Keaton Lawson
Trailing by 13 points at halftime Saturday night, Columbus East coach Perry Nash told his team not to try to erase all the deficit at once.
So in the second half, the Olympians traded 2-pointers for 3-pointers and free throws for 2-pointers and sent the game into overtime. But unfortunately for the Olympians, Brady Harpe’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the extra period gave Seymour a 59-56 Hoosier Hills Conference boys basketball victory.
“We talked about, ‘We don’t need to hit home runs,’” Nash said. There’s no 10-point shot. There’s no 5-point shot. We have to hit singles. The first half, I thought that’s what got us down. We got a couple points down, and we started playing like we were trying to hit home runs. The second half, we calmed down and started to hit singles, and that’s what really helped.”
East’s Keaton Lawson, who made a free throw with no time left on the clock to give the Olympians a win against Bloomington North on Friday, hit game-tying baskets three times in the final 1:15 of regulation Saturday, the final one a 12-footer from the baseline as time expired. But after Harpe’s 3 in overtime, Lawson’s long 3-pointer in the closing seconds came up a little short.
That was East’s only missed 3-pointer after halftime. The Olympians (4-8, 0-2) went 14 of 17 from the field in the second half and overtime, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
But the Owls (11-3, 3-1) were on fire, as well, hitting 7 of 12 from the game from 3-point range, while committing only four turnovers over 36 minutes.
“They’re fundamentally sound,” Nash said. “I look at their team, and I think that they are similar to us because they have guys that are fundamentally sound, they play hard-nosed defense. It’s what we’re trying to become. They’re a good program, and for us, we got to play ourselves in a way.
“They were better at it tonight,” he added. “They’ve been doing it longer. For us, I think it’s back to the grind, and we’re going to get better day in and day out. I think our guys are tough. It might be one of the toughest groups I’ve ever been a part of.”
Harpe finished with 16 points to lead Seymour. Michael Brooks and Jaylan Johnson each added 14.
Lawson led East with 22 points and eight rebounds. Carter Patterson scored 12 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Jack Fischvogt had 10 points, and Mason Reeves added seven.
“Early, we got zero passes, one ball screen and shot,” Nash said. “They’re a great defensive team. The second half, we started moving the basketball, getting it side to side and then taking our shot, and we started hitting singles.”
Seymour 59, Columbus East 56 (OT)
Seymour;14;11;11;18;5;—;59
Columbus East;7;5;15;27;2;—;56
Seymour (11-3, 3-1): Brady Harpe 5 1-2 16, Bret Perry 1 2-2 4, Parker Thompson 1 1-2 3, Michael Brooks 4 6-8 14, Ethan Silcox 2 0-0 6, Jaylan Johnson 4 6-8 14, Evan Unterscher 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 16-22 59.
Columbus East (4-8, 0-2): Mason Reeves 2 1-2 7, Jack Fischvogt 3 2-3 10, Danny Coriden 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bumbalough 1 0-0 2, Keaton Lawson 8 6-7 22, Alex Duncan 1 1-2 3, Carter Patterson 3 5-6 12. Totals: 18 15-20 56.
3-point goals: Seymour 7 (Harpe 5, Silcox 2); Columbus East 5 (Reeves 2, Fischvogt 2, Patterson).
