Franklin Central and Guerin Catholic played a fantastic fourth quarter with the Flashes getting a layup from Benny Ogayonne as time expired for the win.
In the first half, Ogayonne and Rynell Echols were making life tough on the Guerin Catholic guards. The athletic Franklin Central backcourt forced Guerin Catholic into 13 first-half turnovers. The Flashes converted those errors into points at a high clip. Echols, Ogayonne, and Sam Mettert scored 20 of Franklin Central's 29 first-half points. Behind that group, the Flashes took a 10-point lead into halftime.
Through three games, Joe Bobilya averaged 24.7 points per contest. Kaleb Edwards came into Friday night's game averaging 17.3. After three quarters, those two had a combined 17 points. Because of the low production, Guerin Catholic was down eight to begin the fourth.
Early in the fourth, Edwards was able to get an and-1. That seemed to spark the high-scoring duo as Bobilya hit a three-pointer on the next possession. Guerin was down 11 early in the fourth quarter, but it was suddenly a four-point game. A minute later, Bobilya drilled another three. It was a one-point game with just under five minutes to play.
With 3:53 to play, Jack Parenteau grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to give Guerin Catholic the lead. With under three minutes to play, Bryan Marshall tied the game with a putback of his own before Bobilya struck again. The Guerin Catholic guard splashed his third triple of the period to grab the lead back.
Guerin's lead stretched to 52-47 after Bobilya made two free throws.
Without wasting much time, Ogayonne found space for a 12-foot shot in the lane. He canned it. After the turnover problems in the first half, Guerin Catholic protected the ball well in the second, but the Golden Eagles had a crucial turnover with just over a minute to play. On the ensuing possession, Franklin Central probed the Guerin defense before Mettert found an open Ogayonne on the right wing, and the senior guard buried it to tie the game with 19 seconds remaining.
With the game knotted at 52, Guerin Catholic pushed the ball into the front court before working the offense. Relatively early into the possession, a gap opened for Will Grissom to attack the basket from the top of the key. Mettert came over to challenge the shot, but Grissom's attempt was half way down before rimming out. Guerin's Matt Gillis was able to get his hand on the ball for a tip, but that was off the mark as well. Mettert chased down the rebound and found Ogayonne to race the ball up the floor. With the clock winding down, Ogayonne was able to a one-foot runner off before the buzzer. It was similar to David Bell's game-winner for Criss Beyers and Warren Central in Romeo Langford's final high school game. Just like Bell, Ogayonne made the shot before being swarmed by his teammates. Ogayonne scored the final seven points of the game to give Franklin Central the 54-52 victory.
Ogayonne led Franklin Central with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Bobilya finished with 21 points for Guerin Catholic.
Franklin Central is 3-1 and plays North Central on Saturday. Guerin Catholic fell to 3-1 and plays Muncie Central on Saturday.
Guerin Catholic (52) - Kaleb Edwards 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1turn, 1blk, 1stl; Joe Bobilya 21 points (6-11 FG, 4-9 3FG, 5-6 FT), 1 reb, 3turns, 1blk, 1stl; Will Grissom 5 points, 1reb, 1ast, 5turns, 1stl; Matt Gillis 4 points, 3rebounds, 1 turn; Jack Parenteau 4 points, 5rebs, 2blks; Matt Etichison 3points, 3rebs, 3asts, 2turns, 4stls; Aden Cannon 3rebs, 1turns; Patrick Bair 1 point, 2 rebs, Jack Cherry 2 points
Franklin Central (54) - Benny Ogayonne 18 points (7-16 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT), 6 rebs, 3asts, 3turns, 1blk, 4stl; Rynell Echols 8 points, 5rebs, 2asts, 3turns, 2stls; Shawn Gooch 6 points, 3rebs, 1turns, Bryan Marshall 4 points, 5 rebs, 3asts, 1turn; Sam Mettert 10 points, 1ast, 2turns, 1blk, 2stls; Owen Leck 2 points, 2rebs, Lyna Brooks 4 points, 1ast, 2turns, 1stl