ROGERSVILLE – The North Greene Huskies opened day three of the Big H BBQ bash with a win over the Hancock County Indians 67-46.
North Greene Coach Sam Tarlton said before the game “55… 55 is our magic number, if we can hold them under 55 we can win.”
By the end of the first quarter the Huskies were ahead of that goal, allowing only a single made shot from the floor, a buzzer beater by Gage Stewart. Lawson Davenport and Thomas Darnell scored six and nine points respectively in the first quarter for a 17-4 lead after the first break.
As the second quarter started Lance Carrico arrived on the seen. First he found a wide-open Davenport under the basket for an easy layup, then Carrico scored on consecutive trips down the court and capped the fourth offensive possession with another assist to Darnell to put North Greene in front 27-11. The Huskies would go into the locker room with a 29-14 halftime lead.
In the second half the officials stepped up their game and Hancock Coach Nolan Campbell expressed his displeasure and was hit with a technical foul giving them five team fouls only one minute into the half.
Moments later Tarlton was given a tech to even the fouls up. The third quarter turned into a free throw shooting contest that the Huskies came out on top of and took a 21-point lead into the final frame at 48-27.
That 21 point lead held up and the Huskies moved on with a 67-46 win over Hancock.
The Huskies put four players in double figures, Davenport scored 15 points, Darnell with 13, Carrico 12 and Isaac Gaby added 10. Freshman Isaiah Fodor lead the Indians with 15 points.
Tarlton said after the game, “I sum this up with one word, consistency, we’ll play to the level we want to play for three or four minutes, then we’ll not at that level for three or four minutes. We need to be more consistent. If we want to be a good team we have to do it all the time, be more consistent. But we played well and it’s a win.”
The Huskies will be back in action at 1:30 pm on Saturday against Phelps, Kentucky.
Phelps (KY) 64, West Greene 58
The West Greene boys played neck-and-neck with Phelps, Kentucky all day long, but in the final frame the Hornets were able to pull away to a 64-58 in the Big H BBQ Bash at Cherokee High School.
Ayden Lamon’s scored on West Greene’s first two possessions and Sam Wisecarver’s three from the elbow gave the Buffaloes the early lead. But a three point play the hard way by Tyler Weddington and triple from the bend by Reece Norman kept the Hornets close. Another three from the top of the key by Weddington put the Hornets ahead 10-9.
Braden McCamey ended the first quarter with back-to-back buckets and the Buffs had a 13-10 lead.
McCamey sank a triple to open the second quarter and Connor Campbell followed with a drive to the hole that put the Buffs up six in the early going. Ethan Wolford scored on back-to-back trips and Lamonds hit one of two from the line before Jahmar Stewart knotted the score at 21-21 with a three from the top of the key.
Lamon’s was one of two from the line again and Campbell hit a floater in the lane to give West Greene a 24-23 halftime lead.
McCamey cashed in on a three-point play the old-fashioned way and drained a triple form the corner to get the second going, but Knox Wallace kept pace with a fast break layup and a triple form the elbow and things were tied again at 32-32 midway through the third quarter.
The Hornets went on a short run and lead by six at 41-35. Then Lamon’s dropped a three-pointer from out front and McCamey threw a behind the back pass to Campbell for the layup to bring the Buffs within one at 41-40. Weddington scored as time was running out in the quarter for a 43-41 Hornet led after three quarters.
The Hornets got the ball to open the final period on the alternate possession, but Stewart was whistled for an offensive foul and in his disbelief garnered a technical foul as well. The Buffaloes were unable to take advantage, Campbell missed both technical free throws and an empty possession gave the ball back to the Hornets with the lead.
Weddington hit a long range two-point basket and Norman extended the lead to 48-40 with a triple from the elbow. The Buffs did manage to make a run late when Lamon’s stole the ball and passed to Campbell for a layup cut the score to 60-54 with 1:38 to play. A turnover by the Hornets gave the Buffs one last chance but three missed three-point attempts were off he mark and the Phelps team from Pike County Kentucky had secured the victory 64-58.
McCamey lead the Buffs with 19 points while Lamon’s added 17 to go along with 14 rebounds and Campbell added 12.
Weddington lead all scores with 25 and Norman and Stewart each chipped in with 11.
West Greene will be back in action at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday against Hancock County.
