Cold-shooting Tiger Cubs fall to Owen Valley, 55-49

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

SPENCER — Greencastle struggled on both ends of the floor as they fell to the Owen Valley Patriots 55-49 on Saturday night. The visiting Tiger Cubs allowed the Patriots to shoot better than 56 (17-of-30) percent from the field, while only converting 41 percent themselves.

The more aggressive Patriots shot more than twice as many free throws as the Cubs as Owen Valley repeatedly got into the lane and to the basket. Owen Valley not only got to the free throw line, but when they got there, they converted at a high rate. The Patriots hit 16-of-20 on the night, compared to just 7-of-9 for Greencastle. The Tiger Cubs fell to 13-7 on the season, while Owen Valley upped its record to 9-13.

The two teams came out a little sluggish. Both teams turned the ball over on their first possession and neither team could put together much of a run. The Tiger Cubs held a slim 9-8 advantage at the end of the quarter as Colin York had four of his team-high 16 points in the period.

Owen Valley was able to make a small run to start the second quarter. The Patriots hit a couple three-pointers and a layup to take a 3-point lead, but a Brody Whitaker trey tied the game at 16-16 with 2:52 left in the half. Owen Valley then scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 21-16 halftime advantage, Greencastle struggled offensively in the first half. The Cubs only hit 6-of-20 from the field as they couldn’t seem to find their offensive rhythm.

“They (Owen Valley) did a good job of taking us out of the things we like to do. We have got to have some guys step up and make basketball plays. We didn’t do some things we normally do,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said.

Greencastle fought back in the third quarter. They opened the quarter with a 12-4 run highlighted by a Gavin Bollman three-pointer to give the Cubs a 28-25 lead with 4:08 left in the third period. The Patriots took a timeout and slowed the Tiger Cubs and the teams traded leads until the Patriots Robert Herrington hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Owen Valley a 32-30 advantage heading into the final stanza.

“They did some things to slow us down,” Rector said.

Greencastle battled throughout the final period, but could never get closer than a one-point deficit. Whitaker led the Cubs with six points in the quarter, but the Patriots repeatedly took the ball to the basket and were able to convert from the foul line.

Owen Valley hit 12-of-14 from the stripe, highlighted by Isaac Wood who hit 7-of-7 from the line en route to a game-high 18 points. Whitaker hit a trey with 5:35 left to pull the Cubs within 36-35, but they would never overcome the Patriots as Owen Valley repeatedly broke the Cub defense down. Not only did the Patriots convert from the line, but they were a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the quarter as they set the final 55-49 margin.

“Our inability to contain their dribble drive was very concerning and disappointing,” Rector said.

Owen Valley’s Wood led all scorers with 18 points, while Stephen Atkinson added 12 points for the Patriots. Colin York led the Cubs with 16 points and Whitaker and Bollman each chipped in with 12 points.

Greencastle will try and right the ship as they take on Western Indiana Conference champion, Edgewood tonight.

GREENCASTLE (49) – C. York 5-17 5-5 16, Whitaker 6-13 0-0 12, Parmley 2-7 0-0 6, Hutcheson 1-1 0-0 2, Bollman 5-8 1-1 12, Wood 0-0 0-0 0, Sutherlin 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 19-46 FG, 7-9 FT, 49 TP.

OWEN VALLEY (55) – Herrington 3-3 1-2 8, Marsh 2-3 0-0 4, Polich 2-3 2-2 7, Atkinson 4-10 2-3 12, Richardson 2-6 1-2 6, Roudebush 0-0 0-0 0, Wood 4-5 10-11 18. Totals 17-30 FG, 16-20 FT, 55 TP.

Greencastle 9 7 14 19 — 49

Owen Valley 8 13 11 23 — 55

3-Point Shooting — GHS 4-16 (York 1-5, Whitaker 0-2, Parmley 2-5, Bollman 1-4) OV 5-10 (Herrington 1-1, Marsh 0-1, Polich 1-1, Atkinson 2-3, Richardson 1-4). Rebounds – GHS 25 (York 1, Whitaker 3, Parmley 2, Hutcheson 5, Bollman 9, Sutherlin 4) OV – 21 (Herrington 1, Marsh 1, Polich 4, Atkinson 4, Richardson 1, Roudebush 2, Wood 2) FG Pct. – GHS 41.3, OV 56.7. FT Pct. – GHS 77.8, OV 80.0. Turnovers GHS 10, OV 9.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: