Tiger Cubs stall Sparkplugs

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Greencastle High School's boys' basketball team overcame a disastrous second quarter Friday night to defeat West Central Conference foe Speedway.

The Tiger Cubs (6-5, 2-0 WCC) picked up a 70-63 victory over the Sparkplugs behind a 46-point second half.

Greencastle entered the second half trailing Speedway, 31-24, after being outscored 21-7 in the second quarter.

But the Tiger Cubs used a 15-3 run to take a five-point lead, 39-34, with 3:15 to go in the third quarter.

Erick Burgeson started the run with a short jumper 18 seconds into the quarter, and Brennan Burks followed with five straight points to bring Greencastle within three, 34-31.

Burgeson and Burks traded two-point baskets to give Greencastle a one-point advantage, and a pair of free throws from Kendall Faust stretched the lead to three.

Drew Evens scored on an inside basket off a pass from Faust to push the Tiger Cubs' lead to five, as Greencastle outscored the Sparkplugs, 22-9, in the period.

"In the second half we had a really good attitude as far as working hard and working together is concerned," Greencastle coach Troy Greenlee said. "We realized that our offense is going to feed our defense, and if we're not playing defense then the offense is going to struggle."

Greencastle led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, but foul trouble for Burks and Faust gave the Sparkplugs a chance to get back into the game.

Speedway used a 10-0 run to cut the Tiger Cubs' lead to one, 51-50.

But Burks came off the bench to give Greencastle a lift, scoring five straight points to push the Tiger Cubs' lead back to six, 56-50.

The Sparkplugs closed the lead to as few as four in the period, but Greencastle managed to hang on to the lead.

After a pair of free throws from Speedway's Taylor Dial cut the Greencastle lead to 58-54, Burks scored on a three-point play to stretch Greencastle's lead to seven.

Speedway came within four one more time in the game after a three-pointer from Dial with 1:18, but the Tiger Cubs shot 11 free throws in the final 56 seconds, hitting nine, to come away with the win.

Burks led all scorers with 21 points, and Zac Remsburg finished with 19 points.

Burgeson finished with seven points, Richardson had six and Drew Evens tallied five.

"Everybody stepped up and contributed for us," Greenlee said. "We want to get as many guys involved as we can. It's just something we have to do if we want to get better."

The Tiger Cubs ended the first quarter with a 17-10 lead, as Remsburg shot 4-of-4 from the three-point line in the quarter.

But Speedway struck back in the second, going on an 11-0 run to take a 31-22 lead.

A two-point basket from Zach Smiley stopped the bleeding, but the Sparkplugs carried a seven-point lead into the halftime break.

"I thought that in the first half we just came out flat," Greenlee said. "The things you gauge to determine how you're playing like rebounding and defense, I don't think we were very sharp in those areas at all. To be honest we got ourselves in a big hole."

However, Greenlee said he was proud of the way his team responded in the second half.

"I was really happy with our energy in the second half," Greenlee said. "That's what won this game for us."

The Tiger Cubs will be in action again Friday at home against South Putnam at 7:30 p.m.

At Greencastle

SPEEDWAY (63) -- Linville 2-8 6-7 11, Prior 1-2 2-2 4, Pedigo 3-5 0-1 6, Walton 5-11 0-0 15, Dunbar 2-6 2-2 6, Dial 7-18 7-9 22, Duman 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 1-1 0-0 2, Fath. 21-41 FG 17-21 FT 63 TP.

GREENCASTLE (70) -- Burgeson 3-5 1-2 7, Faust 1-5 2-2 4, Richardson 2-5 4-4 6, Smiley 1-1 0-0 2, Burks 6-11 8-10 21, Miller 2-4 0-0 4, Remsburg 6-11 2-2 19, Evens 2-2 0-0 5. 23-43 FG 17-20 FT 70 TP.

Speedway 10 21 9 23 -- 63

Greencastle 17 7 22 24 -- 70

3-pt FG -- Speedway 4-19 (Linville 1-2, Walton 2-8, Dunbar 0-2, Dial 1-7), Greencastle 7-16 (Faust 0-3, Richardson 0-1, Burks 1-2, Remsburg 5-9, Evens 1-1). Rebounds -- Speedway 29 (Pedigo, Linville 7), Greencastle 20 (Burks 8). Total fouls -- Speedway 16, Greencastle 20. Fouled out -- None. Turnovers -- Speedway 14, Greencastle 13.

Next Game -- Greencastle (6-5) will take on South Putnam at home Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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