GREENFIELD — Greenfield-Central’s style of play that led to Wednesday’s victory over previously unbeaten Triton Central could be labeled the same as a very popular movie series.
It was Fast and Furious.
Off defensive rebounds, as well as turnovers, the Cougars were eager to beat the halfcourt-minded Tigers down the floor in hopes for easy hoops.
It worked in dominating fashion.
Greenfield-Central helped force 22 turnovers, 14 in the first half, and shot 54.8 percent (23 of 42) from the field in a 57-29 win at Dellen Automotive Gymnasium Wednesday.
“We were focused on getting the boards because we knew they were going to be a lot bigger than us,” senior Rune Carpenter-Jones said. “We’re not really a very big team, so we had to get the boards and get it going.”
Carpenter-Jones benefited from the team’s transition game. He hit all three of his first-quarter shots, all layups, to help get the Cougars out to a 14-5 lead. By halftime, the Cougars’ advantage grew to 32-9.
G-C shot 56 percent (14 of 25) in the first half. They were 10 of 14 (71.4 percent) from 2-point range, most coming off its transition game.
“Triton Central and coach (Kyle) Ballard do a really good job in the halfcourt. They switch everything. They want to sit down and guard and we wanted to get up and down the fullcourt and get some easy buckets,” Greenfield-Central coach Luke Meredith said.
A lot of Cougars got into the act in Wednesday’s fast-paced victory. Five players scored eight points or more and three scored in double figures.
Junior Dylan Moles led the way with 14, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also had seven rebounds. Senior Adam Lester had 11 points and hit 6 of 7 free throws. Carpenter-Jones had 10 on 5 of 8 shooting.
“(Transition) is something we want to do, regardless, every game,” Moles said of their pace of play against the Tigers. “We want to push the ball and get open buckets and get the ball in the basket before they get set. We knew they are a halfcourt team, so if we got out fast we could get easy buckets.”
Senior Joey Roland, a 6-foot-1 post player, contributed eight points and had five boards. He was quick on the outlet pass after his rebounds, helping get the Cougar offense ignited.
Frosh Braylon Mullins hit a pair of 3’s and had eight points, too.
Triton Central suffered a big blow early in the game when 6-5 senior Aiden Lindsey left the contest due to an injury. It happened just 1:19 into the first quarter. He came into the game the Tigers leading scorer at 18.5 points per game.
Luke Faust led Tigers scorers with eight points.
Triton Central dropped to 4-1. Wednesday’s game was the Tigers first outside of Shelby County. They had swept through their county mates, Morristown, Shelbyville, Waldron and Southwestern prior to its venture over the county line.
It was a great start to a busy week for the Cougars. The mid-week matchup with the Tigers is part of a three-game, sectional-like schedule.
The biggest of the three-game set is a trip to Hancock County and Hoosier Heritage Conference rival New Palestine on Friday. The week wraps up with a Saturday contest, at home, against Speedway.
The Cougars and Dragons met twice last season. New Pal won at Greenfield-Central in the regular season, but the Cougars avenged the loss at the Richmond Sectional.
“We knew this week would be a big week with three games,” Moles said. “All three are big games. Winning this is going to prepare us for New Pal. That’s our rival so we’re ready for that. Hopefully we have a lot of confidence going into that game.”
Meredith was pleased with his team’s balanced attack and getting strong contributions from different players, but believes they’ll have to play at a higher level in the conference opener on the road.
“We still have to be a little more disciplined,” Meredith said. “It’s great to get up and down, but when it comes time to be able to make plays in the fourth quarter at New Pal, are we going to be able to execute? Quite honestly, we haven’t been in a close game in crunch time. Beech Grove beat us pretty handily (in the opener) and the last two games it’s been the other way around. Are we going to be able in crunch time, in the halfcourt, be able to score against a talented team like New Pal?”
Friday’s game is part of a varsity doubleheader. The G-C and New Pal girls squads open the night with a 6 p.m. tip-off. The boys game will follow.
