Greencastle boys get payback from tournament loss

Greencastle senior Nate Christy (12) jumps to defend a layup by Cloverdale junior Kedrick Collet. Christy made a big offensive contribution as well, finishing with 11 points. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

After playing an overtime thriller in the Putnam County Classic, the Greencastle and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams seemed destined for another back-and-forth game on Friday.

The teams did not disappoint as Cloverdale came back from a 26-19 halftime deficit to take a lead with 2:46 to play.

Greencastle pulled out a 49-47 win, avenging their loss on Saturday.

Senior Nick Gilliam led the team with a game-high 12 points, including four in the fourth quarter.

"It was a good team win for us and we're just thrilled to get that first victory," GHS head coach Troy Greenlee said. "We've got a lot of guys that haven't played much varsity basketball, so every time we step on the floor, I just think we need to look to get better."

Cloverdale head coach Pat Rady said, despite the loss, he was pleased with his team's effort.

"Even though we lost tonight, I though we played better than we did last week," Rady said. "The turnovers will kill you every time, and that's what we've got to work on."

The Clovers turned the ball over 21 times, including 14 in the second half. Compared to the Tiger Cubs' 13 for the game, ball control played a huge factor.

CHS came out on fire, making five-of-nine shots, including three three-pointers, in the first period.

The Tiger Cubs' came back in the second, powered by the team's young bench.

Sophomores Brody Bollman, Adam Gerard, Colyn Foxx, Calvin Hughes and freshman Ryan Coble gave the team a spark that led to an 11-2 run to open the quarter.

"We told them in (the locker room) that it's going to be different guys every night that are going to make plays for us," Greenlee said. "Tonight I thought Ryan Coble came in, as a freshman, and hit some big shots and made some big plays.

"It was one of those games that we needed everything from everybody tonight."

Senior Dustin Cummings entered the starting lineup for Cloverdale to begin the second half, which seemed to energize the team's offense.

With the rest of the team spacing the floor, junior point guard Brandon Dorman was free to drive into the lane. He made four-of-five shots in the period, scoring eight of his 10 points.

CHS ended the quarter on a 6-2 run, trailing by only one after three.

Sophomore Brantson Scott tied the game with 3:01 remaining and, after a Greencastle turnover, Cummings sank a free throw to put the Clovers ahead with 2:46 to play.

The lead wouldn't last long as GHS senior Nate Christy sank a deep three on the next trip.

The Tiger Cubs' stretched the lead to four then tried to slow the game down, stretching out the clock by dribbling the ball on the perimeter.

"As a team, we've got to be able to take those runs and build on them instead of giving a team a little bit of life," Greenlee said. "I thought, coming out in the second half, we didn't pressure the ball like we should have. We just kind of let them get whatever they wanted on the offensive end."

With Greencastle's young guards working the clock, Cloverdale expanded its defense.

The ball pressure overwhelmed Greencastle as junior Kedrick Collet picked up a steal and layup with 25 seconds remaining.

"We haven't worked on that (ball pressure) a lot," Rady said.

The Clovers had only been called for three fouls in the half, so extending the game by forcing free throws was not an option.

Instead the team again picked up the pressure. Greencastle lost the ball out of bounds on the baseline with just seconds remaining.

Greencastle called a time.

Cloverdale, down two, had six seconds to go the length of the court for a basket.

Dorman took the ball past half court, then had it knocked up in the air.

The ball landed out of bounds to the Clovers, but only 1.7 seconds remained.

Dorman's heave as time expired came up well short.

"We made it exciting there towards the end," Greenlee said. "We struggled handling the ball a little bit down the stretch and gave them a chance."

Greencastle hosts Sullivan tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Cloverdale is back in action Friday when they'll host Monrovia.

At Greencastle
Cloverdale -- 13 6 18 10 -- 47
Greencastle -- 8 18 12 11 -- 49