Tiger Cubs defeat Cloverdale

The weather outside was cold and clear, but inside the McAnally Center Friday, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs' boys' basketball team was raining threes.

GHS buried 12 three-pointers in its 67-60 home win over Cloverdale behind 27 points from senior Erick Burgeson.

Burgeson led all scorers Friday night and nailed seven of the Tiger Cubs' three-point shots.

"I thought we played really well. It was a great team effort," Burgeson said. "I feel like I was playing pretty good. My teammates kept getting me open, and I'm just glad I was able to knock down the shots."

The Tiger Cubs used an 11-0 run in the third quarter to turn a 31-30 halftime advantage into a dominating 52-38 lead.

The run started with Burgeson's sixth three-pointer of the night and ended with a pair of free throws from junior Brennan Burks, who scored 10 for the Tiger Cubs.

Cloverdale made things interesting in the fourth quarter when it embarked on a 6-0 run to make it a 10-point game, 61-51, with 3:02 remaining in the game, but the Tiger Cubs were able to hang on to beat Cloverdale for the second time in seven days.

Greencastle defeated the Clovers in the first round of the Putnam County Tournament last Friday, 53-46.

"It was a good win for us," said GHS coach Troy Greenlee. "We knew they were going to be ready for us, and we responded really well."

Early in the game, it looked as though the two teams were in for a bitter struggle, as the first quarter ended with a 16-all tie.

Greencastle's first 12 points of the contest came from behind the three-point arc. Burgeson hit two threes early, and Michael Richardson and Kendall Faust each connected for one.

Cloverdale went on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 16 at the end of the quarter, thanks in part to a pair of three-pointers from Michael Neese.

As the second quarter began, Cloverdale took a 20-16 lead after Ryan Dean and Craig Blair each scored two-point buckets.

But the Tiger Cubs scored seven unanswered points on a pair of inside baskets from Burks and another trey from Burgeson.

The Clovers and Tiger Cubs went back and forth for the next 3:13, trading the lead four times before a 15-foot jumper from Richardson as time expired in the half gave the Tiger Cubs a 31-30 advantage.

Richardson finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.

Blair led the Clovers in scoring with 22 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor while Neese contributed 19 points to the effort, and Christian Cheatham added nine.

Cloverdale coach Pat Rady said Friday's loss to the Tiger Cubs has given his team a definite list of things to improve upon.

"It was a tough loss," Rady said. "We know that we've got to improve on rebounding, defense and shot selection.

"It was a good win for Greencastle. I think they're a fine ball club, and they're going to win a lot of games this year."

As for the Tiger Cubs, Greenlee said the credit for the win goes to two places: Greencastle's big third quarter and the shooting of Burgeson.

"We were coming out in the third quarter, and we were getting after (Cloverdale) on both ends of the ball," Greenlee said. "And Erick had an exceptional game on both ends of the floor. On top of the scoring, he had to guard Neese, and that's a tough assignment in itself."

Greencastle (3-2) will be in action again today at home against Sullivan beginning at 8 p.m. while the Clovers (2-2) will take on Clay City on the road Tuesday beginning at 7:30 p.m.

At Greencastle

Cloverdale (60) -- Neese 7-13 2-3 19, Blair 8-15 4-4 22, Cheatham 4-8 1-2 9, Shoulders 3-4 0-0 6, Dean 2-5 0-0 4, Hacker 0-2 0-0 0. 24-47 FG 7-9 FT 60 TP.

Greencastle (67) -- Burgeson 9-15 2-2 27, Faust 2-4 0-0 6, Richardson 3-5 1-2 9, Smiley 0-0 0-0 0, Burks 3-12 4-4 10, Miller 1-4 0-0 3, Evens 4-4 2-3 10, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0. 22-44 FG 9-11 FT 67 TP.

Cloverdale 16 14 8 22 -- 60

Greencastle 16 15 21 15 -- 67

3-pt field goals -- Cloverdale 5-13 (Neese 3-4, Blair 2-5, Cheatham 0-2, Hacker 0-2), Greencastle 12-23 (Burgeson 7-13, Faust 2-4, Richardson 2-3, Burks 0-2, Miller 1-1). Rebounds -- Cloverdale 24 (Dean 7), Greencastle 17 (Evens 7). Total Fouls -- Cloverdale 15, Greencastle 14. Fouled out -- Shoulders. Turnovers -- Cloverdale 12, Greencastle 19.

Next Games -- Greencastle (3-2) will face Sullivan at home today at 8 p.m. while the Clovers (2-2) will travel to Clay City to face the Eels Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.