BB Johnson County: Franklin shocks 4A #5 Center Grove, 67-58

TRAFALGAR – Having rocketed up the Class 4A rankings to No. 5 after a 20-point beatdown of then-4A No. 2 Carmel 10 days earlier, Center Grove was no doubt a heavy favorite entering the Johnson County Tournament championship game Jan. 18 against Franklin.

But it was the hot-shooting underdog that stole the thunder in the finale at Indian Creek. Franklin went a torrid 11 of 14 from 3-point territory in a shocking 67-58 upset, halting the Trojans’ winning streak in this tourney at four.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FOR ACTION PICTURES FROM CENTER GROVE STUDENT NICK JOSON!!

On the flip side, Center Grove endured an abominable 1-of-21 effort from outside the arc. That was not nearly enough to synergize with a significant rebounding edge, and the Trojans trailed 30-22 at halftime following a 14-4 Franklin run. 

The Grizzly Cubs (9-2) pushed the lead to double digits at 48-37 after three, and the writing was on the proverbial wall.

Center Grove, which opened some eyes around the state with that 60-40 win at Carmel Jan. 8, dropped to 10-2 with the defeat. The Trojans’ only other loss came at home Dec. 22 against 4A No. 1 Bloomington South, 67-53.

“I haven’t seen Franklin in any polls,” Franklin coach Dave Clark told indystar.com. “Maybe we’ll get some of that respect now.

“We just wanted to attack them, period. We wanted to try to wear them down because they play only six or seven guys. We wanted to rotate guys in there and stay fresh a little bit, and that may have been a factor.”

The veteran Grizzly Cubs are led by eight seniors, and they did not panic when Center Grove rallied within three early in the third period.

“I’ve never beaten Center Grove in any sport in my four years here,” Ross Syphers, a senior who also plays soccer and baseball at Franklin, told indystar.com. “This is really special – I hope it keeps coming in my senior year.”

Syphers led all scorers with 17 points and was joined in double digits by senior guard Christian Nicodemus (15) and senior guard Clay Warner (13).

Center Grove was paced by the 14 points of 6’7” sophomore Joe Reed, while seniors Kyle Barth and J.T. Barton each had 13.

“I felt like our team was ready to play, but it was obvious we struggled in some areas,”’ Center Grove coach Cliff Hawkins told indystar.com. “We struggled to put pressure on the basketball up top.

“We needed a third guy to be able to go out there and do that, and we didn’t have it.”

Next up for Center Grove (2-0 in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference play) is a Jan. 22 home game against MIC foe Ben Davis (4-5, 0-3). That precedes a Jan. 30 showdown at 4A No. 11 conference co-leader Lawrence North (8-2, 2-0). 

The Wildcats have a huge MIC battle looming this Friday against 4A No. 2 North Central (Indianapolis), which sits at 11-2 overall and 1-1 in league play following its 71-52 Marion County Tournament championship win Jan. 16 over yet another MIC rival, Warren Central (9-4, 1-1).

Franklin (2-1 in Mid-State Conference play) gets back at it Jan. 22 as well with a home game against conference foe Whiteland (5-7, 1-1). The Grizzly Cubs currently sit second in Mid-State play, half a game behind Plainfield (4-8, 2-0), and own conference wins over Greenwood (77-46) and Mooresville (64-51). 

Franklin’s lone league loss came way back in Game 2 at Decatur Central, 64-55 – the Hawks’ only win thus far in a 1-9, 1-2 season.

The box score:

Center Grove 11 11 15 21 – 58

Franklin 12 18 18 19 – 67

Center Grove: Reed 14, Barth 13, Barton 13, Marlin 8, Smeathers 8, Degenhardt 2, Wright 0. 3-pointers: Barth. Totals: 23 12-17 58

Franklin: Syphers 17, Nicodemus 15, Warner 13, Jewell 9, Clark 8, Blakley 3, Dickey 2, Higdon 0. 3-pointers: Syphers 3, Warner 3, Clark 2, Nicodemus 3. Totals: 22 12-20 67

The 2010 tourney results:

Greenwood 41, Indian Creek 36

Whiteland 70, Edinburgh 55

4A #5 Center Grove 68, Greenwood 51 

Franklin 50, Whiteland 41

Edinburgh 60, Indian Creek 44 (fifth place)

Greenwood 43, Whiteland 39 (third place)

Franklin 67, 4A #5 Center Grove 58 (championship)

Current Mid-State Conference standings, courtesy of John Harrell’s website:

Plainfield 2-0 4-8 52.8 64.4 -11.6 Lost 3 

Franklin 2-1 9-2 63.6 51.3 12.4 Won 3 

Whiteland 1-1 5-7 49.0 48.8 0.3 Lost 2 

Mooresville 1-1 2-7 46.1 59.4 -13.3 Won 1 

Greenwood 1-2 4-7 47.6 57.2 -9.5 Won 1 

Martinsville 1-2 2-9 42.6 50.0 -7.4 Lost 1 

Decatur Central 1-2 1-9 49.7 57.9 -8.2 Lost 7

Current MIC standings, courtesy of John Harrell’s website:

Center Grove 2-0 10-2 61.0 49.8 11.2 Lost 1 

Lawrence North 2-0 8-2 57.3 47.4 9.9 Lost 1 

Terre Haute North 1-0 12-2 52.0 39.8 12.2 Won 3 

North Central (Ind.) 1-1 11-2 83.0 56.5 26.5 Won 6 

Carmel 1-1 8-3 63.0 54.2 8.8 Won 2 

Warren Central 1-1 9-4 55.4 50.5 4.8 Lost 1 

Terre Haute South 0-2 7-5 60.8 59.9 0.8 Won 4 

Ben Davis 0-3 4-5 59.1 58.2 0.9 Lost 1