by Tyler Thompson
On February 26, 2022, the Greenfield Knights boys basketball team played United Faith Christian Academy in a State Championship game at Mt. Olive University. They had played them once and narrowly beat them in a thriller winning by one point in overtime. The final score in that game was 73-72. This time, the Greenfield Knights fell to United Faith Christian Academy with a score of 76-69.
The game tipped off at 5:00 pm on Saturday the 26th. UFCA (United Faith Christian) took a quick lead in the first quarter, but the Knights were able to keep it down to a 3 point game at the end of the first quarter. By the end of the first half, the score was 27-34. UFCA had widened their lead. After the Knights conversed, they went back onto the court to shoot before the second half began. Greenfield scored 10 in the third while UFCA continued to build their lead scoring 15 in the third quarter. Going into the final quarter, Greenfield knew they needed to step it up. Throughout the 4th, Greenfield would shorten the point disparity to 7 and have a series of good plays, but UFCA would answer and widen the lead to 10+ once again.
There was hope until the end for the Knights, but the Knights were not able to perform a miracle. UFCA had won the game 76-69.
Aaron Murphy led the Knights all year, and this game was no different. His leadership was apparent all season and he will be missed.
“I'm proud of my team,” he said, “they did good this year. [We] came a long way since last spring, since pickup.” When Aaron checked out of the game for the last time, he and Coach Salter embraced. Aaron Murphy had played his last game for the Knights.
Everyone in that gym could feel the mood amongst the players about the game: disappointed. However, KJ Peten, another senior, described the tone going into the game as confident and excited. Although the Knights came short, they fought hard until the end, though Petenremarked that the Knights were not playing like themselves: “We weren’t playing together."
After a hard fought game, the Knights fell short, but they should be proud of what they have accomplished this season. The Knights finished the season with an overall record of 27-6.
Aaron Murphy gave a final thought that really shows his legacy, his leadership, and the overall tone the team as a whole had this season: “This program really made a change in my life in a positive way. In a way, this program asked for my hustle… and in return I gave them my heart.”
Both our basketball program and our community will greatly miss KJ Peten and Aaron Murphy.
Our boys will be back next year, and they will be hungry for a ring.
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