BB: Lawrence Central gains first league win at Perry Meridian, 60-52

INDIANAPOLIS – Lawrence Central took control in the second quarter of its Jan. 29 Conference Indiana game at Perry Meridian, then the Bears sealed the deal down the stretch with some standout free throw shooting in a 60-52 victory.

Trailing 14-12 after the first stop, Lawrence Central (4-7) motored out to a 25-20 halftime lead and never looked back in locking up its first conference win of the season. 

After Perry Meridian (9-7, 1-4) pulled within a bucket at 38-36 on a 3-pointer from 6’2” junior guard Max Landis (a game-high 19 points) just over two minutes into the final period, the Bears scored layins on their next four possessions to go up 46-42 with 3:42 left in the game.

From that point, Lawrence Central clinched the win by hitting nine of its next 10 free throws and 12 of 14 overall in the fourth quarter. The Bears really roared from the stripe, where they were 19 of 24 (79 percent) compared with just 9 of 17 (53 percent) for Perry Meridian.

Five-foot-nine junior guard Tre Granger led the Bears with 17 points, including an even dozen over the contest’s final five minutes and a perfect 10-of-10 end-game effort from the line. Jared Drew, a 6’4” sophomore guard, added 10 points for third-year coach J.R Shelt’s team.

Paul Person, a 6’3” senior forward, and 5’11” senior guard Jazz Drane joined Landis in double digits for the Falcons with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Next up for Lawrence Central is a Saturday night date against Class 4A No. 12 Hamilton Southeastern (12-2), a 72-47 home Friday night winner over McCutcheon, in the 8 p.m. nightcap of “The Battle at the Big Barn” at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 

Perry Meridian is off till a Feb. 5 Conference Indiana home clash against arch-rival Southport (1-11, 0-5), a 77-63 Friday home loser to league foe Columbus North (9-3, 2-3).

The box score:

Lawrence Central 12 13 13 22 – 60

Perry Meridian 14 6 10 22 – 52

Lawrence Central: Granger 17, Drew 10, Corley 8, Hollowell 7, Gerig 6, Edwards 6, Price 3, Glick 3, Fischel 0, Black 0, Morris 0. 3-pointers: Price. Totals: 20 19-24 60

Perry Meridian: Landis 19, Person 14, Drane 10, Cooper 4, McDuffee 3, Rupe 2, Casey 0, Blackshear 0. 3-pointers: Landis 3, McDuffee, Drane. Totals: 19 9-17 52.

The updated Conference Indiana standings (thru Jan. 29), courtesy of John Harrell’s website:

Bloomington South 5-0 15-0 72.2  53.9   18.3   Won 15 

Bloomington North 4-1 10-3 61.0  52.8   8.2   Won 4 

Pike   4-1  9-4 65.8  59.5   6.4   Lost 1 

Franklin Central 3-2  8-7 46.5  42.4   4.1   Lost 3 

Columbus North 2-3  9-3 66.7  54.7   12.0   Won 1 

Perry Meridian   1-4  9-7 56.7  54.5   2.2   Lost 1 

Lawrence Central 1-4  4-7 62.5  60.7   1.7   Won 1 

Southport   0-5  1-11 52.5  63.4   -10.9   Lost 11