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GHS pulls out gritty win against Owen Valley
The Greencastle boys' basketball team was the beneficiary of a tighly-contested game when Owen Valley visited the McAnally Center Tuesday night. The Tiger Cubs used toughness and grit to pull out the win 44-42.
"It was tough," GHS coach Troy Greenlee said. "It was a good win just because we did win. In the last two games we've really struggled to get into much of a flow offensively. We just haven't hit the shots we usually hit. We're getting the shots and just not putting them in the basket like we were early in the season."
Throughout the game, Greencastle was in attack mode. In the first quarter the Tiger Cubs dropped three threes while also attacking the paint successfully. Senior Colyn Foxx, junior Ryan Coble and freshman Colin York all hit a three and senior Brody Bollman scored a bucket and completed a three-point play.
Hustle plays like Bollman's three-point play or Coble's persistence on the glass helped Greencastle make up for its poor shooting. Coble grabbed eight boards while GHS went 16-34 from the field.
"That's something we've got to focus on here in the next week," Greenlee said. "We have North Mont on Friday and sectionals on Tuesday so that's going to be a big part of how well we do, if we can get our scoring fixed."
After a 20-13 halftime lead Greencastle's shooting woes allowed the game to get close. The Tiger Cubs only scored five in each the second and third quarters.
Greenlee believes improving the team's shooting is crucial due to the teams that the Purple Pride will be facing in the sectional.
"The teams we play are high-powered teams offensively," Greenlee said. "Danville is fifth in the state, Tri-West is seventh, I believe. They both put up some really high numbers. We're going to have to be able to defend them and we have to put our share of points on the board. We know we have shooters. It's just a matter of getting them into that rhythm to where they are hitting shots."
As the it went into the fourth, it became a back-and-forth game. The Patriots took the lead 33-32 with six minutes to go before Coble made a nice pass to Bollman for the shot.
Steals began to rack up and defense was fueling the Tiger Cub offense. Greencastle had 11 steals to Owen Valley's two.
Later in the quarter, Coble won a rebound battle that led to a Bollman basket. In the end it was hustle and free throw shooting that allowed GHS the win. Bollman went four-of-six from the line and Coble went two-for-two.
"Defensively we are playing pretty well. We are active," Greenlee said. "I know our guys will work hard. This group of seniors has always been a group that we know when we put them on the floor, they are going to bust their tails. Overall it was a good win."
At Greencastle
Owen Valley 13 9 7 13-42
Greencastle 20 5 5 14 -- 44
Individual scoring
Owen Valley 13-27 9-9 42 (King 4-8 3-3 13, Sturgeon 3-6 9, Daffron 2-2 4-4 8, Wood 2-4 2-2 7, Campbell 2-4 5) Greencastle 16-34 8-11 44 (Coble 6-12 3-4 16, Bollman 4-8 5-7 13, York 2-5 6, Mitchell 2-3 4, Foxx 1-3 3, Gerard 1-3 2)
Team Stats
3-point shots: Owen Valley 7-14 Greencastle 4-9 (York 2-3, Foxx 1-3, Coble 1-3) Rebounds: Owen Valley 18 Greencastle 12 (Coble 8, Mitchell 1, Gerard 1, Bollman 1, York 1) Assists: Owen Valley 8 Greencastle 7 (Bollman 4, Coble 3) Steals: Owen Valley 2, Greencastle 11 (Bollman 3, Mitchell 2, York 2, Hughes 1, Foxx 1, Gerard 1, Coble 1) Fouls: Oen Valley 16 Greencastle 12