CLASSIC DAY 1: Kelley scores 29 as Arrows outlast Braves
Dec. 27—Undefeated Sullivan got 29 points — including 12 of its first 15 — from senior guard Randy Kelley en route to a 72-56 victory over host Terre Haute South in Game 3 of the first round of the First Financial Wabash Valley Classic on Monday afternoon.
The 6-foot Kelley also engaged in intense, entertaining one-on-one warfare with Amariyae Wilson, who tallied 23 points to lead the Braves. But Kelley's supporting cast of Rocco Roshel (12 points), Jackson Hills (10 points, 13 rebounds and three steals), reserve Eli Gettinger (nine points) and Luke Adams (eight points) was too much for South to overcome.
With South struggling in the first quarter, Sullivan jumped ahead 18-5 with Kelly connecting on a pair of 3-pointers and Gettinger adding a 3 soon after he entered the game. Kelley opened the second period with a free throw to pad the Golden Arrows' cushion to 19-5.
The host school, wearing red road jerseys, clawed back before the end of the half. A Wilson trey with 2:52 showing on the scoreboard pulled the Braves within 25-21 and his second 3 cut their deficit to 27-24 with 1:56 left.
Sullivan finished the first half strong, however, then opened the second half with an inside bucket by Adams and a pair of free throws by Hills to seize a more comfortable 38-26 advantage.
Their margin increased to 18 at 46-28 midway through the third period after Roshel capped off an 8-0 run with two charity tosses. But the Braves answered with eight straight points of their own — four by Kyle Cottee — to climb within 46-36 before the end of the third frame.
South made things interesting midway through the fourth quarter by rattling off six unanswered points — back-to-back baskets by Zayvion Baker and a steal/layup combination by Wilson — to slice Sullivan's lead to 58-53. But Sullivan, ranked eighth in the state's latest Class 3A poll, dominated the final four minutes to walk away with a double-digit victory.
"Randy was unbelievable to start the game," Sullivan coach Jeff Moore assessed afterward.
"It seemed like he had 40 [points]," he added after being told by reporters that Kelley finished with 29.
"I thought our kids played hard and we got to the basket several different times," Moore continued. "I bet we missed seven or eight — not completely wide open — but pretty good looks at the basket."
Moore praised Kelley's defensive efforts on Wilson, despite Wilson's team-high point total, and praised Adams as well.
"I thought Luke Adams was very disruptive on the defensive end today," Moore mentioned. "He got his hands on a lot of balls and made some big hustle plays for us."
From the South perspective, coach Maynard Lewis' comments were a mix of praise for Sullivan and cautious praise for the Braves.
"To their credit, they executed when they had to," he told the Tribune-Star. "Certainly we had our opportunities. Anytime we go 1 for 7 on free throws in the first half [which South did Monday]. . . We got ourselves into a little bit of a hole and tried to dig ourselves out of it."
There was no lack of effort from his players, Lewis emphasized.
"They gave effort," he said. "We just came up short. We were going against a well-coached, disciplined team."
Baker and Cottee were the other double-figure scorers for South with 16 and 10 points respectively.
"I just think we made a few more plays than they did," Moore summarized.
