Though Greensburg kept on track for a league title Tuesday night it had to do so with its second straight one-point win, edging Spearville 39-38 at Haviland.
   After trailing by as many as seven early in the third quarter, the Rangers went on a quick 6-0 run to draw within one, only to see the Lancers score the last five points of the third to enter the final round up by six.
   Jarrett Schaef finally gave GHS the lead on a runner from the lane to cap another Ranger 6-0 run, Greensburg later leading 38-35 with just under 30 seconds left after Schaef hit one of two free throws.
   The Lancers grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds on their next possession until a put back and one on a free throw by Mitchelle Ackerman knotted the score at 38. 
   David Cesmat hit the first of two foul shots with 24 seconds remaining to give Greensburg its 39-38 advantage, then rebounded an Ackerman miss with time running out.  It was after Cesmat passed the ball to senior guard Eric White that Spearville got new life.
   Saying his son was doing what he’d seen done in a college game, Coach Dave White could only look on as Eric threw the ball in the air in an effort to kill the remaining time and deny Spearville a chance to foul to regain possession.
   “That was just foolishness,” the elder White said later.  “The ceiling there’s not high enough to kill all that time.  They called timeout before it came down, so they get it back with one second left.
   “I told him (Eric) to let them foul him next time.  Even if he misses the free throw they aren’t going to have time to rebound it, turn around and get a shot off.”
   With a single second restored to the scoreboard Spearville inbounded from half court, a high pass to the baseline being deflected out of bounds off the extended hand of Cesmat.  Though the buzzer sounded as the ball sailed over the line, Spearville Coach Tim Dusin contended less than a second had expired.
   White simply told the officials at that point to make a call.
   “I told them it’s their call and I didn’t want to stand around and argue about it,” White said.  “So they looked at each other and said the game was over since the buzzer sounded.”
   Now 6-0 in league play, Greensburg has four road games standing between it and an undisputed league championship.  Of those four, White said Friday’s game with Fowler could be the biggest challenge.
   “They’re just a real Jeckyll and Hyde team,” White said.  “I mean, they play Meade close and then lose to Minneola.  They take South Central to two overtimes and then get blown out by Moscow.  It’s hard to know which team will show up when we got down there.”
   Key to Fowler’s potential is a frontline that features a 6-5 (Nick Canton) a pair of 6-4’s (Jeremiah Goodwin and Josh Zortman) and a 6-3 (Jared Harris).  Greensburg, meanwhile, is without the services of 6-2 junior forward Shane Engelken, who’s now been diagnosed with a cracked bone in his foot in addition to the high ankle sprain he suffered January 15 in Meade.
   White acknowledged Engelken’s absence has forced his team to adjust to a different alignment and allotment of playing time.  Engelken was averaging over 20 minutes a game, with Thomas Derstein and Billy Stensland platooning so far as his replacement.
Girls win again…
   Lindsey Heft, meanwhile, got the hot hand early and often for the Lady Rangers, the senior wing hitting for 22, in leading her team to a 45-28 win over the Lancers.
   Kacey Fulton followed her 21-point performance of last Saturday with another 12 points in the win.
   Greensburg built a sizeable 24-9 halftime lead, enabling them to keep Spearville at arm’s length the second half.