Bloomington South came into the Orange Pit Friday night with an undefeated record, a No. 2 state ranking in Class 4A, an Indiana University recruit and the state’s all-time winningest coach.
Columbus East wasn’t intimidated.
The Olympians stayed close for most of the game before the Panthers hit 10 nine consecutive free throws in the final 2:33 to pull away for a 67-53 victory.
“I think it’s the best basketball game we’ve played all year for four quarters,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “I thought we played extremely hard — everybody. I thought for the majority of it, we played pretty smart basketball. We communicated better than we’ve communicated in any game, and I think tonight, we grew. We talk about maturing as a team, and I think our team grew tonight.”
The Olympians (3-9) became the first team to score at least 50 points on Bloomington South (14-0) this season. They were able to do that thanks in large part to Tyler Boyer, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points.
“We started out in a funk this year, and I just told them, ‘Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting,’” Chitty said. “They’re good shots. We’re not taking bad shots. You just have to take them. They’re going to go for you.”
The Panthers used a 9-0 run to overcome an early 4-3 deficit and take a 12-4 lead. East then scored the next seven points to cut the lead to one, but Bloomington South finished the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 23-13 advantage.
The Panthers outscored the Olympians only 16-14 in the second quarter and led 39-27 at halftime. After an exchange of baskets to open the third quarter, Boyer hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring East within 41-35 midway through the third quarter.
After that, however, the Olympians turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, and Bloomington South scored the final six points of the quarter to go up 47-35 heading to the fourth. After the Panthers hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth, East scored seven in a row to cut it to 50-42.
The Olympians came within 53-46 on a layin by Chase Bergman with 3:56 remaining, but Bloomington South got a 3-pointer from Noah Jager and a three-point play from James Bomba to end any thought of an upset.
Daniel Murphy scored 12 points, and Bergman added 11 for East. IU recruit Anthony Leal scored 22 for the Panthers, while Jager, who is headed to Army, had 14 points, six rebounds, eight assists and eight steals.
“South is just a very good team,” Chitty said. “Those guys are very good, and I thought our kids played extremely hard against them.”
The Olympians received a big scare in the final minute of the third quarter when senior center Seth Chandler went up for a rebound and came down hard on his left shoulder. He was down on the court for about 10 minutes before being helped to the training room.
“They think when he landed, his shoulder got compressed, and they think there’s some nerve issues there,” Chitty said. “Then, he hit his head. It’s really painful. He’s in good spirits, and he’s going to be OK.”
