It felt like Deja vu all over again for North Greene. After last week’s heartbreaking loss to Hancock County, the Huskies endured another tough one on Tuesday night with a 47-46 defeat to regional foe Washburn.
The Huskies were able to knock down some clutch three-pointers down the stretch, but couldn’t make the easy ones that mattered most in the end. Four-straight missed free throws in the final minute came back to haunt them on the scoreboard. They did enough on defense to win the game, but offensive struggles plagued the Huskies.
“Defensively I felt like we communicated for the most part and switched when we needed to and knew their game plan a little bit,” Weems stated. “If you’re going to keep a team under 50 points you’ve got to be able to win that ball game. On offense we have to execute our stuff. Our margin of error is not as big as the group’s was last year. They understand that, but sometimes you learn things the hard way.”
Issac Gaby nailed five three pointers and led all scorers with 22 points. Thomas Darnell had 11 points to follow behind him.
“Isaac played his hind end off. I was proud of him. He’s got a lot of confidence and I think he shoots the ball well. I think he took smart shots tonight and he stepped up and made them when nobody else really was hitting their shots. He kept us in the ball game. That’s good to see,” Coach Weems mentioned.
Washburn started out with the lead and stretched it out to 8-2 after a three-point shot by Dillion Mullins. A 6-0 run by the Huskies helped tie the game at 8-8. North Greene trailed 11-10 after the first quarter.
The Pirates stayed in front until North Greene’s 5-0 run gave it an 18-17 lead. Tyler Britton made a tough layup with a foul added on and Kingston Ricker drained a three. Gavin Kincaid made a jumper before the half ended to put Washburn on top 19-18 heading into the half.
Isaac Gaby nailed a triple to break a tie between both teams in the third. After his three North Greene led the rest of the quarter. Thomas Darnell landed a short jumper and Jaiden Bailey scored two next to go up 32-28. Gaby weaved through traffic for an easy layup to keep their lead. Darnell’s layup at the end of the frame sent North Greene into the fourth with a 36-33 lead.
The final quarter began with traded threes from Gaby and Nolan Harville. Gavin Kincaid torched the nets with seven-straight points and gave Washburn a 43-40 lead. Gaby started to turn up the heat and nailed a game-tying three.
The Huskies had the opportunity to go up by two, but missed their first set of free throws in the closing minutes. They fell behind 45-43 after another layup from Kincaid. Gaby landed another long-range triple to regain the lead 46-45.
The opportunity arose again to knock down a pair of free throws, but both missed and left the door open for the Pirates. They busted through with a layup by Landry Coffey with 13.8 seconds left to score the go-ahead, game-clinching bucket.
“We’ve just got to be a little better and more efficient honestly. From the free-throw line and from the paint,” Coach Weems said.
The Huskies final attempts to win the game all missed and Washburn survived with a 47-46 win inside of The Den.
Isaac Gaby led all scorers with 22 points and Thomas Darnell had 11. Gavin Kincaid led Washburn with 18 points.
