02-15-08
BY JACK BULLOCK
FARINA - One of the most successful boy's high school basketball programs in the south part of the state added another paragraph to their hoops' journal on Friday night.

South Central rode a big third quarter scoring surge to down Midland Trail Conference rival Odin, 72-51, in the season finale for the Cougars in front of a Senior Night crowd at home.

Head coach Gary Shirley - in the process - saw his club pick up yet another MTC title and the teams' 20th win on the season.

Hitting on 6-of-7 shots to begin the second half – South Central turned a close game into an relatively easy victory to close out the conference season at 7-0 while finishing the regular campaign at 20-7 heading into the Wayne City Class 1A Regional next week.

Playing without 6-foot-4 junior forward Tanner Bushue (flu) the rest of the Cougars put a poor first half behind them after intermission by outscoring Odin 41-23 in the final 16 minutes.

Isaac Grapperhaus – South Central's 6-foot-5 junior center – scored eight of his game-leading 22 points during a third quarter blitz that turned the contest into a rout for the home club.

Three other Cougars – Will Crain, Devin Hall and Aaron Robb scored 12 points on the night.

South Central – after leading just 31-28 at the half – scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to open up a double-digit advantage.

The Cougars put the game away by hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Odin's Tyler Parrish scored 19 points for the Eagles (14-11) on the night with C.J. Spitler adding 15. Those were the only two Odin players in double-figures for head coach Mike Finckbone's club.

“All year we have had other kids step up when teams put the clamps on Tyler (Parrish) but tonight we didn't have anyone step up I didn't think,” said Odin head coach Mike Finckbone. “On the defensive end Grapperhaus killed us and we couldn't hit the bunnies.”

Early on it was Odin that stepped up. Or to be more correct – Parrish stepped forward.

The Eagles broke a 7-7 tie with Parrish doing the bulk of the first quarter damage for Odin.

He scored 10 of his 19 points in the opening stanza.

Parrish converted on a fast break lay in on a pass from Spitler and then added a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give the Eagles its largest margin at 12-7 with 3:48 remaining.

Six-foot-four senior Broch Thomas combined with Hall and Grapperhaus for six-consecutive points to put the Cougars back on top at 17-15.

Odin's Caleb Mathews nailed a 15-footer to close the frame even at 17.

Coach Shirley's club committed an uncharacteristic eight first quarter turnovers.

“I guess they (his seniors) got a little more emotional before the game and they kind of played tentative in the first half and I was really kind of surprised about that,” said Coach Shirley. “But in the second half we did a better job of attacking and we shot the ball better. We shut them (Odin) down for four or five trips there in the third quarter.”

South Central was on the brink of putting the game away in the second quarter with an 8-2 run with Shea Burton scoring on a fast break lay in for a 25-19 lead.

But the Eagles responded with Spitler scoring five straight points to close the half.

When his first of four 3-pointers connected Odin trailed by just three points heading into the locker room.

The Cougars busted loose by connecting early in the third quarter.

Leading just 31-28 at the break – South Central scored on five unanswered shots in the first 2:52 of the second half.

Hall had a pair of those buckets.

This 5-foot-9 senior guard opened the half with a pull up jumper and a drive in the lane - sandwiched around a 17-footer from the right corner by Robb - which forced an Odin timeout at 37-28.

Burton got into the third quarter act with another midrange shot on a pass from Hall and then nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to finish the scoring run and to push the lead to 42-28.

“We knew that they (South Central) were going to make their runs but we have to be able to answer back,” added Coach Finckbone. “We didn't do that in the second half. We didn't get the shots to fall for us.”

Spitler tried to keep his club close by hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter for Odin.

His second one cut the Eagles' deficit to 50-38 with 1:12 to go.

Spitler added a long two-point shot from the right corner and Parrish scored on a drive in transition to whittle the South Central lead to 52-42.

But Grapperhaus closed the quarter with a transition score and the Cougars opened the fourth period with an 8-2 run.

Seniors Hall and Thomas closed out their final home games with each scoring a basket in the final two minutes.

When Hall put back his own missed shot for a rebound score – South Central led 70-47.

Thomas added a score in the lane with just over a minute left before the coaches emptied the benches.

Coach Shirley reached yet another milestone with his 18th season of 20-plus victories.

“Everyone stepped up in the third quarter and we got good looks at the basket,” added Coach Shirley. “Isaac (Grapperhaus) stepped up and we got him into a better position to score.”

South Central held a 45-32 rebounding edge on the night and defensively forced Odin into a 20-of-72 showing from the field.

But the Cougars committed 19 turnovers with 12 coming in the first half.

“We are better than that against the press,” added Coach Shirley when talking about his team's first half struggles against the Odin full-court pressure. “We dribbled down the sidelines right into congestion and there is no need for that. That was ridiculous.”

South Central hit 29-of-54 shots from the floor in the victory.

Odin received just 13 points from players other than Parrish and Spitler.

“I don't know what we shot the second half but it was not pretty,” said Odin mentor Mike Finckbone. “Our big kids have got to score inside for us to be successful. Our guards did a good job but our big guys have to do a better job.”

Odin – despite losing its last three games – will head into the Woodlawn Regional next week with wins over four of the teams in the field ( Patoka, Sandoval, Webber Township and Woodlawn) and a narrow loss to the top-seeded Clay City club.

“You don't want to go limping into the regional but I think these games against tough teams will help us in the long run,” added Coach Finckbone. “I told the kids it is a whole new year and we have to take care of business against Sandoval before we get to the Woodlawn game.”

South Central will have to be ready for a good field at Wayne City.

“We better show up ready to play every night,” added Shirley – talking about the upcoming Class 1A Regional. “You better be ready to play some defense and rebound. You have to go play hard.”

Odin (51) - Parrish 5 2 3-4 19, Spitler 2 3 2-5 15, Murray 1 0 0-3 2, Rains 2 0 0-0 4, Mathews 3 0 1-2 7, Briones2 0 0-0 4, Clucks 0 0 0-0 0. Tate 0 0 0-0 0, Minor 0 0 0-0 0, Shaffer 0 0 0-0 0, Keller 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-15, 3FG-5, FT-6-15, PF-18.
South Central (72) - Gillett 0 0 0-0 0, Hall 6 0 0-0 12, Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Robb 5 0 2-2 12, Mitchell 0 0 0-0 0, Burton 3 1 1-3 10, Crain 2 1 5-6 12, Arnold 0 0 0-0 0, Thomas 2 0 0-0 4, Grapperhaus 9 0 4-7 22.
2FG-27, 3FG-2, FT-12-18, PF-16.
Fouled Out - Parrish - Odin.
Technical Fouls - None.