Danville’s size, strength too much for Tiger Cubs

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

DANVILLE — Losing to the much larger, athletic Danville Warriors 60-42 Tuesday night in a boys’ high school basketball game that was much closer than the final score indicated, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs fell to 1-1.

“I was really happy with the way our guys played. We played really, really hard. They competed the entire game and Danville is really good,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said.

The Tiger Cubs battled the Class 3A No. 14-ranked Warriors to a virtual stalemate in the first quarter.

Greencastle hit an efficient 6-of-11 from the field in the period en route to a 13-12 lead at the end of the stanza. Gavin Bollman had five of his team-high 15 points in the quarter and Jack Hutcheson added four points for the Cubs.

All five starters for the Warriors are taller than 6-3, with two of them reaching 6-6, while the Cubs only have one starter taller than 6-2. That didn’t deter Greencastle from attacking the basket as Danville made a special point to harass Colin York, the Tiger Cubs’ leading scorer.

“Their (Danville) athleticism and length hurt us a little,” Rector understated.

Danville opened the second quarter with a 16-3 run to take control of the period. The Warriors hit 8-of-11 of their shots from the floor in the period. Greencastle struggled by only garnering two field goals in 12 attempts. This allowed Danville to take a 34-20 lead into the intermission.

“If you take away the lapse in the second quarter, they went on a run, it could have been a one- or two-possession game,” Rector said.

Greencastle wouldn’t allow the Warriors to run away in the second half. The Tiger Cubs kept the game at the pace they wanted and efficiently chipped away at the lead.

Brody Whitaker keyed the offense in the period with eight points, including a couple of three-pointers. York hit his only trey late in the quarter to cut the lead to 44-33 in Danville’s favor heading into the fourth quarter.

The Tiger Cubs did a good job of not allowing the Warrior press to force them into turnovers or into a pace they didn’t want to play. Greencastle only turned the ball over eight times in the game.

“Brody is doing a really good job of handling the ball. Against a team with that athleticism, eight turnovers is good. I’m really pleased. We didn’t get some shots to fall that we are accustomed to,” Rector said.

The Warriors extended the lead in the fourth quarter as they began to wear down the Cubs. Danville’s Alec Burton scored eight of his game-high 30 points in the quarter. Toby Hiland nailed a couple of three-pointers as they extended their lead to the final margin of 60-42.

The Warriors hit over 50 percent (25-of-47) from the floor on the night and outrebounded the Tiger Cubs 29-18, but the play of the Cubs’ defense was OK, according to Rector.

“Sixty (points) is a little high for us, but short of a couple of runs, we played pretty well defensively. Alec (Burton) is really good. He is athletic and can score,” Rector said.

Bollman led the way for the Tiger Cubs with 15 points, while Whitaker added 13.

“Gavin has progressed a lot as a player. He was really good for us tonight,” Rector said.

The Cubs will open Western Indiana Conference play on Friday as they travel to West Vigo for a girls/boys doubleheader.

GREENCASTLE (42) – C. York 2-15 0-0 5, Whitaker 5-10 1-2 13, A. York 0-0 0-0 0, Hutcheson 3-5 1-3 7, Bollman 6-8 1-2 15, Wood 1-1 0-0 2, Parmley 0-1 0-0 0, Hasty 0-0 0-0 0, Sutherlin 0-0 0-0 0, Baxter 0-0 0-0 0, Alexander 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 FG, 3-7 FT, 42 TP.

DANVILLE (60) – Burton 13-16 3-6 30, Cowart 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 0-6 0-0 0, Ware 3-6 1-1 7, Comer 1-4 2-2 4, Hiland 3-7 0-0 9, Roof 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 4-6 0-0 8, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0 25-47 FG, 6-9 FT, 60 TP.

Greencastle 13 7 13 9 – 42

Danville 12 22 10 16 – 60

3-point shooting – GHS 5-16 (York 1-8, Whitaker 2-5, Bollman 2-2, Parmley 0-1), DHS 4-9 (Burton 1-2, Jones 0-1, Comer 0-1, Hiland 3-5). Rebounds – GHS 18 (Hutcheson 3, Bollman 12, Parmley 1), DHS 29 (Burton 10, Cowart 3, Jones 1, Ware 5, Comer 3, Hiland 3, Thompson 3 ) FG Pct. – GHS 42.5, DHS 53.2. FT Pct. – GHS 42.9, DHS 66.7. Turnovers – GHS 8, DHS 6.

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