WHITE HALL - In the second semifinal of the White Hall-North Greene sectional, Jack Graner sank a three-pointer as time expired to give Calhoun a dramatic 59-56 win and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
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The Warriors led at the end of the first quarter 12-8, then were ahead at halftime 28-22. Calhoun then led 47-39 after three quarters, with the Saints rallying to outscore the Warriors 17-12 in the fourth quarter, but it was Graner's heroics that sent Calhoun to the sectional final.
Lane Eilerman came up big for the Warriors with 21 points, while Connor Longnecker did the same, scoring 20 points. Chase Caselton hit for nine points, Jack Zipprich had seven points, and Graner's three points gave Calhoun the win.
Calhoun head coach Casey Longnecker was ecstatic about the win by his young squad.
“We have a good team with our freshmen through seniors,” he said. “We are a pretty young team and hadn’t been in this type of situation. It was a big boost of confidence for our boys to win a sectional semifinal. Springfield Calvary is a nice ball club. When we came away with a halftime lead it was also a confidence boost. Our kids did a good job of boxing out and containing their top players. They did a really good job.”
Calvary ends its season at 25-10, while the Warriors are now 23-11, and face Winchester West Central for the sectional title and the right to advance to the Elite Eight in the super-sectional game at the Jacksonville Bowl Monday night, with the winner playing the Abington-Avon sectional winner, either Camp Point Central or Glasford Illini Bluffs, who defeated Peoria Christian 59-34 in the second semifinal at Abington-Avon, Monday night. Both games start at 7 p.m.
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