Central Fieldhouse on March 4, 2020.(Rob Baker/Daily Reporter) By: Rich Torres | Daily Reporter

MUNCIE — The culture officially shifted for good on Wednesday night.

While there were glimpses over the course of the regular-season, the Greenfield-Central Cougars boys basketball team laid it all out on the floor during the Class Sectional 9 first round.

Motivated and inspired by first-year head coach Luke Meredith’s demand for effort, heart, desire and “Juice,” the Cougars nearly pulled off a feat the program hasn’t seen since 2017.

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Down by 10 at halftime, the Cougars charged back against sectional favorite Richmond (17-7) behind a 24-point fourth quarter to lead three times before falling just short 54-48.

The last time Greenfield-Central (12-12) won a sectional game was in 2017 against Pendleton Heights 64-57 in double overtime. With 4 minutes, 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter against Richmond, they almost snapped two streaks.

Richmond entered the night winners of 11 straight games. They had to hold on for No. 12.

“We were probably the most prepared team in the sectional, to be honest with you. Coach’s plan was awesome. We’ve been fighters all year long,” Greenfield-Central senior Caleb Mundell said. “We’re comfortable being in two-point games with four seconds left. We’ve been there before, so we don’t give up.”

The Cougars weren’t favored to win, let alone compete against the taller, quicker Red Devils, but they found a way to challenge behind a pair of double-digit scorers.

Caleb Mundell finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jake Cochran had 19 points with 16 in the second half as Greenfield-Central turned a 33-24 deficit in the fourth into a 36-35 lead.

Cochran scored nine points in the fourth and converted a layup with 4:54 remaining that ignited the Cougars’ dense crowd.

The push was sparked after Richmond’s big man, Cleevas Craig fouled out with his fourth personal and a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct with 7:06 left in the game.

The 6-foot-8 senior was averaging 12.5 points per game and was limited to four points and three rebounds due to foul trouble.

“One of our points and keys to victory was trying to get Cleevas in foul trouble,” Meredith said. “We wanted to keep him out of the paint. If he sits in that lane and tees off on you, he’s going to have five blocks and 15 rebounds. That was huge for us to get him out of the game, and Newton. It was a momentum shift.”

Tyler Antic provided an early boost to end the first quarter with a banked jumper at the buzzer to hand Greenfield-Central a 9-8 lead. Richmond pulled ahead 17-9 and carried a 25-15 halftime advantage before the Cougars rallied.

Koream Jett, a shifty point guard, paced the Red Devils with 19 points and four assists. Tylan Harris had 11 points, and Tytan Newton added nine points.

But, the Cougars countered with a 7-3 run to end the third and trailed by seven points until overtaking the scoreboard.

“It’s what we should be known for, and that’s team Greenfield. It’s coach Meredith’s standard, and that’s what’s going on around here,” Mundell said. “Just keep fighting.”

The Cougars’ grit put them in front 40-39 with 3:03 left after a Cochran jumper. Cochran supplied a 38-36 lead with 3:42 remaining by splitting a pair of free throws.

Two free throws by Braden Mundell, who had eight points, put the Cougars in position down 46-45 with 55.2 seconds on the clock.

Richmond converted 5 of 6 free throws to go up 51-45, but Caleb Mundell buried a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game.

“That’s who we are. We were down by 10 at the half, and I knew we would battle,” Meredith said. “Who we are and where we want to be as a program, we talk about competing all the time. It doesn’t matter the score. We kept chipping away and we had an opportunity.”

Jett hit two free throws to push the lead to 53-48, and a late steal by Harris with 9.8 seconds remaining eventually secured the game.

“They’re good. They’re everything we’re not. They’re long, athletic. They have dudes. Richmond in a really good program and a really good basketball team,” Meredith said. “They’ve won 12 in a row. And, I know it sounds like a broken record, but I love coaching this team. They compete, they battle, and they give me everything they got, and I’m going to give them everything I have, too.”

Caleb Mundell wish they had just a little bit more, but he knows the future for the program is destined for much more down the road.

“It’s tough for sure. I wish I had coach Meredith for four years, but it is what it is, and it’s tough,” Mundell said. “I, 100 percent, think me and the rest of the senior class have definitely helped lay down a foundation, and hopefully, we showed the way a little bit by buying into coach Meredith.”