Tiger Cubs survive scare from Eagles

Greencastle sophomore Ryan Coble attempts a 3-point shot from the corner over the arm of South Putnam's Trevor Long. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The boys' basketball teams of Greencastle and South Putnam game Friday was a contrast in styles as the Tiger Cubs motion collided with the physical Eagles on South Putnam's homecoming game.

Greencastle came out on top, but not before being pushed to the brink by its county rivals 56-52.

"It was one of those games that never got into a great rhythm for either team, but we were able to make enough plays on both ends of the floor to win," GHS coach Troy Greenlee said. "Some games are just gutted out, that's kind of what this was tonight. I was really proud of the way our kids battled."

Tiger Cubs beat Eagles in JV game

The Greencastle boys' junior varsity basketball team defeated South Putnam 34-22 on Thursday in McAnally Center.

Employing an aggressive full-court press the entire game, as well as mixing defenses in the half court, the young Tiger Cubs forced 26 Eagle turnovers, 13 in both halves.

Many of the turnovers in the third quarter led to easy transition baskets as Greencastle stretched a three-point halftime lead to as many as 12 points and never looked back.

The solid third quarter ballooned the Eagles' deficit from 14-11 at halftime to 25-15.

Substituting freely in the final stanze, GHS outscored SPHS 9-7 in the fourth. Greencastle's Noah Cook led all scorers with 14 and Cole Edgar had nine.

Jake Carmichael and C.J. Menke both had nine points for the Eagles.

Although not scoring, Anthony Rossok and Jacob Sanders both ahd excellent floor games, altering many shots and deflecting passes, GHS coach Doug Hudson said.

Greencastle (3-2, 2-0 West Central) hosts Edgewood at 6 p.m. Saturday.

South Putnam (22): Carmichael 9, Menke 9, Schroer 2, Stewart 2.
Greencastle (34): Cook 14, Edgar 9, Nicholson 5, Wilkerson 2, Costin 2, Lewis 2.

South Putnam 8 3 4 7 -- 22
Greencastle 7 7 11 9 -- 34

The Tiger Cubs (4-3, 1-1 West Central) were led by sophomore Ryan Coble, who lit up the Eagles for 24 points and made five-of-13 from behind the 3-point line.

Coble's virtuosity was nearly matched by Eagles senior Trey Moore, who had 22 points and seven rebounds.

"We didn't lose the game, Greencastle won the game," South Putnam coach Troy Burgess said. "I can live with getting beat. Nobody likes to lose, but Troy does a great job there and their kids executed the plays."

For much of the game, South Putnam's offense was little more than give the ball to Moore and letting him lower his shoulder on a drive to the basket. Its defense was stout, but relying on Moore offensively left them searching for points when Moore was sent to the bench after picking up his second foul in the first quarter.

Sophomores Jimmy Rutter and Trevor Long had eights each for South Putnam, and Rutter grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Tiger Cubs vaulted out to a 15-8 lead after the first quarter, with Coble score their first nine points, all on 3-pointers.

South Putnam fought back in the second, stiffening its defense, taking Coble away and finding scorers beyond Moore.

The Eagles closed the deficit to 25-23 at halftime and, after briefly leading when junior Jake Schroer sank all three free throws when he was fouled on a 3-point try, trailed just 36-35 after the third.

In the fourth, Coble re-awoke after two silent quarters.

"The Coble boy did what he had to do down the stretch," Burgess said. "He got the ball in his hands and either scored or got fouled and went to the free throw line. That's what you've got to have in those kinds of games.

"You've got to have somebody that wants the ball and knows what to do with it, and he did."

South Putnam stayed in the game as Moore continued getting to the basket and trailed by three after Coble knocked down a pair with 13 second remaining.

Moore missed an off-balance 3-point try on the other end and GHS junior Brody Bollman grabbed the rebound.

Scoreless in the first half, Bollman finished with four points and five rebounds and he was sent to the line with a three-point lead and a chance to ice the game with 2.7 seconds remaining. He missed both free throws.

Moore grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled, sent to the line for a one-and-one bonus attempt.

He sank the first and had to intentionally miss the second.

"That's a situation in the game that happens a lot, and you really should work on that, and I never have," Burgess said.

His attempt missed the rim and was blown dead. The Tiger Cubs then inbounded to Bollman with a two point lead. He was again sent to the line, and this time he sank the pair to put the game away with 0.6 seconds remaining.

"I hope it gives him a lot of confidence, because he's a kid that we need to perform for us," Greenlee said. "We think he's hard to guard and he compliments some of the other guys on our team, so we've got to get him going.

"Whatever we have to do to get him going, we're going to do because he's a big part of what we do."

The win was reminiscent of last season's matchup when the Tiger Cubs won 53-52 after then-senior Nate Christy sank a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock.

Greencastle hosts Edgewood Saturday at 7:30 p.m. South Putnam plays at Southmont at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a make-up game that was postponed earlier this season.

Greencastle (56): Coble 7-17 5-7 24, Mitchell 2-6 2-2 7, Winslow 2-4 1-3 5, Bollman 1-3 2-5 4, Gerard 1-3 2-2 4, King 2-9 1-3 7, Newgent 1-1 3-4 5, Hughes 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholson 0-2 0-0 0, Foxx 0-1 0-0 0. Total 17-48 16-26 56.
South Putnam (52): Moore 8-14 6-10 22, Rutter 4-8 0-0 8, Long 3-6 2-2 8, Mitchell 2-5 2-2 6, Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Schroer 2-6 3-3 7, Carmichael 0-0 1-2 1, Masters 0-1 0-0 0. Total 19-42 14-19 52.