(Central coach Rodney Walker draws up the last second play)

 

Evansville Central trailed Evansville Harrison by five points with 48 seconds to play. Somehow, Central had the ball with the game tied and 1.4 seconds left, but the Bears needed to go the length of the court. That was no problem as Blake Herdes threw a baseball pass to Julian Johnson who tapped it out to Boston Steers for the buzzer-beating three and the Central win!

 

The game started slowly for everyone not named Brady Cato. The sophomore wing for Central scored eight of Central’s first ten points as he knocked down two triples. He helped the Bears take a 13-10 lead to the second.

 

Central’s lead reached eight points before Terrence Ringo’s defense propelled Harrison back into the game. The lanky senior blocked four shots in the first half and made Central think twice about coming into the lane. Dashawn Willett and Jahni Summers carried the Harrison offense in the first half.

 

The third quarter was back and forth as Julian Johnson came off the Central bench to give the Bears a boost. The undersized forward attacked and made plays each time he touched the ball. Despite not playing in the first half, he ended up with ten points, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

 

Summers started to cook midway through the third. Since both teams were in the bonus for a chunk of the third, he also reached the foul line a lot. He scored ten points in the third, and Harrison finished the quarter on a 12-0 run.

 

Leading by eight after three, Harrison built on its lead early in the fourth. Summers made two free throws to push Harrison’s lead to 11 points with under five minutes to play.

 

It seemed like Harrison was going to put the game away until Steers hit a corner three. After a defensive stop, Johnson made a free throw before grabbing his miss and converting a three-point play. It was suddenly a four-point game.

 

The margin stayed in that range for a few minutes before Herdes made a floater in the lane. Caiden Byrd came up with a steal on the inbounds pass and found Londyn Morris for a three-point to tie the game with 29.8 seconds left.

 

After milking the clock, Harrison turned the ball over.

 

That set up the Steers game-winner as time expired off an amazing full-court play.

 

Central won 54-51. The Bears will play Reitz for the sectional title tomorrow night.

 

Herdes finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four steals, three assists, and one major hockey assist. Cato tallied 11 points and six rebounds. Byrd had ten points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Steers recorded six points and two rebounds.

 

Summers led Harrison with 22 points and eight rebounds. Willett added 11. Ringo recorded five points, seven rebounds, and five blocks. Darhyus Suggs had eight points.