Junior King Tripp had 11 points and senior Alex Horney added 10 for Greeneview, which won its third straight game and improved to 9-11 and 8-7 in the South Division.
“The kids played great,” said Rams coach Billy Harchick. “The defense was great. That’s what we focused on in practice. We’re undersized, but our kids played with heart. We asked them to battle down low and they did. Giving up 37 points, that’s one of the best (defensive performances) we’ve had all year. They fought hard. I’m very proud of them.”
Junior Keegan Guenther scored 17 points for Catholic Central, which fell to 13-5 and 11-2 in the OHC South.
The Irish clinched at least a share of the OHC South title with a 75-62 victory at Triad on Tuesday. With one more victory in its last three conference games, the Irish can win the outright South Division title for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
“There weren’t a lot of messages (after the game),” said Irish coach Matt Mullen. “Our effort and attitude is there. We didn’t give up. As a coach, that’s what you’re looking for. We’ve said all year that we’re not good enough to say we’re going to beat anybody, we’re just not, but anybody can play bad and we did. It’s a great opportunity to examine what we need to do.”
The Irish shot 27.2 percent from the field (15-for-55), including 0-for-17 from the 3-point line, said Irish coach Matt Mullen.
“You’re not going to win games in high school (shooting like that),” he said. “You’re just not.”
The Irish led 11-10 after the first quarter, but the Rams outscored them 16-4 in the second quarter to grab a 26-15 halftime lead.
The Irish went on a 9-2 run to open the second half. They cut the lead to four points at 28-24 on a three-point play by Guenther, but the Irish wouldn’t get any closer.
Greeneview went on a 7-0 run to end the third quarter, capped by a Climie 3-pointer to take the lead for good at 35-24. They’re hoping to continue to step up their game as they head into the postseason, Harchick said.
“This is the time you want to get hot,” he said. “The tournament draw is on Sunday. Overall, it was a huge win for us and the last three games have been huge for us.”
The Irish host Troy Christian in a nonconference game on Saturday night. They have three straight conference games to finish the regular season — all at Jason Collier Gymnasium. Catholic Central hosts Southeastern on Tuesday, West Jefferson on Wednesday and second-place Cedarville, which is two games back of the Irish at 10-5, on Friday.
“Our main goal is to win the league,” Mullen said. “We’re in a position to do that. We have to finish out on Tuesday in order to do that. It would be a great accomplishment. We talked to the kids about how it doesn’t happen all the time at Catholic Central. There’s not a ton of OHC championships and the guys have had that circled all year. We still have an opportunity to do that. We have to get past tonight and move forward.”
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