Homestead, Griffith Advance
Category: High School Archives Written by Jeff Schoenle
Inside a packed and hot Huntington North gym Saturday afternoon, two schools from different sides of the state punched tickets to their first ever state finals appearance.
In the 4A game, brothers Mark and Chris Johnson squared off with a trip to the state finals on the line.
The game started ominously for Riley, as leading scorer Reontre Lawrence picked up two fouls in the first 44 seconds of play. The 6'0 junior was matched up against 6'9 Caleb Swanigan, and was no match for the Mr. Basketball favorite. Riley was plagued by turnovers in the first half, and Homestead made them pay, converting those miscues into easy points on the offensive end. Both teams played at a frenetic pace, but Homestead maintained a ten point advantage at the quarter break.
It was more of the same in the second, as Swanigan controlled the action on both ends. When he wasn't scoring around the rim, he drew fouls and calmly converted from the free throw line. Many of those looks and looks for his teammates came from the hands of Tahj Curry, who drove and was able to find people for easy shots. Those quality looks gave Homestead a 14 point lead at the half.
Riley would not go away in the third, behind the shooting of freshman Damezi Anderson and senior Jadon Grundy. No shot seemed to be outside of their range, and Riley continued to try and shoot their way back into the game. The Wildcats still had no answer for Swanigan inside, as he feasted on Riley's undersized frontcourt.
Riley cut the deficit to 16, but would get no closer, as Jordan Geist repeatedly attacked the rim for easy layups and Swanigan did the rest.
SB Riley 16 15 17 21 - 69
Homestead 26 19 25 20 - 90
Riley: Damezi Anderson 20pts (7/14 FGs, 5/9 3Ps); Jadon Grundy 20pts (5/9 3Ps); Maurice Scott 15pts (3/5 3Ps), 5ast; Sharmar Dillard 6pts; Reontre Lawrence 2pts, 7ast; Rylen Grundy 2pts; Mahsehyah Carson 2pts; Darrius Moragne 2pts
Homestead: Caleb Swanigan 40pts (13/18 FGs, 13/16 FTs), 17rbs, 3blks; Jordan Geist 21pts (9/19 FGs), 5rbs; Tahj Curry 13pts (5/7 FGs), 9ast; Dana Batt 8pts; Teddy Ray 8pts
Griffith faced off against Bishop Dwenger in the 3A game, with both schools looking for their first trip to the state finals.
Bishop Dwenger jumped out to a 14-6 lead before Griffith found their way by scoring nine straight to end the quarter, including an Anthony Harris triple just before the buzzer.
Griffith turned up the defensive pressure in the second, forcing several Dwenger turnovers. They had trouble solving the Saints' zone defense, which sagged into the paint, daring Griffith's guards to beat them from the outside. Griffith was unable to do so, but managed to get several offensive rebounds, none more explosive than Anthony Murphy's thunderous two hand slam off a miss that gave Griffith a three point lead entering the half.
Dwenger forced the issue in the third, particularly senior guard Kyle Hartman. When guarded one on one, Griffith had no answer for Hartman, as he repeatedly drew fouls or found open teammates for easy looks. Foul trouble began to mount up for the Panthers, as Dwenger reached the bonus with a couple minutes left in the third, and used that to its advantage to take a three point lead of its own into the fourth.
The Griffith size and athleticism began to take their toll in the fourth, as Tremell Murphy started to leave his imprint on the game. The 6'5 junior controlled the paint, grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring with quick moves in the paint. If it wasn't Murphy, it was senior forward Anthony Harris who made the difference. Harris scored 10 of his game high 19 points in the fourth, including a perfect six of six from the free throw line.
Dwenger could not connect on a few last ditch three point attempts, giving Griffith a shot at the 3A state championship.
Bishop Dwenger 14 10 12 9 - 45
Griffith 15 12 6 18 - 51
Bishop Dwenger: Joe Veracco 13pts (5/10 FGs, 2/6 3Ps), 5rbs; Kyle Hartman 12pts (3/4 FGs, 6/9 FTs), 7ast; Marcus Stepp 11pts; Ryan Christman 7pts; Sam Royal 2pts
Griffith: Anthony Harris 19pts (4/12 FGs, 10/10 FTs), 8rbs; Anthony Murphy 10pts; Tremell Murphy 9pts, 7rbs; Kelston Haden 6pts; Torin Dillon 4pts