Greenwood 65 Warren Central 48 (14th District Semifinals)

[gchs_uk9]

Greenwood will look for their first district title since 1996. Warren Central misses the region tournament for only the second time in the last twenty years.

[Purple88]

Wow!  Very nice win for the Gators!

[DragonFire]

Dear 2020/21 athletic season - it’s not me, it’s you. See you never. 

[DragonFire]

In all seriousness, I was worried about this game, but one thing I didn't take into account enough when I made my prediction in the postseason preview was the lack of postseason experience for Warren Central.  They had two players who played significant, meaningful minutes in a postseason game, and that was Jace Carver and Jaiden Lawrence.  Everyone else was experiencing it for the first time.  Greenwood isn't exactly oozing with it, but they definitely had more. When Marc Grant hit a three from two feet behind the college line to put Greenwood up three at 7-4 (a lead they never relinquished), and then followed it with another three on the next possession, you knew Central was in trouble.  The Gators did just about everything they wanted.  They got to the rim at will, they crushed it on the boards, and they did a great job on defense.  Central continued a season long trend that I feared would get them and certainly did - they relied heavily on threes but could absolutely not hit them when not at home.  The Dragons went 2/16 last night, bringing them to 23/119 (19.3%) from the perimeter when not at Central.  They had a difference of almost 17% shooting from behind the three point line when at home vs. the road.  They averaged 22 threes per game, so that difference in percentage was a little over 11 points from three per game better at home vs. the road.  That's a pretty massive split to me.  And when they couldn't knock down the outside shot, that allowed Greenwood to clog the paint, and again, control the glass.  I think the team with the higher ceiling lost, but I believe the better and certainly more prepared team won. 

For Central, the future remains bright.  I am interested to see where this state law allowing repeat years by students affects things.  Without that, Central is my favorite for the region next year, but certain senior players returning at certain schools could certainly shake things up.