Tiger Cubs bow out of sectional with loss to Edgewood

Senior Nick Gilliam scores on a backdoor layup in the first quarter for two of his 23 points against Edgewood on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The Greencastle boys' basketball team closed the first-round sectional game against Edgewood to just a two-point gap when senior Nick Gilliam hit on a shot from the paint with 46 seconds left, but that was as close as the hosts got in the 49-43 loss.

Gilliam had 23 points and 10 rebounds, following up a 26-point performance in the Tiger Cubs' previous game.

"He didn't want this to be his last game," GHS coach Troy Greenlee said. "I thought this game and the last game he showed that kind of intensity. He kind of put everybody on his shoulders and almost willed us to win."

Greencastle (3-18) struggled offensively in the first half, scoring just 10 points (nine from Gilliam), but its defense kept it in the game.

The Tiger Cubs limited Edgewood (13-8) to just 17 itself, collapsing their defense around the basket and forcing difficult outside shots.

"Defensively we were pretty good in the first half, but we couldn't score," Greenlee said. "We put in a different lineup there in the second half that we thought would give us some more scoring opportunities, but because of that, defensively we weren't as strong. You kind of give and take a little bit."

The third quarter became much more deliberate and the GHS offensive unit made plays.

Freshman Ryan Coble scored eight of his 14 points in the last four minutes of the third, drawing the gap down to just five, 30-25.

"The thing about Ryan is, if he gets an open look, it's a great chance it's going in," Greenlee said. "They started switching up some guys on him, so we had to rotate (plays for) him and Holden (King)."

King, a junior, had five points.

While the offense improved, the GHS defense began to slip. The teams combined to shoot 79 percent (11-for-14) in the third quarter.

The Tiger Cubs continued to surge offensively, but Edgewood answered by driving to the basket can drawing fouls.

GHS was called for 15 in the second half alone, resulting in 22 free throw attempts for the Mustangs.

After Coble's hot stretch ended, Gilliam took back the scoring load. The senior had 12 points in the fourth quarter, capped with an and-one layup, then another bucket to close the gap to two in the final minute.

"He was rebounding the ball, demanding the ball and being aggressive," Greenlee said. "He was aggressive in the way that we want him to be aggressive without making any mistakes, which is something that is pretty tough to do."

Senior Trevor Selburg hit a pair of free throws to build the Mustangs' lead back to four, but Coble answered with a layup.

GHS began fouling to extend the game, down two with 29 seconds left, but the Mustangs hit their free throws the rest of the way making it too tough to come back.

"I just thought if we could have gotten anything going in the first half ..." Greenlee said. "Finally we got going offensively, but we couldn't get enough stops on the defensive end."

The Mustangs will now carry an eight-game winning streak into its sectional semifinal game with West Vigo on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Selburg finished with a team-high 14 points. Junior Tommy Black had 13 points and four steals for the Mustangs.

For the Tiger Cubs, it was a season of frustration and what-ifs.

Greenlee praised his seniors, Gilliam and Nate Christy, for continuing to fight to the end.

"I can't say enough about the two senior guys," Greenlee said. "Attitude-wise (Nick) has been great for us all year. Nate is one of those kids that has fought a lot of injuries this year and I think was limited because of that, but you won't find a tougher kid and a kid that wants to win as much.

"Those senior guys had a great year considering they were on a young team and we didn't get a lot of wins. To their credit, they kept battling and were tremendous leaders for us."

Greencastle will go into the offseason with a youthful team that has talent and a lot of room to grow.

"I was really pleased with the way the guys came to practice every day and fought in every game we had," Greenlee said. "It didn't matter if we got down, we knew they were going to compete at the end and give us a chance, and that's really all you can ask for as a coach."

At Greencastle
IHSAA Sectional 28
First Round
Edgewood.......6 11 13 19 -- 49
Greencastle....4 6 15 18 -- 43