Greencastle sends Amis off with win over Cascade in home finale

Though he only scored a free throw Tuesday night (pictured), Greencastle senior Judah Amis pulled down four boards and had two blocks while keeping Cascade's Connor Stevens in check when on the floor as part of a 46-40 Tiger Cub win over the Cadets on senior night.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Tuesday night’s home finale for Greencastle against Cascade initially had the feel of another county game featuring the Cadets earlier the season.

North Putnam and Cascade met Dec. 19, a game the Cadets won in a low-scoring affair 36-34, and by halftime Tuesday, the Tiger Cubs were behind 20-19 after a sluggish second quarter.

Greencastle pulled it together in the second half, holding Cascade to four points in the third quarter and going 6-for-6 from the field in the fourth quarter to get back in the win column with a 46-40 victory.

“We were really good defensively tonight,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said. “Cascade scored 40 points, hitting two threes in the final 10 seconds and a three at the end of the first half; really, we held them to 31 points against a Cascade team that has scored some points and beaten some decent teams.

“We made them look worse than they actually are and it all started defensively.”

Neither team scored consecutive baskets in the opening quarter as the difference between the two squads in an 11-9 period was a three-point basket for the hosts compared to a free throw for the visitors.

Sam Gooch scored two of the first three Greencastle baskets around a Nathan Sutherlin score while Connor Sanders scored five-straight points for Cascade after a Tyler Hege basket.

Anthony Adams hit the sole three of the quarter for the Tiger Cubs in the quarter but was soon saddled with two fouls and would be in foul trouble the rest of the night.

Cody Evans and Brady Trebley scored baskets to end the first eight minutes of play but Evans started the second quarter with a three as the hosts built up a quick six-point gap at 15-9.

Sanders and Toby Savini scored the next two baskets to trim the gap to two as a slower pace took hold of the second period, though back-and-forth scoring allowed Greencastle to keep the lead until the final seconds of the half when Sanders hit a three at the horn to give Cascade a 20-19 lead.

“Our pace was slow in the second quarter, somewhat boring and not efficient,” Rector noted. “It was the only thing we talked about at halftime. We had to do a better job of pushing the pace in the second half.

“It led to easy baskets in the second half because of our movement and ability to get the ball to the right spots on the floor.”

Points still didn’t flow freely in the third quarter but that was more down to Greencastle’s defense giving little to the Cascade offense to start the second half,

Adams and Sutherlin scored to retake the lead for the Tiger Cubs as the hosts only allowed two free throws to Gavin Weakley and a Sanders hook shot to fall in the period.

Taygan McRoberts scored on a drive and Gooch added two more baskets to give Greencastle a 29-24 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Gooch opened the scoring in the final period before Sanders and Weakley trimmed the gap to three with back-to-back baskets.

The Cadets would get no closer, however, as the Tiger Cub offense picked its spots efficiently, getting baskets from Gooch, Sutherlin and Evans at the rim, the latter adding a basket off a McRoberts steal, to shoot the lead out to 40-30.

Nick Parsons scored eight points in the final 22 seconds for Cascade but the damage had already been done as Greencastle gave senior Judah Amis a victory in his regular season finale at McAnally Center.

Amis, though only scoring on a late free throw, had four rebounds and two blocks while also keeping Sanders, who finished with 18 points, in check when on the floor; notably, Sanders scored his five points in the opening quarter after Amis had taken to the bench.

“We’re really thankful to have had Judah as part of our program this year,” Rector said regarding the senior forward. “You will not find a better kid, a better young man, and I can’t speak enough of the kind of person he is.

“Regardless of his role in a game, it never changes the way he supports his teammates. With that said, he had a great game tonight as Sanders is a good player, having some games where he has affected (Cascade) winning.

“Judah executed the gameplan on Sanders well and really helped us win a game tonight.”

Scoring

Cascade (13-25 2FG; 3-11 3FG; 5-6 FT) — Co. Sanders 18, Parsons 10, Weakley 4, Savini 4, Hege 2, Trebley 2

Greencastle (17-27 2FG; 2-9 3FG; 6-12 FT) — Gooch 19. Evans 11, Sutherlin 7, Adams 5, McRoberts 3, Amis 1

Statistics