SEYMOUR
Indianapolis Lutheran overcame a 17-point deficit early in the third quarter to rally and defeat Trinity Lutheran 62-61 Friday night in the Bollinger Athletic Complex.
The Saints held a 62-57 lead with 28 seconds remaining. Josh Rowe made one free throw and Tyler Goecker made a layup with 5.9 seconds remaining to end the scoring.
The Saints had a chance to increase their lead but missed their final four free throws, including two with 4.9 seconds remaining.
Jack Marksberry rebounded the final free throw and drove the length of the court but missed a layup at the buzzer.
Trinity coach Michael McBride said, “After blowing the lead like we did, nobody quit. We competed all the way to the end of the game. We can’t get much closer than that.”
Trinity shot 18 of 23 from the free-throw line and Indianapolis Lutheran was 7 of 14.
Mitchell Hackman’s first 3-pointer gave the Cougars an 8-2 lead after three minutes and his second 3-pointer put Trinity in front 15-8.
The Cougars held a 17-11 lead going into the second quarter before Hudson Norton’s 3-pointer made the score 20-13.
After Layton Dickey hit a 3-pointer for the Saints, the Cougars closed the first half on a 10-0 run to lead 30-16 at the break.
Hackman started a rally with a rebound basket, Goecker had a basket and two free throws, Lawson Woods added a field goal, and Josh Rowe finished the string with a rebound basket.
Trinity shot 12-for-25 from the floor, and Indianapolis Lutheran shot 7-for-22 in the first half.
A layup by Goecker expanded Trinity’s lead to 35-18 early in the third period before the Saints went on a 9-0 run to close 35-27.
“They ran a high-screen offensive; they gave us a lot of problem the last time we played them,” McBride said. “We did a very nice job defending it in the first half, and we held them to 16 points.
“They changed things up in the second half and we weren’t able to defend the 3-point shooters.”
Montasi Clay made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and topped the Saints (5-3) with 17 points.
The teams traded points the remainder of the quarter resulting in Trinity taking a 43-34 lead into the final period.
Hackman topped the Cougars with 16 points, Goecker and Rowe scored 14 each, Marksberry added 12, Hudson Norton had three, and Lawson Woods had two.
Indianapolis Lutheran won the junior varsity game 44-32. Micah Baumgartel topped the Cougars with seven points, Logan Brown scored six, Sage Broughton scored five, Kade Hill and Evan Hunt four each, Chase Sawyer and Caleb Williams with three each.
The Cougars (5-7) will travel to Henryville tonight.