A momentum-swinging half-court buzzer beater ignited a second-half surge that carried Whiteland to a 57-54 victory over Seymour’s boys basketball team on Tuesday night.

Seymour (5-2) controlled the game from the opening tip, jumping ahead 11-0 and leading 29-19 as the first half closed.

That’s when Whiteland forward Max Sullivan grabbed a rebound, dribbled to mid-court and let fly a desperate shot that hit nothing but net. The improbable 3-pointer whittled the Owls’ double-digit lead to 29-22 and lifted the Warriors’ spirits as they headed into halftime.

After the break, Whiteland (5-2) looked like a new team, attacking Seymour’s defense and consistently getting shots around the basket. The Warriors shot 11-for-15 from the field in the second half and took the lead for the first time with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Thanks to the shooting of Landon Fritsch and Marcus Brooks, the Owls stayed close but Whiteland’s 10-for-11 foul shooting in the final minutes sealed the game’s outcome.

The loss ended Seymour’s nascent three-game winning streak and interrupted the team’s hot start to the season.

At 5-1 entering Tuesday’s game, the Owls were off to their best start since the 1974-75 team opened with an 8-1 record (hat tip to SHS basketball historian Bud Shippee).

The loss also extended Seymour’s losing streak to Whiteland to 11, the last victory coming in 2009.

A red-hot shooting performance by Fritsch had hometown fans believing the losing streak would come to an end. The sophomore made five first-half 3-pointers, including three in the game’s first four minutes to give the Owls an 11-0 lead.

A reverse layup by Josh Rennekamp and a jumper in the lane by Eli Meyer stretched Seymour’s lead to a game-best 26-14 with 1:29 to go in the first half.

Whiteland, however, outscored the Owls 8-3 over the final 75 seconds, capped by Sullivan’s half-court heave.

The Warriors built an 8-0 run to narrow the gap to 31-30 halfway through the third quarter. A 7-2 run then pushed Whiteland ahead 37-35 and forced Seymour to chase the rest of the contest.

Fritsch finished with a game-high 25 points, followed by Brooks’ 11 and Meyer’s eight.

Whiteland ended with four double-figure scorers, led by Sullivan with 15. Drew Higdon was a headache for Seymour defenders throughout the second half and finished with 14.

Seymour will get a week off before playing at New Albany (2-4) next Tuesday.