New Castle welcomed Greenwood to the Fieldhouse on Friday night. The Trojans were coming off a season-opening win against Blue River while it was the first game for Greenwood.
Both teams shot the ball really well to start the game. Each team was moving the ball and getting open looks on each possession. The game wasn’t played at a fast pace, but the shooting was good enough to tally a total of 36 points in the opening period. Senior David Froedge was hot early for New Castle. He had nine points in the first quarter thanks to three three-pointers.
The offense stalled for Greenwood in the second quarter. The shots that were falling for Greenwood in the first period were finding all iron in the second. The Woodmen only scored four points in the stanza. On the other end, sophomore Mason Gillis was able to get going in the second period for New Castle. Gillis had a couple of really nice moves in the paint to get easy baskets.
To begin the second half, it looked like New Castle was going to run Greenwood out of the gym. The Trojan lead reached 16 points on a couple of occasions early in the third quarter. After scoring 18 as a team in the first half, Eric Moenkhaus and Jeff Reynolds combined for 16 points for Greenwood in the third quarter. The duo led Greenwood’s comeback effort.
Moenkhaus remained hot in the fourth. He scored 14 of Greenwood’s 16 points in the final quarter. Moenkhaus had a stretch where he hit a three-pointer while the New Castle crowd was going crazy after a Mason Gillis dunk. Then he forced a steal, recovered the ball and pulled up from the left wing for a three-pointer in transition. His second three-pointer in that sequence tied the game.
Sophomore guard Luke Bumbalough came up huge down the stretch for New Castle. Bumbalough tallied seven points, a few rebounds and a couple assists in the deciding quarter. His biggest basket was a drive to the middle of the lane when the Trojans were only up 53-52 at the time.
New Castle knocked down six straight free-throws to win the game, 63-57.
David Froedge led New Castle with 18 points. Mason Gillis had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Bumbalough finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Greenwood’s Eric Moenkhaus had a game-high 26 points. Jeff Reynolds added 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the loss.
Greenwood- Jeffery Reynolds 18 points (9-14 FG), Eric Moenkhaus 26 points (10-18 FG, 6-13 3FG), Max Raker 2 points, Adam Rapp 4 points, Braydon Kincaid 4 points, Isaiah Drew 2 points.
New Castle – Luke Bumbalough 11 points (4-9 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-3 FT), Niah Williamson 7 points, Mason Gillis 15 points (5-11 FG, 5-7 FT), 11 rebounds (8 offensive), David Froedge 18 points (5-12 FG, 4-9 3FG, 4-4 FT), Tien Bennett 7 points (2-8 FG), 7 rebounds, Garrett Welch 2 points, Bryce Huntley 3 points.