After a hard-fought battle with Edinburgh at home in the quarterfinal of the Johnson County Tournament, Woodmen boys basketball will head into a semifinal match up with 5-6 (1-2) conference rival Franklin Community.

In the fourth game of the season, the Woodmen traveled to Franklin to take on the Grizzly Cubs in a hard fought 43-40 loss. The 3-point loss early in the season still lingers on the minds of many players. 

“We played them well all the way to the end,”sophomore Ethan King, guard, said. “We followed our game plan, but we just needed to clean up a few small mistakes and keep the intensity up to get a win over them this time around.”                                                             

Franklin comes off of a commanding 65-47 win over Greenwood Christian Academy in the opening round of the tournament. The Grizzly Cubs got hot early with a 10-0 lead in the first and never looked back from there. 

“I think if we can slow them down and keep the pace of the game with how we want we’ll be good,” junior Jake Mosemann, guard, said. “They have a high speed offense, and if we can control the ball and play at our pace, it will be a competitive game.”     

The biggest thing that hurt the squad Tuesday night against Edinburgh was turnovers. There were a total 22 turnovers on the offensive end. Limiting that number is important for a win in any game, especially against a solid offensive squad.             

“We need to limit turnovers,” Coach Joe Bradburn said. “It’s as simple as that. Limit our turnovers and play at our pace on offense. If we stick to our offensive scheme, we will be successful.”

Franklin puts out a lineup with a lot of size and athleticism. With only two rostered players being under 6’0 tall, the Woodmen will need strong play from their frontcourt seniors Elimikan and Campbell. 

“Rebounding will be huge for us,” Coach Bradburn said. “They have a big athletic lineup and getting boards on both ends will be a big deal for us. Our bigs need to play well and play physically. Jabar (Elimikan) has been growing into his role and Carter (Campbell) has been playing well in the paint. It’s just like every other game, get boards and limit turnovers.”

The Woodmen defense played well against Franklin during their first matchup, holding them to 10 points lower than their season average. The leading scorer being junior guard Micah Davis who averages 19.3 ppg. 

“Obviously, Micah is one of their most if not the most talented players on their team,” junior Cade Kelly, guard, said. “I mean he’s getting a ton of D1 looks and offers so if we can limit him and make him take bad shots or even get him in foul trouble it can definitely help us slow them down.”                                                  

Junior guard Mosemann has been a focal point for the offense over his two years as a varsity starter. His 3-point shooting ability has proved to be a factor in nearly every Woodmen win. But as scouting reports develop, teams can better prepare for Mosemann, and help from other teammates creates better looks for more guys.  

“They’re going to have a scheme for Jake,” Coach Bradburn said. “There’s no doubt about it. Everyone does, and if we can get help from other guys and spread the floor, it’ll create more looks for him and other shooters on the floor.”

The Woodmen and Grizzly Cubs face off tonight at Whiteland at 6p.m. for a shot to go to the County championship game.