RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
Adams Central senior Braylend Reber joined the 1,000-point club and scored a team-high 27 points Friday at the Hangar, but Bluffton’s Declan Grieser more than counteracted Reber’s effort with a monster game, scoring 45 points to lead the Tigers to a 72-58 ACAC win.
The win lifted the Tigers to a 10-3 record (4-0 in the ACAC). The Jets fell to 2-10 and 2-2.
Grieser, a senior, missed only six field goal attempts, going 16-for-20 on twos and 2-for-4 on threes. He added seven of nine free throw attempts to notch his career high total.
He had a few fast break layups, but most of his buckets were from the post area, where he repeatedly either muscled his way to difficult shots in traffic or deftly used his jump hook.
Adams Central coach Casey Adams was impressed. “I thought he used his body really well,” he said. “He created space for himself, and he’s got a soft enough touch. He just has to have a little bit of space and he finishes. Very impressive with his moves tonight.”
Bluffton coach Craig Teagle agreed. “He does a great job using his body,” he said. “He’s got good footwork, and he’s got a little jump hook that’s hard to stop, and when he gets it going, you know, good things happen for us.”
But for more than three quarters, there was some doubt about whether Grieser’s big night would be enough. With 4:13 to go in the game, Reber got fouled on a drive and hit his first free throw to reach his milestone of 1,000 career points. Officials stopped the game briefly for fans to honor the four-year varsity star. Unfazed by the hoopla around the accomplishment, Reber returned to the line and calmly sank the second shot to pull the Jets within seven at 58-51.
Grieser had an answer, though. At the 3:42 mark he corralled his own three-point miss and put it in to make it 59-51. On Bluffton’s next possession he converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Tigers up by double digits for the first time at 63-51.
The Jets never closed to within less than 10 the rest of the way.
Still, Coach Adams was pleased with his team’s effort against the highly regarded Tigers. “I was proud of our guys,” he said. “We made many improvements in a lot of categories tonight, and it’s definitely in the right direction. You know, we’re in a tough slump right here and we tell them it’s the hardest thing to come out of in whatever sport you’re playing, you know. Bluffton is a very strong, well-coached team, and they executed and did a lot of good things on both sides of the floor. We get better in those kinds of games.”
The Jets certainly looked better than their record in the first half, jumping out to an 18-17 lead after one quarter, largely on the strength of Reber’s 14 points. He hit a three, three twos, and all five of his free throws in the period, missing only one shot.
Mavrick Becher hit a pair of threes early in the second quarter for the Jets, but the Tigers still managed to hold 28-26 lead until, with 3:03 left, Andy Geels launched a three ball from the left corner to put the Jets up, 29-28. Unfortunately for the Jets, Grieser scored consecutive baskets on a put back and a nifty 10-foot bank shot to give the Tigers a three-point lead. Then with one second left, Bluffton sophomore Gibson Grieser sank a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 35-29 at the half.
The Jets hung tough in the third quarter, closing to within two at 41-39 with 4:01 left when Lawson Deathe made two consecutive three-pointers in 35 seconds, exciting the home crowd. The second one was from well behind the arc, just to the right of the top of the key.
But as happened several times in the game, Declan Griser put the brakes on the Jets’ momentum by taking charge offensively, with back-to-back baskets on a jump hook and fast break layup. Though Reber responded with two free throws, the Tigers scored four of the last five points in the quarter and took a 49-42 lead into the final frame.
Coach Adams was happy about Reber’s 1,000-point achievement. “I am super proud of Braylend,” he said. “You know, that’s not easy to do, no matter what size school you are, who you’re playing, where you’re playing. To achieve that as a senior is pretty special.”
Reber drove to the basket aggressively all night, drawing fouls 10 times and getting awarded 18 free throws. He made 14 of them, to go with his 5-of-9 on twos and 1-of-3 on threes.
Adams Central scoring: Reber 27, Deathe 15, Becher 8, Drew Johnson 5, Geels 3.
Bluffton scoring: Declan Grieser 45, Gavin Grieser 12, Marshall Gerber 6, Gibson Grieser 5, Maxwell White and Maddox White 2.
Adams Central was 7-for-15 (47%) on twos, 8-for-22 (36%) on threes, and 20-for-24 (83%) on free throws. Bluffton was 25-for-39 (64%) on twos, 4-for-11 (36%) on threes, and 10-for-13 (77%) on free throws.
The Jets had nine turnovers, the Tigers eight.
Adams Central will travel to Manchester Saturday.
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