Southwood headed to State Finals

throws for the 6456 final score and the Knights claimed the semistate title and earned a trip to Indianapolis this Saturday, March 25, where they will face Class 1A No. 8 Indianapolis Lutheran.

Cole Winer led the Knights in the championship game with 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, followed by Oprisek with 17 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, and Lehner with 15 points, two assists, and one rebound.

Stout added seven points, four rebounds, and three blocks, followed by Will Winer with four points, three rebounds, and one assist, and Bryce Wilcox with two rebounds, one assist, and one block.

Southwood (15-12) and Indianapolis

Lutheran (19-7) tip off the State Finals with the Class 1A championship game at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, March 25, and Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Semifinals

Southwood never trailed in the Saturday morning semifinal against Fountain Central, led by as much as 12 points in the third quarter, but had to fight off the second-ranked and 23-4 Mustangs over the final 12 minutes to advance to the championship game.

Cole Winer got the Knights going with a basket 45 seconds into the game but Fountain Central tied it up a minute later.

As the teams tried to get a feel of the moment, two free throws from Lehner and a steal and layup from Will Winer helped the Knights settle in with a 6-2 lead with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

Fountain

...continued from Page 7 with 3:33 left to make it a one-possession game with 3:33 remaining.

Lehner answered with a 3-pointer of his own for a 58-52 lead with 2:58 remaining.

For the final 2:10, the game came down to free throws with the Knights not quite slamming the door, going 5-10 from the line, but the Southwood defense, including a timely blocked shot from freshman Bryce Wilcox with 41 seconds left kept it a two-possession game and allowed the Knights to hold on for the win and a chance at a semistate title.

Lehner and Cole Winer led the Knights with 21 points and three rebounds each, with Lehner grabbing six steals and dishing out an assist, and Winer adding three steals and two assists.

Oprisek finished with nine points, six rebounds, three blocks, and one assist, followed by Stout with six points, five rebounds, and two blocks, and Will

Winer with six points, six steals, three rebounds, and one assist.

Wilcox added two blocks and two rebounds, and Jaret Denney had two steals and a rebound.

Central’s Will Harmon nailed a 3pointer midway through the first quarter to cut the Southwood lead to 7-6 but the Knights went on a 9-2 run with four points from Cole Winer, a steal and layup from Will Winer, and a 3-pointer from Lehner to take a 16-8 lead with 1:57 left in the quarter.

Cole Winer increased the lead to 21-13 with a 3pointer on an inbound play with 6:10 left but the Mustangs stayed close, cutting the lead to 23-17 with 3:56 left in the half. Then Oprisek made his mark.

The Southwood senior scored on back-to-back rebounds and putbacks, followed by an inside shot on an assist from Cole Winer to give the Knights a 29-17.

Southwood took a 31-19 lead into the second half as the teams went backand-forth for the first three minutes with the Knights still hanging on to a double-digit lead at 38-26.

Fountain Central called a timeout with 5:23 left in the quarter and promptly went on a 9-2 run to cut Southwood’s lead to 38-32 with 4:06 left and Harmon nailed two 3-pointers to cut it to 42-38 going into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs kept the pressure on the Knights in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 44-42 with four free throws in the first minute.

The Southwood lead remained two points at 46-44 with 6:12 left in the contest before the Knights opened it up with seven straight points on a layup from Cole Winer, a 3-pointer from Lehner, and two free throws from Cole Winer, to take a 53-46 lead.

Stout’s basket with 3:48 left in the game gave the Knights a 55-49 lead but Harmon kept the Mustangs in it with a 3-pointer