Fourth-quarter rally still not enough as Greencastle falls short against Speedway

Greencastle senior Nick Gilliam works his way to the rim in the fourth quarter of the game against Speedway on Friday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The Greencastle boys' basketball team knew it had an athletic mismatch against Speedway on Friday, but the team fought to the finish in a 58-46 loss.

The Tiger Cubs (1-7, 1-0) focused on rebounding and defense in the game, trying to overcome the size and speed the Sparkplugs brought to Greencastle High School.

Sophomore Lane Winslow finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, and 5'9" freshman guard Ryan Coble chipped in another five boards.

"We just talked about making sure that we take care of the ball as well as we could and fighting for offensive rebounds," GHS coach Troy Greenlee said. "For a team that is as experienced and athletic as (the Sparkplugs) are, I thought our kids competed very well."

The hosts were missing starting senior Nate Christy with an injury, and began the game with their eighth different starting lineup in as many games.

While Speedway dominated the ball, the Tiger Cubs were able to leak out and beat them in their execution.

GHS had only three turnovers in the first quarter and trailed 10-9 after one.

The Sparkplugs kept up the pressure and extended their lead to nine at the have, but the Tiger Cubs remained in contention. An 8-0 Speedway run to open the second half changed the momentum.

"We were pretty flat coming out after halftime. I'm not sure why," Greenlee said. "In the first half we got (Speedway) playing more of our type of game. We slowed them down a little bit. We didn't allow them to get as many transition baskets.

"Once they started getting in transition and turning it over on us, we struggled to hang on."

GHS got down, but didn't quit.

Senior Nick Gilliam began to take over in the fourth quarter.

Gilliam seemed inspired by Speedway's style of play and attacked the rim with reckless abandon.

He scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth, getting to the rim and the foul line at will.

GHS scored 20 points in the fourth, but the offense wasn't enough.

"We're getting better a little bit at a time," Greenlee said. "I was a little disappointed with our defense in the fourth quarter. I thought we allowed the idea that they were more athletic and stronger than us to allow us not to be as aggressive defensively."

The Tiger Cubs play again tonight as the team host West Vigo at 7:30 p.m. Another new starting lineup could be in store for the hosts.

"We're going to look at who played well tonight and look at matchups," Greenlee said. "We're going to talk about that game, probably in the morning, and we'll see what kind of starting lineup we can come up with."

At Greencastle
Speedway 10 21 15 12 -- 58
Greencastle 9 13 4 20 -- 46