Over the past three seasons, Spencer Piercefield has built a reputation as a deadly long-range shooter, and deservedly so. He’s made more 3-point shots than anyone in Center Grove history.
But the 6-foot senior guard has developed into far more than a shooting threat, and it’s the rest of his game that has this group of Trojans in position to perhaps go where no team in school history has gone before.
"What people don’t understand is, Spencer’s our best defender," Center Grove coach Zach Hahn said. "On the ball, off the ball, guarding guards in the post. He’s one of our toughest kids by far, but defensively, he’s phenomenal."
"Defense has always been something that I’ve taken a lot of pride in since I was young," Piercefield added, noting that his grandfather used to liken him to glue even when he was in elementary school.
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Piercefield’s impact on the defensive end can be quantified in several different ways. He leads the Trojans in steals, turnovers caused and charges taken, and he ranks second in deflections.
The Indiana Wesleyan recruit is also usually called on to shut down one of the opposing team’s top offensive players. In last weekend’s sectional final, Piercefield limited Franklin senior Reece Thomson, who had entered the game as the Grizzly Cubs’ leading scorer, to a season-low two points.
In doing so, Piercefield showed his guts — literally. Out of school sick last Wednesday and Thursday, he vomited twice during the first half of the Franklin game. In the locker room at halftime, Piercefield made it clear he wasn’t coming back out of the game.
"I knew that there was a chance that that could be my last high school game," he said, "and the competitive fire in me said there’s no way I was going to sit on the bench and not be out there playing, so I just did my best to suck it up and tried to give it all I could."
From a scoring standpoint, Piercefield’s numbers haven’t changed all that much; at 10.3 points per game, he’s actually scoring a little less than he did as a sophomore and a junior. But his team-leading 71 assists are a career high, and Hahn credits him with being the best screener on the team, among other less-noticed things.
"He’s really stepped up," the coach explained. "His maturity may not be scoring more points this year, but it’s all the other aspects that have made us a little bit better of team down the stretch, just by the way that he carries himself and the way he’s played."
Of course, Piercefield still possesses a lethal shooting stroke. He knocked down a school-record eight 3-pointers against Lawrence North earlier this season, and he’s made at least 60 shots from downtown in each of his three varsity seasons. His career total of 182 made 3s is the school standard.
Center Grove hasn’t always been dominant this season — eight of its 19 wins have been by eight points or less, and the Trojans won their three sectional games by a combined 17 points, totaling just 109 points in the process. But the team is still alive, which is all Piercefield or any of his teammates really care about.
"It’s just survive and advance at this point," he said, "so we’re just trying to do anything we can to keep playing."
If the Trojans can keep playing through both of their games today in Seymour, they’ll secure just the second boys basketball regional crown in school history, joining the 1972 team. They’d also become the first team in program history to advance to the final four of the state tournament.
Piercefield is ready to help make that happen in any way he can. If that means going nuclear from 3-point range, he can do that. If it means quietly dishing out assists or setting screens, that’s fine too.
Whether his shots are falling or not, Piercefield knows his contributions start at the other end.
"When we play defense, and our defense fuels our offense, then that’s when we’re really good," he said.
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Class 4A Seymour Regional
Jasper (16-9) vs. Center Grove (19-8), 10 a.m.
Bloomington South (23-3) vs. Jeffersonville (19-5), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class A Martinsville Regional
Morristown (22-4) vs. Greenwood Christian (15-10), 10 a.m.
Bloomfield (18-7) vs. Indianapolis Metropolitan (16-9), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Admission: Tickets at either site are $7 for a single session or $10 for the full day.
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Class 4A Seymour Regional
Players to watch: Bloomington South — Adam Graham, Connor Hickman, Noah Jager, Anthony Leal; Center Grove — Justin DeGraaf, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Ben Nicoson, Spencer Piercefield; Jasper — Jared Englert, Quentin Harmon, Jackson Kabrick, Reece Milligan; Jeffersonville — Tre Coleman, Jacob Jones, Will Lovings-Watts, Darin Starks
Sagarin ratings: Center Grove 92.32 (10th in Class 4A, 11th overall), Bloomington South 90.95 (12th in 4A, 14th overall), Jeffersonville 89.36 (14th in 4A, 17th overall), Jasper 73.47 (62nd in 4A, 108th overall)
Head to head: There were no meetings between any of these four teams during the regular season.
Outlook: The Trojans have to be considered a heavy semifinal favorite against the Cinderella Wildcats, a somewhat surprising winner in Evansville. Barring a major upset in that game, they’ll get a chance to play tonight for what would be just the second regional title in school history and the first since 1972. Bloomington South and Jeffersonville come in riding winning streaks of 14 and 10 games, respectively, but it remains to be seen if either has an answer for Jackson-Davis, who could really bolster his Mr. Basketball case with a pair of dominating performances. Center Grove has faced its share of challenges this season, but it’s a veteran team making its third straight trip to Seymour. Will this be the year that the Trojans finally make it out?
Class A Martinsville Regional
Players to watch: Bloomfield — Aleks Markovic, Turner Royal, Andrew Shelton; Greenwood Christian — Andrew Anderson, Champ McCorkle, Styles McCorkle, Quentin Steele; Indianapolis Metropolitan — Noah Jordan, Warren Williams, Wesley Williams; Morristown — Trevon Carlton, Kyle Crim, Logan Laster, Logan Theobald
Sagarin ratings: Indianapolis Metropolitan 72.41 (sixth in Class A, 120th overall), Morristown 70.17 (eighth in A, 139th overall), Bloomfield 70.05 (ninth in A, 140th overall), GCA 67.15 (12th in A, 164th overall)
Head to head: Morristown won at GCA, 71-61, on Feb. 5
Outlook: The Cougars went into last week’s sectional as a slight underdog and managed to survive; can they continue their unlikely run with two more wins? The next order of business is avenging last month’s loss to the defending state champion Yellow Jackets, who come in having won 14 of their last 15. Morristown has a potent offense led by Laster (20.6 ppg), but GCA does have superior size — will it be able to take advantage? If they can, there will be a quality big man awaiting them either way in Bloomfield’s Markovic or Indy Metro’s Jordan. The Cougars can navigate this draw, but it’ll be difficult.
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