Senior staff writer
Franklin Central senior Grant Pedigo powered the Flashes to a 66-65 home win Dec. 16 against Southside rival Perry Meridian.
Pedigo, a seasoned 6-6 scoring and rebounding threat, overcame the Falcons’ collapsing defenses with precision. He scored 23 points, hitting 10-of-15 shots, while manning the high post. The Flashes are 2-1 heading into the Bob Wetttig Tournament in Richmond, which runs through Friday.
Pedigo put up 10 points and grabbed three rebounds to help the Flashes grab an 18-13 first-quarter lead. The Falcons came back and grabbed a 54-53 lead on a Nate Mills jam. Pedigo’s follow-up on Jake Cerbone’s missed shot was the game winner with 14.5 seconds left.
“Most of my points came from the inside,” said Pedigo, who drew four defenders at times. “We got away from what we started in the first half when we were up by three. We went back to that in the fourth quarter. I tried to man the ball more in the middle and get to the rim. … A win is a win, but I think we should have played better defense.”
Trailing by one point, the Falcons (3-3) missed two free throws with five seconds left with FC’s Wilson Huber grabbing the rebound to ice the game.
Jaylon Howard, a 5-9 senior, came off the bench and scored 17 for the Flashes, who also rely upon Mason Hardiman and Cerbone for offense.
“We have three or four players who can fill it up with 3s, but that didn’t happen against Perry Meridian,” said FC coach John Rockey. That was a good win for us; we’re 2-0 in the conference.”
Mills led Perry Meridian with 17 points and six rebounds; Semaj Danley II and David Jackson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“We gave their shooters too much comfort, and they got into a rhythm,” Perry Meridian coach Brent Keck said. “We have all the pieces to have a good basketball team. You get in a game like this and it’s never decided on just one possession. We have a lot to look at.”