Greensburg Daily News

 

Gary Dudgeon
Greensburg Daily News

Greensburg is going where only one other Pirate team in the past has trod. The 1965-1966 team headed by Coach Keith Greve made it to the Elite Eight his first year with Greensburg. By winning the first game that team had the opportunity to play for an Indianapolis Semi-State title.

No other Greensburg basketball team has advanced that far.

Last year’s Pirate baseball squad got to the final game of the semi-state before being beaten by Crawfordsville and the softball team of 1998 lost in the final game of the state tournament. In addition the Pirates have had girls golf teams qualify for the final day of the state championship and boys cross country teams win semi-state, but no Pirate basketball team has gotten this far other than the 1966 team.

Standing in its road this year is what appears on paper to be a very formidable opponent - the Princeton Tigers. They are ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A poll and are powered by a group of sophomores who have seldom tasted defeat. That is certainly true this year as Princeton has an unblemished 27-0 record heading into Saturday’s game.

The two teams are much alike in that neither team is exceptionally tall. Princeton’s tallest starter is Rontray Chavis who stands 6’4”. Using a six-man rotation almost exclusively, the Tigers will bring Rontray’s twin Dontray off the bench much like Stacy Meyer brings Andrew Dougan and Shawn Burcham into his line-up.

The other four players in the rotation are Trevor and Brandt George, another set of twins, who range 6’3” and 6’2”, respectively. The guards are sophomore Jalen Packer, 6”2” and Jordan Simmons, 6”1”.

Packer is the field general of the Tigers’ offense and has been labeled “A Division 1 recruit in the making” by Gibson Southern’s first-year coach Jeremy Henney. Prior to coming to Gibson County, Henney was a basketball administrator at Davidson University who currently sports the NCAA’s leading score Stephon Curry.

The Chavis twins aren’t far behind.

The teams leading scorer is Rontray Chavis, 17.4 points, six rebounds and more than three steals. Trevor George, who ranks second on Princeton’s all-time scoring list follows with a little over 15 points per game. Packer brings 14.5 points and 5.9 assists to the table and Dontray Chavis scores 11.9 points and adds five rebounds to the Tigers’ total.

Meyer, who has been starting Elijah Harter and Ty Miller at the forwards, Greg Dougan at center and Latroi Wright and Adam Wilson at guards, can match up reasonably well at every position but the guard spot manned by Wilson. He will have to give up three inches to the smallest of the Tiger guards.

One intangible that the Pirates have is their post-season route. Princeton’s staff knows full well that the Pirates have already eliminated No. 3 Batesville and No. 9 Indianapolis Roncalli as well as an athletic North Montgomery squad which ousted No. 5 Danville. The fact that they have played against Evansville recruit Colt Ryan and Purdue recruit DJ Byrd hasn’t gone unnoticed either. Simply stated, the Pirates are used to playing teams with Division I level athletes and multiple athletic players.

The Tigers are coached by Tom Weeks whose overall record is 61-37 in four years at the school.

Stacy Meyer has a 34-33 record in his three years at Greensburg and is 92-89 overall in an eight-year career. Included in his resume is a state championship when he was at Southwestern of Shelby County.

The winner of this game faces the winner of the semi-state game at Lafayette between Delta and Rochester.

Delta has a 22-4 record this year, and it is coached by veteran Paul Keller who has a 271-129 in 17 years at Delta and a 357-192 in his 24-year career.

Rochester, the only other top-10 team left in Class 3A is ranked No. 7. It has a 22-3 record this year and Coach Rob Malchow has compiled a 106-56 record in his seven years at Rochester.

The Class 1A semi-states are contests involving four ranked teams.

Jac-Cen-Del, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, kicks off the Seymour activities when they meet No. 7 North Daviess. The Eagles have a 23-2 record with their only losses to Batesville. They are coached by David Bradshaw who has a 191-104 record in his 13 years in Osgood.

North Daviess has a 21-5 record this year and Coach Brent Dalrymple has compiled a 115-97 in nine years at the helm of the Cougars.

In the northern half of the state, Lafayette Central Catholic faces off against Triton.

Triton’s 23-2 record matches the Eagles and includes a big 60-58 victory last week over Bowman Academy who was previously ranked No. 2 in the polls. Triton’s two losses have been a narrow 45-42 loss to Bremen and a 70-64 loss to Class 3A No. 7 Rochester. It is coached by Jason Groves who has a 73-22 in his four years leading the Trojans.

Their opponent is Lafayette Central Catholic whose 20-6 record was good enough for a No. 6 ranking in the polls. Their losses this year have all come at the hand of Class 4A and 3A schools.

Coach David Barrett leads the team and he has compiled a 78-26 record during his four years at the school

Greensburg's Record

DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Nov. 25 North Decatur {2A} W 73-38

Nov. 29 South Dearborn {3A} W 62-38

Dec. 5 at Lawrenceburg {2A} L 49-63

 

Dec. 6 Batesville {3A} L 72-78

Dec. 12 at East Central {4A} L 42-54

Dec. 19 at Jennings County {4A} W 57-40

Dec. 20 Franklin County {3A} W 59-40

Dec. 27 North Decatur {2A} W 61-44 (Holiday tournament)

Dec. 27 South Decatur {1A} W 72-45 (Holiday tournament)

Jan. 9 Shelbyville {3A} W 56-46

Jan. 10 Connersville {4A} W 50-45

Jan. 16 at Batesville {3A} L 57-61

Jan. 24 at South Decatur {1A} W 50-47

Feb. 6 Rushville {3A} W 76-61

Feb. 7 at Jac-Cen-Del {1A} L 71-74

Feb. 12 at Franklin County {3A} W 65-45

Feb. 14 at South Dearborn {3A} L 62-66

Feb. 21 at South Ripley {2A} W 46-44

 

Feb. 24 Lawrenceburg {2A} L 60-63

Feb. 27 East Central {4A} L 53-55

Mar. 6 (n)Batesville {3A} W 62-54 (sectional)

Mar. 7 (n)Scottsburg {3A} W 64-53 (sectional)

Mar. 14 (n)Indianapolis Roncalli {3A} W 43-40 (regional)

Mar. 14 (n)North Montgomery {3A} W 62-57 (regional)

Mar. 21 (n)Princeton {3A} 3 p.m. semistate Seymour