By: Mike McGraw
Executive Director
They are all tough in the Sagamore Conference. That is the
lesson Crawfordsville learned Saturday, January 19th in their trip
to Southmont. Coming off of perhaps their worst performance of the year the
evening before against
the Mounties played inspired basketball
and nearly pulled an upset of the state ranked Athenians. In the end,
Crawfordsville did what great teams do—they made big plays at clutch time. As
a result, they escaped with a 57-45 victory.
Things started off quietly enough. Crawfordsville jumped to
a 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter. However, Southmont established
early that the game was going to be played at their tempo. They also totally
controlled the boards and the two factors combined for a 7-0 Mounties run at
the end of the quarter and an 11-10 lead after one period.
wills. Crawfordsville stepped up their defensive intensity while Southmont
refused to let go of their superiority on the backboards. For most of the
period, both teams struggled to dent the scoreboard. The game was deadlocked at
17 with two and a half minutes left in the half. Finally, the Athenians defense
forced a crack in the Mounties composure. Two fast break opportunities,
including one remarkable finish by sophomore Alex Gasaway, fueled a 10-3 run to
end the half. At intermission it appeared Crawfordsville had righted the ship
as they led 27-20.
Appearances can be deceiving. Southmont came out of the
locker room with their jaws locked and immediately went on a 12-5 run, tying
the game at 32. The remainder of the period was an epic battle. It ended in a
stalemate. The teams entered the fourth tied at 38.
They continued to battle into the opening minutes of the fourth
quarter. Two minutes into the final period, Crawfordsville clung to a scant
42-41 advantage. Then came the key period of the contest. Southmont found
itself in deep foul trouble and was forced to juggle the lineup in an effort to
keep people in the game. The Athenians took advantage and struck for a 7-0 run
that pushed the lead to eight. Even at that, Southmont nearly refused to let
them get away. The Mounties suffered through two in and out three point attempts
during the key stretch.
With their lead reestablished, Crawfordsville put the game
away from the free throw line. The Athenians went 8-8 from the stripe down the
stretch. After the game, Crawfordsville coach Darrin Haas was generous in his
praise of the Mounties. Click here to listen to his comments or go to the video
player on the Sagamore conference page.
point effort. The Mounties were led by the inspired play of Brooke McGaughey
who finished with 16 points.
Click here for game highlights.
