GHS boys come up short in loss

Friday, December 19, 2014
Ryan Coble goes up for two points during the loss. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

MOORESVILLE--Having bounced back well after its first loss of the season, Class 3A No. 21 Greencastle's boys' basketball squad knew it would be put to the test when the Tiger Cubs traveled to Mooresville Wednesday night.

The Pioneers attacked with a platoon system from their deep bench and pressed the visitors into 20 turnovers and multiple easy baskets in a 74-43 win.

Greencastle head coach Troy Greenlee said the team knew Mooresville would present a challenge that few teams had the ability to offer the Tiger Cubs.

"It was one of those games that we knew would be a tough one," Greenlee said. "We knew they were a very good team with a lot of depth and athletes.

"What I wanted to see tonight was how our kids responded to playing against a really good team. We did make too many mistakes that you can't make against a good team.

"But I thought our kids competed really well and we grew as a team tonight," Greenlee added. "I told them in the locker room that the bad part would be if we allowed this game to dampen our spirits about how good of a team we are.

"They're a very good team and you have to give them credit. We have to grow from this."

The hosts grabbed the first six points of the game and led 11-2 before Greencastle could settle into the game.

The Tiger Cubs quickly closed the lead to within three at 13-10 but found breaking down a second wave of Mooresville players a tiring task.

Trailing 18-13 after one quarter, the visitors were quickly forced into a hole after Mooresville's starting five returned to floor and outscored Greencastle 14-3 in the opening four minutes of the second period.

As the Pioneers' second unit returned to the floor, the Tiger Cubs were able to find some scoring rhythm but could not cut into the lead and trailed 44-26 at halftime.

Having to battle against fresh line-ups every few minutes took its toll on the team at times according to Greenlee.

"When our guys have played four or five minutes and they bring a whole new set of guys in to play that are nearly or equally as good as the starters, that's very tough mentally as much as physically," Greenlee said. "Our guys got tired and they played through it, but it was tough to overcome."

"They were a team that got after us, got their hands in passing lanes and created a lot of deflections. At times, though, we made really good plays against them."

The second half played out along similar lines as the first half as Mooresville continued to press while Greencastle looked to break through and find a way to the basket.

After an even shift between the Tiger Cub and Pioneer starters, the hosts' second line outscored the visitors 13-1 over the final three minutes to put any hopes of a comeback out of range.

Play slowed down in the final quarter as Greencastle worked longer possessions and Mooresville backed off some of its pressing, leading to the Tiger Cubs outscoring the Pioneers 9-8 in the final frame.

The result was not in doubt at that point but Greenlee said that the squad, tired as it was, did not retreat at any point in the game.

"I hope a lot because I told them at halftime that the best thing for this team is for someone to pressure us like crazy," Greenlee noted. "This was the team.

"You either shy away from that and crawl into a shell or you battle and work to get better. I think the kids did the latter tonight."

Greencastle travels to South Vermillion in their last game of 2014 and Greenlee said that applying some of the lessons from Wednesday's contest could pay dividends down the road.

"I told these guys to remember how they felt on the floor tonight and do everything we can to make other teams feel like that," Greenlee said. "We need to take the information they learned from tonight's game and try to apply that against other teams that we should beat.

"Hopefully we're able to do that and bounce back in a couple of days to beat another good team."


At Mooresville

Greencastle 13 13 8 9 -- 43

Mooresville 18 26 22 8 -- 74

Scoring

Greencastle -- 15-45 FG, 7-18 3-FG, 6-13 FT -- Coble 14, Bollman 11, York 6, Hughes 5, Mitchell 4, Foxx 3, Matthews 0, Gerard 0

Mooresville -- 30-62 FG, 6-16 3-FG, 8-12 FT -- Hibler 12, Weaver 12, Earls 11, Harris 10, Kenney 7, Gunnell 7, Harder 6, Baxter 5, Underhill 2, Strong 2, Sanborn 0, Suter 0

Rebounds (Offensive)

Greencastle 25 (10); Mooresville 29 (10)

Assists

Greencastle 9; Mooresville 17

Steals

Greencastle 5; Mooresville 15

Blocks

Greencastle 1; Mooresville 2

Turnovers

Greencastle 20; Mooresville 7

Fouls

Greencastle 9; Mooresville 14

Next Game: Greencastle (4-2, 0-1 WCC) travels to South Vermillion Saturday.

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