GREENVILLE – The Green Wave hosted the Arcanum Trojans in an in-county, non-conference varsity boys basketball matchup Friday night, but it was Arcanum’s dominant second-half performance that proved to be the difference in a 63–47 Trojan victory.
“We just tried to stay steady and not make it more than what it was,” Arcanum coach Kevin Brackman said. “I give our guys a ton of credit, give his guys a ton of credit. That’s a great high school basketball game.”
Greenville opened with a quick 5–2 lead before Arcanum surged back to win the first quarter 17–13, fueled by four made three-pointers. Greenville countered with three triples of its own.
The Wave pushed the tempo in the second quarter and built a 32–27 lead with 1:01 remaining. Arcanum closed strong, trimming the deficit to 34–33 at halftime.
“It was us implementing things we have been working on with our roster to create some situations, create energy, and create opportunities for us,” said Greenville coach Matt Hamilton.
Brackman said the defensive message at the break was simple: “We gave up 34 in the first half, and we gave up 38 last night (in the 68–38 win over Bethel). We wanted to just sit down and guard.”
Greenville scored first in the third quarter to take a 36–34 lead, but that would be its final advantage of the night. Arcanum responded with a decisive 16–3 run to seize a 50–39 lead heading into the fourth.
“We go into halftime with a one-point lead, and we talk about learning to win, executing the right things we need to do, and we fell apart in the third quarter,” Hamilton said. “Turnovers and shot selection wasn’t what it was in the first half, which derailed us.”
Arcanum never let up, outscoring Greenville 13–8 in the final frame to secure the 16-point win.
“I give our guys a ton of credit for the way we came out and started the second half,” Brackman said. “The third quarter and the first three minutes of that fourth quarter, when the game mattered most, we only gave up eight points.”
Hamilton credited Arcanum’s discipline down the stretch: “In the end, they stayed disciplined for four quarters with what their game plan was. We didn’t, and that was the difference.”
Brackman praised Greenville’s effort as well: “I give Coach Hamilton a ton of credit. He is kind of seeing the fruits of his labor. That team he put on the floor—everything they shot went in, they were getting to the line, and they were physical. They crashed the boards harder than we did early, so the energy they brought propelled their fans, and it made the atmosphere great.”
Arcanum improves to 2–0, while Greenville drops to 0–1.
The Trojans were led by Cameron Ball, who scored a game-high 18 points. Ben Hamilton added 12, and Charlie Weiss contributed 10, giving Arcanum three players in double figures. Eight Trojans total reached the scoring column.
Greenville’s John Barr led the Wave with 10 points.
BOXSCORE:
ARCANUM 63, GREENVILLE 47
ARCANUM – C. Ball 18, B. Hamilton 12, C. Weiss 10, J. Mote 7, C. Hamilton 6, M. McCans 4, G. Garno 4, C. Kessler 2 – TOTALS 18 15-25 4 63
GREENVILLE – J. Barr 10, D. Conway 9, I. Kerg 8, JJ Jim 5, E. Fatter 5, M. McMahon 3, L. Thorp 3, G. Genham 2, L. Noble 2 – TOTALS 11 10-17 5 47
3-POINTERS
Arcanum 4 (C. Weiss 2, G. Garno 1, B. Hamilton 1)
Greenville 5 (I. Kerg 2, JJ Jim 1, E. Flatter 1, M. McMahon 1)
SCORE
17-16-17-13 63 Arcanum
13-21-05-08 47 Greenville
