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By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Greenwood trailed Hartville for much of the Class 2 sectional game in Mountain Grove on Wednesday until three minutes remained in the game.
That was when the Blue Jays’ sophomore standout Aminu Mohammed scored a basket and got fouled. He knocked down the free throw to give Greenwood a one-point lead and momentum.
Then, in a flash, the momentum swung again as Mohammed fouled out after scoring 28 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. If the Blue Jays were to extend their season, they needed someone to step up.
Enter Grant Harper.
“When (Aminu) went out, I huddled all my seniors up and I said, ‘Is this your guys’ last game? Are we going to go out like this? Let’s go, let’s bring the intensity, and we came out and we gave it all we could give it. We know Aminu is a valuable piece, but we’re a team, it’s a team sport, and we came out and won it.” Harper said.
Harper scored a basket to extend Greenwood’s lead to three points after Mohammed fouled out. Hartville’s Wyatt Mahan responded with a three-pointer to knot the game at 66.
Both Harper and Tommy Pinegar would get to the free throw line to extend Greenwood out to a 70-66 lead with 46 seconds left in the game.
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“Big players rise to the occasion,” said Harper. “It’s fourth quarter, we’re down, and I’m not going home. I love this sport. I wasn’t going to let my season end, and I gave it all I could give it.”
With 27 seconds on the clock, Hartville’s Braden Branstetter scored to bring his team within two.
But Greenwood had an answer once again.
Pinegar returned to the line with 15 seconds remaining and made both shots to put Greenwood up by four points. After a Hartville miss at the other end, John Sharp knocked down another free throw to extend Greenwood’s lead to five.
Hartville knocked down a three as time expired to make the final 73-71 in favor of Greenwood.
Harper lifted the Blue Jays by scoring 15 his 20 points in the second half including three 3-pointers in the game.
“We’ve known all year he (Harper) is a good shooter. He didn’t know it, he didn’t have his confidence, but he had the confidence tonight, and he was the difference in the game in the fourth quarter,” Greenwood coach Darren Taylor said.
Even though Mohammed wasn’t on the court for the final minutes, he still contributed from the bench.
“It’s a bad feeling I’m not on the court, but at the same time, my presence means more to them. I can’t just go on the bench and just be quiet, I have to help them,” he said. “At the end of the game, I fouled out, and my teammates, I give them all the credit. They came up big down the stretch like that, really big for the team. My teammate Grant, he took big shots late in the game.”
Hartville led by six after the first quarter, and scoring was even in the second. The Eagles extended their lead to nine to open the fourth, but Grant Harper opened fire, adding 11 points in the first four minutes to bring Greenwood back within striking distance.
The Eagles’ penetrating offense was a problem for Greenwood much of the game, but the Blue Jays were able to step up defensively in the latter part of the game.
“We knew they were quick and fast and great at penetrating the basketball, and that was one of our main goals, to stop the penetration,” Taylor said, “and we did a really sorry job of it until maybe the first part of the third quarter, and then the last four minutes we did a better job as well.”
“I’m very proud of the team for staying with it (after Aminu fouled out). The man we put in for Aminu (Tate Dukewits) got us a huge rebound and block out and he’s done that all year long. He’s been a good role player. Grant did a good job taking care of the ball, Tommy made his free throws…it was a good effort out of those kids after Aminu was gone.”
Hartville head coach Brett Reed gave credit to Greenwood.
“They played a really good game and he does a great job” he said. “I wish we would have protected our lead a little bit better in the fourth quarter. I think our youth showed through a little bit, and I’m sure when I look back at film there’s going to be something I could have done to maybe help that, but right now I don’t know what it is. It’s something we all can learn from, and I told the boys we learn a lot more from failure than we do from success. It’s something we can all learn from basketball-wise. We congratulated our senior Wyatt Mahan on a great career and on what he did for our program…he’s going to do great things.”
“I think my biggest takeaway from the season is that we had several issues on the court and off the court that were at times a struggle and we found a way to battle through adversity and I think we became a closer-knit group and more of a family toward the end. We were able to accomplish what we did because of some of those times of struggle like I talked about. When we look back on it, we’re going to try not to have so many times of struggle next year and just be better because of it. We’ll get back to doing things the Hartville way.”
The Eagles end their season with a 22-6 record.
Greenwood, which advanced to 26-3 on the season, will take on Marionville Saturday at noon at Republic with a trip to the Class 2 Final Four on the line.
Scoring for Greenwood: Aminu Mohammed, 28; Grant Harper, 20; Tommy Pinegar, 13; John Sharp, 10; Garrett Litherland, 2.
Scoring for Hartville: Wyatt Mahan, 20; Eli Cook, 16; Ryce Piper, 14; Braden Branstetter, 8; Brady Ward, 8; Cody Mahan, 5;
