Tiger Cubs down Eagles by 20

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Greencastle boys' junior varsity basketball team used relentless defensive pressure and the hot hand of Holden King to defeat the South Putnam Eagles 45-25 at McAnally Center Thursday. Only trailing once at 7-6, the young Tiger Cubs used balance scoring and a 17-8 second quarter edge to pull away from the Eagles and secure the win.

"We really rely on our quickness and full-court pressure to take teams out of their rhythm," said coach Doug Hudson. "I told my guys after the game that I am a hard coach to please, but was happy with our effort. We forced 24 turnovers tonight and many of them led to easy baskets in transition. There are still some things we need to do to get better, but overall this was one of our best games.

"Everybody on the roster had a chance to play and that means a great deal to those in the 10th-12th spot in our rotation," he added. "I challenged our top 7 to have the game out of reach by the fourth quarter and they responded. It is great as a coach to have the opportunity to work on things in game situations and also to be able to play everybody. I also want to congratulate coach Chris Jones on his work with his team. They are struggling a bit right now but they never quit. That is a testament to coach Jones and his kids. I feel by the time the county tournament rolls around, they will be a much different team."

Holden King led all scorers with 13 points and Lane Winslow chipped in eight. Once again Brody Bollman was a force on the boards and Adam Gerard was a defensive catalyst.

"It was also nice to see Holden King get going tonight," Hudson said. "We look at him as a shooter who can really open things up for us. He has been struggling a bit recently but tonight he hit some shots. Him shooting well forced the defense out and then we were able to get some touches inside. Any time you can run your offense inside-out, good things will happen."

Winners of two straight, the Tiger Cubs (4-5) travel to Cascade on Thursday for the second game of another boys'/girls junior varsity double-header with the girls game tipping at 6 p.m.

"Not to many people gave this team a chance to win many games due to their youth. I reminded them of that tonight and hopefully we will get on a roll and have a very successful season as far as wins and losses go," Hudson said.

At McAnally Center

GHS 8 17 8 12 -- 45

SP 6 8 5 6 -- 25

Greencastle -- Mitchell 3, Foxx 3, King 13, Bollman 5, Nicholson 7, Heithaus 4, Gerard 2, Winslow 8

South Putnam -- Russell 2, Vittetow 7, Franklin 6, Schroer 7, Carmichal 2, Humbarger 1