By Jordan East
SHS News Bureau
(Upstart Southport sprung the largest sectional upset of the 2010 postseason March 2 with a three-point win over Class 4A fifth-ranked Center Grove. Here’s the game story from Jordan East of the school’s news bureau, which is the standard bearer for high school-generated content here on Hoosier Authority.com.
If writers, photographers, and videographers from YOUR school want to get published on the Internet, e-mail managing Editor E. Shawn Aylsworth at esaylsworth@sbcglobal.net!)
GREENWOOD – The Southport Cardinals boys basketball team took the court at Greenwood March 2 against heavily favored Class 4A fifth-ranked Center Grove and walked away winners of one of the biggest upsets of the season, 72-69.
The Cards, who needed a win in the last of their seven opportunities to avoid a winless season in Conference Indiana play, came in with a 4-15 record. Center Grove, the outright champion in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference – the state’s toughest – entered with an impressive 17-2 mark.
Yet Southport controlled the entire game, keeping a slim lead on the Trojans throughout the second half and hitting key free throws down the stretch to secure the win. The Cardinals went to the line an amazing 41 times, hitting 24 of them compared with a 14-of-27 effort for the Trojans.
Southport sophomore Kellon Thomas led all scorers with 33 points, with classmate Mike Ramey added 21 points for the Cardinals. Center Grove put four scorers in double figures, led by the 17-point outputs of both J.T. Barton and John Degenhardt.
“It felt good,” Thomas said. “All we’ve been talking about is winning this sectional and taking it one game at a time.”
Southport will try to continue its momentum throughout the rest of the tournament when the Cardinals take on Franklin in a 6 p.m. ET Friday night semifinal. The winner will face either Perry Meridian (13-9) or Franklin Central (13-8) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sectional 11 championship game.
“We played Franklin in our second game of the season and came out a little overconfident, and they took care of business,” Cardinal assistant coach Mark Stephens said of a 64-43 loss. “But this time around, 18 games (further) into the season, I think we’ve grown a lot and matured throughout the season.”
The box score:
Southport 16 18 13 25 – 72
Center Grove 12 19 13 25 – 69
Southport: Thomas 33, Ramey 21, Blackwell 8, Skirvin 7, Habersham 2, Grimes 1, Gilliam 0, Young 0. 3-pointers: Ramey 2. Totals: 22 24-41 72
Center Grove: Barton 17, Degenhardt 17, Marlin 14, Smeathers 11, Reed 10, Boggess 0, Kwiatkowski 0, Whitehead 0, Wright 0. 3-pointers: Barton 2, Smeathers, Marlin. Totals: 25 14-27 69
11. Greenwood Sectional
Game 1 – Southport 72, Center Grove 69
Game 2 – Perry Meridian 67, Whiteland 62
Game 3 – Franklin Central 41, Greenwood 30
Game 4 – Franklin vs. Southport. Fri 6p
Game 5 – Perry Meridian vs. Franklin Central. Fri 7:30p
Championship – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5. Sat 7:30p
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