Undersized Greenhills boys fall in Class C district to Napoleon

Jack Schueler picked the ball from the court and launched a desperation 3-pointer from three-quarters of the way down the floor.

The baseball-style throw banked off of the backboard and in as the final buzzer sounded in the Class C district semifinal versus Napoleon at Manchester High School.

Schueller and his Greenhills teammates erupted in celebration.

Final score: Napoleon 59, Greenhills 42.

Its been that kind of season for the 2-19 Gryphons.

More coverage: This Story on MLive.com | Boxscore | District Bracket

Greenhills had no answer for Napoleon's (20-2) big men underneath as CJ Adams and Tyler Piotrowski's combined for 36 points without hardly leaving the paint.

"It's kind of been the story of our season," said Greenhills coach Andrew Wright. "I think our guys are a good group of guards who can make plays on the perimeter, drive the basket, do all those things. But as hard as we work to box out and stuff, eventually we're going to miss a box out or have the inside position and eventually those points add up."

Greenhills benefited from Napoleon shooting poorly, 4-of-15, from the field in the second quarter and trailed 28-21 at the half.

"I thought we were a little sloppy today our mental sharpness wasn't there, I think it showed with all the layups we missed but we stayed with it," said Napoleon coach Jim Dutton. "First half wasn't too bad, we just weren't scoring."

Greenhills had more turnovers (4) than baskets (2) in the third quarter, as the Pirates basically put the game out of reach by outscoring the Gryphons 13-5 in the frame. Napoleon capped the third quarter with a 9-0 run.

Greenhills was never able to pull within 10 of the lead in the final quarter.

"We got some open looks I thought, but we needed to knock down a couple in a row there," Wright said. "They're a very good team and Adams is one of those kind of athletes that's a difference maker."

Adams led all scorers with 26 points, while Connor Tremper led Greenhills with 11. Schueller finished with 10.

Napoleon advances to play Clinton in the Class C district final on Friday.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.