GREENFIELD — Muncie Central avenged a regular season loss and moved on to the semifinals of Class 4A Sectional 9 with a 54-51 quarterfinal-round victory over No. 12 Richmond tonight at Greenfield-Central High School’s Dellen Automotive Gymnasium.
The Bearcats came in on a five-game losing streak, had won only seven games during the regular season, and lost 40-32 to Richmond, at Richmond, on Jan. 12.
Muncie Central senior DeMarkis Cole had a game-high 24 points, including a bucket with 30 seconds remaining to give the Bearcats a 52-48 lead.
Richmond’s Mason Carpenter cut it to one, 52-51, with 17.1 seconds left.
Muncie Central’s L.J. Strange hit a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds to go. Richmond missed a three-pointer attempt at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
Richmond was led by Cedric Horton with 23 points.
The Red Devils finish the year 20-4.
Muncie Central (8-16) will play the winner of the Greenfield-Central/Anderson game in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal on Friday.
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Muncie Central 54, Richmond 51
Richmond;11;16;13;11;—;51
Muncie Central;17;13;11;13;—;54
Richmond (20-4): Cedric Horton 4 13-15 23, Braiden Hogg 1 0-0 3, Gavin Haynes 0 0-0 0, Zion Deloney 1 2-2 4, Mason Carpenter 3 0-0 7, Ryder Cate 1 6-7 8, Julien Smith 0 0-0 0, Deante Smith 2 0-0 6. Totals: 12 21-24 51.
Muncie Central (8-16): DeMarkis Cole 9 2-2 24, Landen Wells 2 0-1 5, LJ Strange 2 4-6 9, X’aviya Cook 2 0-0 4, Brady McNabb 3 1-2 10, Shemar Taylor 1 0-0 2, Terry Miles 0 0-0 0, Jovon Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-11 54.
3-point goals: Richmond 6 (D. Smith 2, Horton 2, Hogg, Carpenter). Muncie Central 9 (Cole 4, McNabb 3, Wells, Strange)
