Indian Creek’s 65-60 win against host Greenwood Christian on Thursday night was a contrast of performances.
The Braves at times were lethargic and sloppy, while the Cougars’ play was inspired and focused, yet at the end of the night, it was Indian Creek on top — largely because of its play in the final four minutes of the game.
Whether it was a letdown from a big win against Greenwood on Tuesday, or perhaps taking a 7-16 opponent too lightly — especially when the Braves beat the Cougars back in December 65-46 — coach Derek Perry will take the win, but he said it definitely wasn’t the Braves’ finest hour.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“The whole demeanor of the team was different than the past games,” Perry said. “Whether they were unfocused or whatever, we were very lucky to escape with a win. Take nothing away from (Greenwood Christian); they played a great game and they played harder than we did.”
Despite winning ugly, Indian Creek (15-8) might have picked a good time to get some bad play out of the way.
However, Perry was hoping for some added momentum going into next week’s sectional opener against Beech Grove.
“You want to gain momentum for next week, but I’m not sure we did that,” Perry said. “It’s frustrating, but I’d rather have (a bad night) now than later.”
This was a game in which neither team could get a big lead. In fact, from the start, it had all the makings of a close contest.
Greenwood Christian held a six-point lead in the second half and was shooting well, but more importantly, the Cougars’ defense was making things difficult for the Braves.
“This was one of our best defensive games,” said Greenwood Christian coach Jamie Satre. “They were focused and we did a good job against a good team.”
Indian Creek held a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Cougars’ defense got even tougher, and Greenwood Christian held a 48-44 lead with 5:10 left.
Indian Creek tied the game and then started playing some defense of its own and as a result, the Cougars went more than two minutes without a point.
At that point, Indian Creek wanted its go-to clutch performer, Jared DeHart, to have the ball — and he did get it, hitting four free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.
DeHart ended up with 21 points, but teammate Tim Abel led all scorers with 22.
Greenwood Christian was led by Payton Modlin with 18 points. Senior Camden Peters, playing in his final home game, added 15, while Quentin Steele added 12.
