BORDEN — The Henryville boys’ basketball team spent much of the first three quarters digging itself into a big hole.

It took the Hornets less than four minutes to lift themselves out.

Still, host Borden turned back the furious charge from its West Clark rival, closing out the final 3:23 on a 10-2 run to post a 64-55 victory on Saturday night. The win assured the Braves (8-4, 4-1 Southern Athletic Conference) at least a share of the SAC championship.

The Hornets (10-7, 2-1) could still share the title with Borden if they win their final two SAC games — at South Central on Jan. 30 and home against Crothersville on Feb. 6. If they stumble or Lanesville suffers a loss in one of its last two conference contests, the Braves will take the title outright.

“It’s good for the school and the community,” said Borden coach Doc Nash about winning the SAC crown. “To me, a tie is as good as a loss and that’s the way I want the kids to look at it. The good thing is that the ball was back in our court after Henryville beat Lanesville. We had to win those last two games and we got it done.”

But it turned out to be a lot more difficult that it first appeared.

Two free throws from Dalton Wagoner gave Borden a 39-21 edge two minutes into the third quarter, and the Braves still led by 17, at 49-32, with less than a minute to play in the period.

That’s when Henryville finally rose off the canvas, jump-started by a 3-pointer from Taylor Stone and back-to-back steals from Cory Munk that led to layups on the other end.

Within 10 points for the first time since early in the second quarter, the Hornets kept their foot on the gas, collecting the first seven points of the final quarter when Munk again took a steal at midcourt distance and Steven Mayfield drove in for a pair of baskets.

“We felt that in the second half we competed,” said Henryville coach Perry Hunter. “In the first half, they took it to us and we just took it. We didn’t deserve to win, it wouldn’t have been right for us to play one half and expect to win.”

That doesn’t mean the Hornets didn’t come close. They missed what would have been the tying 3 on two possessions, then got to within 54-53 on a 3 by Mayfield with 3:23 to play.

But the rally ended as abruptly as it began.

Consecutive baskets by Michael Chester and a pair of free throws by Chris Beam pushed the Borden lead to 60-53. From there, the Braves would make just enough free throws to win, hitting 4-of-8 inside the final minute. On the night, Borden struggled from the stripe, knocking down 22-of-34 attempts.

“We turned the ball over and missed layups and free throws,” said Nash. “You should hit 80 percent (on free throws) — no one is guarding you. We missed layups during both halves. There are lots of ways to lose, and we almost found them all.”

The Braves built their cushion with a pair of 10-0 runs in the second quarter that were keyed by Beam and Chester. Both finished with 20 points for the game, with each doing most of the damage in the first half.

Up 21-14, a jumper from Beam and a putback from Wagoner were just the prelude to back-to-back 3s from Beam and Chester that made it 31-14 with two minutes before intermission. The Braves led 33-17 at halftime.

Mayfield came on in the second half to lead Henryville with 17 points. Munk added 12 points in the loss for the Hornets.

“Steven is a really good basketball player, but tends to float,” said Hunter. “When he’s aggressive he’s as good as — if not — the best player on the court.”

Wagoner ended up with 14 points for the Braves, made more important due to less-than-normal production from the rest of the Borden frontline. Chance Clark and Lee Kirchgessner were held to a combined two points.

“He carried us the entire game tonight,” said Nash of Wagoner. “He had the toughest defensive assignment, he drove like he is supposed to and shot when he was supposed to. He played like he is capable of playing.”

Borden will travel to Orleans on Friday, while Henryville will head to South Central on Friday.



HENRYVILLE 8 9 22 16—55

BORDEN 11 22 16 15—64

Henryville (10-7, 2-1 SAC) — Munk 12, Stone 6, Weeks 6, Mayfield 17, Robertson 3, Brishaber 7, Wallace 2, Liburd 2.

Borden (8-4, 4-1 SAC) — C. Beam 20, Kirchgessner 2, Potts 5, Chester 20, B. Beam 0, Clark 0, Little 0, Wagoner 14, Rich 3, Adams 0.

Three-point field goals — Henryville 6 (Stone 2, Weeks 2, Mayfield, Brishaber); Borden 4 (C. Beam 2, Chester, Rich).

Rebounds — Henryville 28 (Liburd 7); Borden 41 (Wagoner 8).

Turnovers — Henryville 12, Borden 14.