Reed 'em and sweep: Buzzer-beater sends North back to regional

GREENWOOD — Long after the (second) final horn, Gavin Reed still had the basketball with him, dribbling, flipping it around his waist or keeping it securely tucked under an arm as he talked to friends, family and well-wishers still mingling on Center Grove's gym floor.

For the Bloomington North senior guard, the Wilson basketball is a huge prize and will always be a reminder of his moment in the sun Saturday night, hitting the game-winner with under a second left in a thrilling 43-41 win over the host Trojans in their Class 4A sectional final.

"I was ready," Reed said. "I didn't expect it to come my way, but I knew if it would I was knocking it down."

Reed, a reserve last year behind three senior guards, rose to the occasion. The shot was due to the work he'd put in to replicate his form in a high-stress situation.

"Shooting every day, me and (assistant coach Brandon McGee) getting it in after practice. He's always giving me confidence. Every timeout, telling me, 'Keep shooting the ball.' I got to let it fly. I know my teammates need that. They need me to hit shots."

The Cougars managed to keep control of that very basketball for 97 seconds after Marcus Ankney had given Center Grove a one-point lead and just 12.8 were left as North broke its huddle. The Cougars set up a play, the Trojans set up, unexpectedly, in a 2-3 zone.

That's a winner

Three seniors, JaQualon Roberts, Dawan Daniels and Reed, still made it happen. Daniels inbounded to Roberts up high. He dribbled left, while Reed stood quietly in that corner, then Roberts turned and passed cross court to Daniels.

"We certainly have to get JQ a touch right there," North coach Jason Speer said. "And then as we rotated him over, he came off the screen there to kick it to the other side, that meant that the play was kind of on. We're not going to take it out of JQ's hands unless he wants to.

"So he could see it much better for what it was."

Roberts made the right decision to go from instigator to facilitator and it's sending the Cougars (18-5) back to the Seymour Regional to face Columbus North (17-8) again at 7 p.m. next Saturday.

"Everybody probably knew I was going to get the ball, so using me as a decoy, as someone who takes all the attention, sometimes you have to take that road to win a game," Roberts said. "Being able to take the best shot, moving the ball around, (Reed) was open in the corner and made a big-time shot for a big-time team."

Daniels went right, drew two defenders, raised and whistled a skip pass to Reed, right arm raised, bouncing up and down like a kid desperate to be called on by his teacher. I'm open! I'm open! He leapt, caught it cleanly while landing just inside the sideline and smoothly fired his jumper as CG's Joey Schmitz lunged at him.

"They switched their defense," Reed said. "We had a play no matter what, but it doesn't really work against a 3-2 so we were just looking to get an open shot and he happened to see me across in the corner."

"I just saw him with his hand up," Daniels said. "He was wide open in the corner. So I threw it to him. I knew he was going to make it. That's why I threw it."

The high arcing shot caught nothing but net and Reed went screaming down the court, teammates at first, then the student section, chasing after.

"When they went to a zone right there, the play that we ran, we run it all the time and they certainly like it," Speer said. "It kind of gets the defense moving a little bit and sets up a good screen on the backside. Even though the Center Grove kid contested it pretty well, Gavin does a great job of going straight up and down and knocked it down. Huge shot."

The game wasn't quite over (.4 seconds were put back on the clock), but the sectional trophy ended up in North's hands again this year, the first consecutive titles for the Cougars since 2000-02.

"Back-to-back. We did it last year, but I had a bigger role this year," Reed said. "So it feels more personal. Every kid dreams of having a shot like that, especially on a big stage. It's amazing."

None of its been easy, North had to beat Columbus North in double overtime and Bloomington South in OT to win the title last year. That experience had to have helped win this title as well.

"It was a total team effort," Speer said. "I'm glad it played out the way it did."

Block or charge?

That opinion might be colored by which hue, Center Grove red or North maroon, one favors.

After the floor was cleared and order restored to the mayhem, officials announced Center Grove was awarded a timeout with .4 left on the clock. They had an old trick up their sleeve.

Ethan McComb took the ball under North's basket to inbound, with Roberts guarding him, and instantly scooted to his right. Roberts followed and as he did, Joey Schmitz came forward as if to receive the pass, but then jumped in front of Roberts to set a screen and hopefully get Roberts to run into him and draw a whistle.

They collided and the call came as Roberts held up both hands in disbelief and Schmitz's teammates came rushing over, smiling, to pick him up. Foul No. 7 on North would have put Schmitz at the line for a 1-and-1 to tie it.

Instead, the official at half court, walking toward the scorers bench, pointed at Schmitz, and put both hands on his hip for a block, shocking most everyone and bringing a sigh of relief to the Cougars.

All North had to do was inbound the ball again and a second rushing of the floor and celebration ensued.

Second-half rally

North had no party plans at halftime, down 23-15. The Cougars were 5-of-19, 1-of-9 on 3-pointers and had seven turnovers. Roberts even missed two free throws after making 23 in a row coming in.

Something had to change and mostly, it was the Cougars' attitude and fortitude. CG had pushed them around and now it was time to push back.

"To average 91 points the last two games and go into halftime with 15? Not OK," Speer said. "So there was some yelling and that sort of thing, but the guys responded. They knew it wasn't acceptable.

"Stay the course on the defensive end, continue to be tough, and our offense will come together."

In just 2:20, Daniels and Reed each hit 3s and it was tied at 23. Game on.

"Our energy coming out in that second half was something other than what we had in the first half," Reed said.

The Trojans led 32-30 after three, then sophomore Luke Lindeman, who had 13 points and seven rebounds, scooped up a loose ball and scored to make it 35-34 North and Roberts finished off a drive for a three-point lead with 5:25 to go.

It was tied at 38 with 3:12 to go when Lindeman hit jumper to put North up, but Ankney flipped in a tough 3 catty-corner from Reed's winner with 1:50 left for a 41-40 lead.

North outscored the Trojans 28-18 in the second half, going 11-of-20 and 5-of-8 from the arc. Reed and Roberts (eight rebounds, three blocks) had 10 points each.

"Come out here and be tougher than the other team," Roberts said. "I think that's how we did it in the second half."

Defense stayed steady

Shooting aside, North's defense kept the game manageable in the first half and went to another level in the second.

"Absolutely the X-factor," Speer said of his defense. "They do a great job at the rim. They can attack a lot of different areas with a lot of different guys, not just with their bigs, their guards do a great job of attacked. So I felt like we contested almost everything."

Daniels' work on Trojan point guard Jalen Bundy was remarkable, holding him scoreless after a 14-point game vs. South. Forward Will Spellman was also held to just four points on 2-of-7 shooting.

"Dawan may be one of the toughest kids that I've ever coached," Speer said. "He learned from three good ones from last year. He does a fantastic job of running our team. I'm glad he's our point guard."

BLOOMINGTON NORTH 43, CENTER GROVE 41

Center Grove (41): Spellman f 2-7 0-0 4, Bundy g 0-3 1-2 1, Ankney g 6-14 1-2 14, McComb g 2-4 0-0 6, Schmitz g 6-9 1-1 16, Baker 0-1 0-0 0, Byrd 0-1 0-0 0, Messer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-39 3-5 41.

Bloomington North (43): Vencel f 0-1 0-0 0, Roberts f 3-5 3-6 10, Daniels g 3-6 0-0 7, Lindeman g 6-14 0-0 13, Reed g 3-9 2-2 10, O'Guinn 1-4 0-0 3, Dangerfield 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-39 5-8 43.

Center Grove (22-3) 13 | 10 | 9 | 9 — 41

Bloomington North (18-5) 7 | 8 | 15 | 13 — 43

3-point goals: Center Grove 6-14 (Schmitz 3-4, McComb 2-4, Ankney 1-3, Bundy 0-1, Baker 0-1, Byrd 0-1), Bloomington North 6-17 (Reed 2-7, Daniels 1-1, Lindeman 1-2, Roberts 1-2, O'Guinn 1-4, Vencel 0-1). Rebounds: Center Grove 21 (Spellman 7), Bloomington North 26 (Roberts 8, Lindeman 7). Team fouls: Center Grove 15, Bloomington North 14. Turnovers: Center Grove 7, Bloomington North 10.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Reed 'em and sweep: Buzzer-beater sends North back to regional