Speedy Chargers deal Tiger Cubs a 22-point loss

Saturday, February 28, 2009
GHS freshman Nick Hutcheson slams­­ home two of his eight points in the third quarter of Friday's contest.

Greencastle's recent hot streak hit a roadblock Friday. The Tiger Cubs battled the Chargers of North Montgomery, falling 61-39.

The Tiger Cubs found themselves seemingly a step behind the Chargers all night, which resulted in easy buckets and them shooting 51 percent from the floor. GHS also appeared to become stagnant at times on offense, two aspects of the game that bothered their coach after the game.

"We just got outplayed -- period," GHS head coach Troy Greenlee said. "I thought defensively, they got into us and we didn't respond very well. They did a great job, when they would take things away, instead of continuing to move, our guys just stopped.

"Our guys for some reason stood around a lot. When our cuts were taken away, they would stop making the cut. We were playing on our heels instead of being aggressive and I think that was the difference in the game," he added.

Greencastle opened the game with a ten-point quarter and only managed a four point second quarter to enter the half down 32-14.

The Tiger Cubs traded baskets with the Chargers early in the third, but North Montgomery held their advantage.

The Greencastle crowd was into the game all night and about tore the roof off the McAnally Center in the third when freshman Nick Hutcheson dunked over the Chargers' Clay Pierce.

GHS was able outscore the Chargers 16-13 in the final period, but it was too little too late. The Tiger Cubs closed the season with a 3-1 run and despite the loss, entered the tournament in good position.

The fact that the team lost wasn't what bothered Greenlee, but it was more the way they lost the game. He felt that it was the little things that ballclubs do, that the Tiger Cubs failed to accomplish on the night.

"That's probably the most disappointing thing," Greenlee said. "There are certain things you can do X's and O's wise that get you shots, but it doesn't matter what you do if you're not going to do the things we didn't do tonight. Like fight through being physical and competing in my opinion.

"I told the seniors, the first thing I wanted to do was get them a win so they could leave this place with a win. I was disappointed that we weren't able to send those seniors out on a more positive note," he concluded.

Greencastle faces Owen Valley in the first game Wednesday of the South Vermillion Sectional at 6 p.m.

At Greencastle

North Montgomery 16 16 16 13 -- 61

Greencastle 10 4 9 16 -- 39

North Montgomery -- Maltzberger 17, Pierce 16, Thomas 10, K. Airey 9, Krutzsch 4, Kingma 3, A. Airey 2. Totals: 25-49 FG 5-8 FT 61 TP.

Greencastle -- Marshall 14, Hutcheson 8, Bartrum 5, Nobles 4, Harlan 3, Huber 3, G. Moore 2. Totals: 15-34 FG 5-7 FT 39 TP.

Next game -- Greencastle faced Owen Valley in the first game Wednesday of the South Vermillion Sectional at 6 p.m.