What started out to be a rough game, turned out to be a nail biter

What started out to be a rough game, turned out to be a nail biter.

The Greencastle High School boys' basketball team dropped a close heartbreaker, 57-56, to the Speedway Sparkplugs in its first West Central Conference game of the season.

Things didn't look good for the Tiger Cubs in the first quarter. Greencastle only scored eight points while the Sparkplugs scored 15, but things changed for the Tiger Cubs in the second quarter.

Greencastle unloaded on the Sparkplugs in the second quarter, lighting up the scoreboard with 19 points and some accurate shooting. The Tiger Cubs went 7-for-12 from the field in the second quarter with Zach Remsburg hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give Greencastle its first lead, 25-23, of the night with 2:10 left in the half. Speedway answered back and regained the lead before the half was over.

Coming into the second half, as Greencastle lost what ever they had from the first half and it showed, it only scored seven points in the third quarter while giving up 11.

The fourth quarter proved to be the best quarter for the Tiger Cubs, as they posted 22 points while limiting Speedway to 16.

Speedway controlled the momentum for most of the quarter until the last four minutes. With just a little over four minutes left in the game, Remsburg hit another big three to bring the Tiger Cubs within one point. Both teams battled back and fourth and traded buckets one after another, but Brennan Burks came through for the Tiger Cubs when it was needed. With 2:05 left on the clock, Burks pulled a three-point play with his lay-up basket and his freebie from the charity stripe, to tie the game 54-all. But it would be the last two minutes that would prove to be the hardest for the Tiger Cubs.

Speedway broke free and scored two more points for a 56-54 lead, but Greencastle caught another break as Michael Richardson got fouled and went to the line for two with six seconds left on the clock. Richardson hit both freebies and it looked like the Tiger Cubs were destined for overtime, but that wasn't the case.

With just two seconds on the clock, Speedway drew a foul and went to the free throw line for two, but would only need the one it got for the final.

Despite losing his fourth straight game, GHS Coach Troy Greenlee said he was happier with the way his team performed Friday than they have in the last three games.

"We just gave up too many second chance shots off rebounding and that made the difference in the game, in my opinion," Greenlee said. "The difference between this loss and the last three we have had is that we competed in this game."

The Tiger Cubs were paced by Burks who had 22 points for the night while Cal Gard chipped in 11 points and Richardson had five points. Remsburg put up 12 points for the Tiger Cubs while Quinn Fenlon chipped in two.

At Speedway

Speedway 15 15 11 16 - 57

Greencastle 8 19 7 22 - 56

GHS - Burgeson 0 0-0 0, Fenlon 1 0-0 2, Remsburg 4 0-0 12, Faust 0 0-0 0, Richardson 1 2-2 5, Gard 4 0-0 11, Troyer 2 0-0 4, Smiley 0 0-0 0, Burks 9 4-4 22, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals - FG 21-54, FT 6-6, TP 56.

SW - Ford 0 0-0 0, Dial 7 2-3 20, Emerson 10 0-0 20, Dunbar 1 0-0 2, Dietrich 0 0-0 0, Rush 0 1-2 1, Pedigo 5 0-4 10, Walton 2 0-0 4, Watts 0 0-0 0. Totals - FG 25-50, FT 3-9, TP 57.

3pt - GHS 8 (Remsburg 4), SW 4 (Dial 2). Assists - GHS 4 (multiple players), SW 3 (multiple players). Rebounds - GHS 22 (Burks 10), SW 18 (Pedigo 7). Steals - GHS 3 (Remsburg 3), SW 8 (Emerson 3). Total Fouls - GHS 10, SW 11. Fouled Out - Pedigo (SW).

Next Game -- Greencastle plays at South Putnam Friday at 7:30 p.m.