Tiger Cubs drop nail biter

Greencastle, a team who enjoys nail biters, got another one Saturday night when the Tiger Cubs hosted the Brown County Eagles. The Eagles, who have struggled all year, got their second win of the season, winning, 50-46.

"I thought we had a team come in here and play harder than us," GHS coach Greenlee said, "They played smarter and more hard."

The Tiger Cubs (7-6 4-1 WCC), over the last seven games, have finished within seven points or less of their opponents. The only exception was at Tri-West when they lost by 14.

"I suspect that's who we are. We're not a team that is going to outscore many teams," Greenlee said. "We have to rely on our defense. We just have to make plays especially at the end. Tonight we did not make those plays."

Greencastle came out and started the game hard getting out to a five-point lead. After that it went south for them and the Eagles (2-10 0-5 WIC) took over.

At halftime Greencastle had the lead by one, but by the end of the third it was a four-point advantage for Brown County.

Much of the reason the Tiger Cubs could not get the lead was the attacking Eagle defense. They were all over GHS ball handlers and made it daunting to get a good pass.

"They were basically leaving the guy who got rid of the ball and trapping," Greenlee said, "I didn't think our guys responded to that very well. They held the ball too long and we were in traps all night."

Greencastle was only 14-of-42 shooting from the floor and that made things seem glum. Many of those missed shots were layups. Had they hit those layups the game would have been swung over to Greencastle.

The bright side to the game was the offensive chemistry for the Tiger Cubs. They only hit 14 shots, but they created the shots they wanted. They also had 9 assists.

"I thought our offense was fine," Greenlee said. "We just didn't make shots. It's not much better that you can get to the rim and get the shots you want and then miss them."

Greenlee said it was not the offense that had problems but the missed shots and the defense.

With just over a minute left, Greencastle tried grinding it out. GHS senior Holden King took a pass from junior Brody Bollman and nailed a three to tie the game.

"That's how we have to play," Greenlee said. "Sometimes it's not pretty. Our guys didn't seem like they were ready for a battle tonight."

After the tie the Tiger Cubs broke down and gave up too many free throws. They were outshot by 12 from the line.

"I knew at the beginning of the game that Brown County a (1-10) team would come in and battle it out to the end," Greenlee said.

In the end Greenlee said Brown County just wanted the win more.

Greencastle will go on a critical four-game road trip. It starts Feb. 13 at Rockville. The Tiger Cubs will also travel to Sullivan, West Vigo and Northview.

At Greencastle
Brown County 8 11 16 15 -- 50
Greencastle 12 8 11 15 -- 46
Brown County (50): Huls 14, Rose 14, Adams 9, Kritzer 7, Boknecht 6, Jackson 0, Redmond 0. Totals 14-29 20-24 50.
Greencastle (46): Bollman 10, King 9, Mitchell 7, Foxx 6, Newgent 6, Gerard 3, Nicholson 3, Winslow 2, Hughes 0. Totals 14-42 10-12 46.
Individual Rebounding (OFF-DEF)TOT: Brown County (3-16)19: Adams (2-4)6, Boknecht (1-3)4, Huls (0-3), Jackson (0-2)2, Rose (0-2)2, Kritzer (0-1), Redmond (0-1). Greencastle (7-11)18: Bollman (2-6)8, Mitchell (1-3)4, Newgent (3-1)4,Hughes (1-0)1, Winslow (0-1)1.
Assists BC 3 GHS 9, Turnovers BC 14 GHS 10. Steals BC 3 GHS 10.