Collective effort pushes Granville boys basketball past Bloom-Carroll

On Feb 25, 2023

GRANVILLE — Senior Dylan Niedermeyer certainly hit the longest shot of the night, but freshman Jakob Culver might have hit the two biggest Friday for the Granville boys basketball team.

The oldest and the youngest Blue Aces combined to send them past visiting Bloom-Carroll. Niedermeyer’s three-quarters court heave at the end of the first quarter, and Culver’s two 3-pointers essentially bookending the scoring lifted Granville to a 50-44 victory in a Division II second-round game.

“Everybody is ready to come off the bench to do something to contribute,” Niedermeyer said. “It’s just who is going to shine at what time.”

No. 7 Granville (14-10) plays No. 2 River Valley (18-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a district semifinal at a site to be determined. The Vikings, whose only loss since Jan. 3 came in double-overtime to Shelby, beat No. 10 Linden-McKinley 64-52 on Friday.

Granville opened the game nearly six minutes without a basket before Culver’s 3 from the right wing, which touched off a 14-0 run that included Niedermeyer’s unbelievable 75-foot shot in the final second of the first quarter. Culver’s second 3 with in the fourth quarter pushed the Granville lead to 42-38 as the No. 9 Bulldogs clawed back but could never get over the hump.

“I didn’t really have much confidence until recently,” Culver said. “The older guys have gotten me to start shooting the ball during games. I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable, and everyone else is just getting me involved. I am just very grateful for them.”

Granville, which fell 62-55 at Bloom-Carroll on Dec. 31, led 22-14 before the Bulldogs (11-12) used an 8-0 run to briefly tie the game before the Blue Aces took a 24-22 lead to halftime. Senior Michael Whitcraft sparked the Bulldogs, hitting a trio of 3s and scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points in the second quarter, snapping a long drought of their own.

The Blue Aces stayed a step ahead in the third quarter as junior Jase Becker scored two baskets in the paint lofting shots over taller defenders to make it 35-30 going to the fourth quarter. Five different Bulldogs, including senior Owen Conrad twice, scored during the final eight minutes to keep the pressure on the Blue Aces, but Culver mixed in his clutch 3 among six foul shots for junior Alex Engle.

“Granville did a good job of causing us some problems, slowing stuff down,” Bloom-Carroll coach Ryan Davis said. “We wanted to try to get something going a little bit quicker on the offensive end. That for us like most people has to come from the defensive end. We were doing a decent job of getting stops, but we didn’t do a very good job of getting them sped up.”

Eight of Engle’s 11 points came in the fourth quarter to compliment Becker’s 12 for Granville. Junior Dante Varrasso added eight.

The Blue Aces continue to play without senior Rex Rader because of injury, and coach Chris Powell has thrust additional responsibility on his young players off the bench. Sophomore Carson Murphy matched Culver’s two 3s.

“We need guys to step up. You are on the floor for a reason. I am not just putting you out there as filler,” Powell said. “The confidence of those guys to be able to step up and make the plays when they need to is huge. These guys all trust in each other. Our two best players are passing to guys that had no varsity experience until this season, and they are willing to do it.”

Bloom-Carroll hit a rough patch after its earlier victory against Granville, losing eight of 10 games against a difficult schedule. The Bulldogs, however, rebounded to recently win three consecutive, and were nipping at the Blue Aces’ heels all night, receiving 12 points from junior Jackson Wyant, and senior Michael Malone added five.