TERRE HAUTE —
Visiting Ben Davis nearly went to sleep on a sizeable lead against Terre Haute South in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school basketball Friday night.
But after the Braves had trimmed a lead that had once been 17 points down to seven with a little over two minutes left, the visitors got the next eight points and wound up with a 76-64 victory.
“The kids kept fighting. They played hard,” coach Scott Ridge of the Braves said afterward. “They were not at all afraid of a big, athletic team, and that’s a good sign going forward.”
The Giants, who missed almost as many dunk attempts as they did free throws — to the exasperation of veteran coach Mark James — had seemingly been comfortable after closing out the first half with an 11-2 run for a 37-24 lead.
South’s Jermaine Smith and Jeffrey Turner both got hot at the same time early in the third quarter but the Braves weren’t stopping Ben Davis either, and it was 57-40 late in that period after Harry Wills of the visitors got back-to-back rebound baskets.
But the Braves kept hanging around, and a 3-pointer by Turner followed immediately by a steal and layup by Kevaris Gregory cut the lead to 62-52 just past the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
The Giants had missed nine of their first 12 free throw attempts, but Harry Wills hit a pair for a 12-point lead, only to have Gregory answer with a 3-pointer that had South within nine.
Twice Ben Davis scored to restore 11-point leads, but South answered both times; after a layup by Lucas Steward made the score 68-59, Monte Stevenson stole another in-bounds pass and scored himself. That was the high point for the Braves, however, as Harry Wills got two free throws plus a steal and emphatic two-hand dunk in the clinching 8-0 run.
“I thought both teams played hard,” said James, in his first season with the Giants after an illustrious career at Franklin Central. “Terre Haute South was well prepared and did what they had to do [defensively] … I didn’t think we matched up with their intensity at times.”
Harry Wills, despite drawing his coach’s ire on a couple of occasions, had 21 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks for the winners. His younger brother Tony Wills scored 20, and 6-foot-10 Trevor Thompson added 17 — many set up by passes from the Wills brothers’ penetration.
Turner had game-high totals of 24 points and 12 rebounds for South. Gregory, in his first varsity start, scored 10 and Jermaine Smith had nine points and seven assists.
“Our offense looked good,” Ridge noted. “We’re still shooting some bad shots, but I’m always going to think we take bad shots. [The Giants’] mix of size and quickness was tough … there’s not much we can do [to match up].”
“I thought we made some bad decisions,” said James, who noted his team had been more fragile emotionally on Friday than in most games this season, “but overall I’m happy to get the win on the road. We played well in spots, and that’s the way we’ve been the last couple weeks.”
BEN DAVIS (76) — T.Wills 8-15 1-2 20, Gillis 2-4 0-0 4, Thompson 8-13 1-6 17, H.Wills 7-11 6-7 21, Beaty 0-2 1-4 1, Wilson 2-2 1-2 7, Tate 2-3 0-1 4, King 1-4 0-0 2, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Carpenter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 FG, 10-22 FT, 76 TP.
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (64) — Turner 9-24 0-0 24, Etling 2-7 0-0 6, Lu.Steward 2-5 0-0 4, Benford 2-8 0-0 4, Gregory 4-9 0-0 10, J.Smith 2-9 3-4 9, H.Smith 0-0 2-2 2, Stanley 0-1 0-0 0, England 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 1-1 0-0 2, Tanoos 0-0 0-0 0, Olds 0-1 0-0 0, Long 0-0 0-0 0, Lo.Steward 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 23-66 FG, 5-6 FT, 64 TP.
Ben Davis 16 21 20 19 — 76
Terre Haute South 14 10 18 22 — 64
3-point shooting — BD 6-10 (T.Wills 3-6, Wilson 2-2, H.Wills 1-2), THS 13-34 (Turner 6-12, J.Smith 2-4, Gregory 2-6, Etling 2-7, Lo.Steward 1-1, Olds 0-1, Lu.Steward 0-3). Total fouls — BD 10, THS 16. Fouled out — H.Smith. Turnovers — BD 17, THS 12. Rebounds — BD 50 (H.Wills 11, Thompson 9), THS 30 (Turner 12). Assists — BD 19 (H.Wills 9), THS 15 (J.Smith 7). Steals — BD 8 (H.Wills 3, T.Wills 2, Beaty 2), THS 8 (Turner 2, Gregory 2). Blocks — BD 3 (H.Wills 2), THS 0.
JV — Terre Haute South 34 (Damon Olds 7 including tie-breaking layup at 0:11, Peter Tanoos 7, Logan Steward 6), Ben Davis 31 (Tim Anderson 14). South’s JV is now 10-4, 4-2 in the MIC.
Next — South (5-13, 0-6 MIC) has a home game Thursday against Bloomfield. Ben Davis (13-5, 4-2) has a home game tonight against Avon.
Sports
Related Photos
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Holden foul: Ben Davis' #10, Jeff Wilson is held by #11, Holden Smith as he attempts to get a loose ball during game action Friday. At left is #44, Lucas Steward.
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Launch: South's #40 Jeffrey Turner launches a half-court shot as the halftime buzzer goes off against Ben Davis Friday night.
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Strong: South's #44, Lucas Steward takes the ball strong to the basket against a Ben Davis player Friday night.
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