(Jayden Brewer scored a game-high 22 points)

 

 

Tuesday night, Ben Davis and Franklin Central played a game that featured 16 lead changes, eight ties, and neither team led by more than five points. 

 

Fresh off gaining full eligibility from the Marion County Superior Court, Jayden Brewer did not waste much time getting on the board. Overall, this was Brewer's fifth game of the season. He scored Ben Davis' third possession. From there, the senior wing scored 12 of the Giants' first 16 points. Early on, the Ben Davis offense started and stopped with Brewer. 

 

 

Franklin Central started well with Airrion Boyd, TJ Williams, and Lyna Brooks scoring over the first four possessions. The Flashes hit a cold streak after Rynell Echols scored at the 3:36 mark. Franklin Central did not score again until Benny Ogayonne made two free throws at the first-quarter buzzer.

 

 

Sophomore Zane Doughty produced well in the first half. The Ben Davis center was active on the glass to the tune of seven points and six rebounds. His play gave the Giants a strong post presence in the first 16 minutes. 

 

 

Early in the third, Franklin Central had a six-point spurt to give the Flashes a five-point lead. It was the first time in the game that one team had a chance to open a three-possession lead. That window did not last long as Sheridan Sharpe and Dillon Moore scored to cut Franklin Central's lead to 39-36 going to the fourth quarter.

 

 

After a quiet third quarter, Brewer stepped up for Ben Davis in the fourth. He had a stretch of three scores in two and a half minutes to extend Ben Davis' lead to 46-41. After two Franklin Central buckets, Brewer exploited an opening for a dunk. 

 

 

In a one-possession game, turnovers haunted Franklin Central down the stretch. The Flashes committed seven fourth-quarter turnovers and 18 for the game. Ben Davis had 15, but the extra shot attempts made the difference. 

 

 

With eight seconds to play, Moore made two free throws to give Ben Davis a 54-50 advantage. Ogayonne made a three-pointer with a couple of seconds left, but Franklin Central had no timeouts, and the clock expired.

 

 

Ben Davis escaped with the 54-53 victory.

 

 

Brewer scored a game-high 22 points. He also had four steals and three assists. Sharpe recorded five points and five assists; Nibbs added six points and five rebounds; Moore scored nine points; Tionne Spates tallied two points and five rebounds.

 

 

Ogayonne led Franklin Central with 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists; Airrion Boyd added ten points and four rebounds; Sam Mettert had eight points; Williams scored six.