Staff Report
The South Decatur boys freshman basketball team concluded its season with a win in the Mid Hoosier Conference championship game against Triton Central, 36-29 Monday night.
Before getting to the championship game, the Cougars beat Indian Creek 32-30 and Hauser 40-33 last Saturday.
By winning the conference title, South ends their season with a 13-3 record.
In the first round against Indian Creek, South let a fourth-quarter lead slip and pulled off the two point win by hitting clutch free throws to end the game.
Matt Gatewood led all scorers with 12 points. Josh Miller and Kyle Pearl scored six each. Also scoring was Connor Hermesch with four, Patrick Graue with two and Cameron Jordan with two.
In the second round game against Hauser, the Cougars found themselves down at the half by two points. After a competitive third quarter, South Decatur put together a great defensive effort and held Hauser to one point in the fourth quarter.
Leading a balanced scoring attack were Connor Hermesch and Matt Gatewood with 10 points each. Other scorers were Josh Miller with eight, Kyle Pearl with seven, Cameron Jordan with three and Patrick Graue with two.
The championship game saw South jump out to a 22-13 halftime lead in which the Cougars hit four 3-point baskets in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the Cougars were held to just two points and led by just one point. Great team defense and clutch free throws gave South the upper hand in the last minutes as they pulled away for the win.
“We had a couple guys move up during the season, and the boys never gave up,” said coach Jeff Hermesch. “We had to have a total team effort to win this tournament and that is exactly what these boys did. I am very proud of what they accomplished this season.”
