RUTLEDGE – Greeneville may have been 2-16 going into Friday night’s game, but the only record that matters now is that Greeneville sits at 1-0 against District 2-3A competition after winning 60-41 against Grainger on Friday night.
Grainger’s student section and fans were rowdy and ready for the beaten-up Greene Devils. The “2-16” and “Trey can’t save you” sign in the student section showed how Grainger felt about Greeneville and showed they were anticipating a Grainger win on their home floor.
But sometimes you don’t poke the bear. That’s what the set of officials did after a trio of Greeneville’s fans were ejected in the second half. The Greene Devils immediately proceeded to go on a 16-2 run to take full control.
“It wasn’t pretty. A lot of emotions tonight. But our kids really fought through it. Coach (Nathan) Hale helped us make a really good adjustment defensively and it really made a difference. The kids executed it and it really got their energy up,” Greeneville Head Coach Brad Woolsey said.
Emotions were high and Greeneville turned up the intensity in the second half and outscored Grainger 25-14. The Devils begin this year’s District 2-3A schedule with a 1-0 record and pick up an important win on the road to start out.
“When you come in here it’s always a tough place to play. Winning your first one and being 1-0 is big, but doing it on the road is probably even bigger,” Woolsey stated.
Yordan Mills led the way with 18 points to lead all scorers. Parker Quillen had 13 and Taren Claridy had 10. Greeneville improved to 3-16 (1-0) in Friday night’s win.
The Grizzlies came out ready to go in the first quarter. Jackson Trent started with Grainger’s first four points. Taren Claridy also started with Greeneville’s first four points and finished with a slam dunk on a fastbreak. The action was back and forth until Grainger’s 10-2 run put them ahead by five. Ryan Maggert made a three before the quarter ended to close the gap to only two. Greeneville trailed 18-16 after one.
Taren Claridy scored Greeneville’s first four points of the second quarter too to help pull them even at 20-20. It kickstarted a 9-0 run that handed Greeneville the lead. Zy Neal continued the run with a layup after a steal and Yordan Mills finished it with a corner three. Coy Morgan’s footage ended the run, but Greeneville still led 27-22. The Greene Devils managed to slightly extend their lead to 35-27 headed into the break.
The third quarter was slow to begin with no action. Only two points were scored by either team in the first four minutes. The entire energy in the gym shifted when officials stopped play to eject three Greeneville fans. The ejections fired up those playing on the court and those sitting on the bench. The Devils ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a commanding lead. Braylen Kidwell started the run with a layup. Yordan Mills finished the run with six-straight to end the quarter leading 45-29.
“When things like that happen, emotions get even higher. Emotions are like fire in a fireplace. If the fire is in the fireplace, then it’s good. If it’s not in the fireplace then it’s out of hand and it hurts. I thought the guys channeled their energy appropriately. Our bench got even louder. Just really proud of the effort of the guys, not only on the floor, but the effort from the guys on the bench tonight was really huge,” Woolsey explained.
The run actually continued into the fourth with four points from Parker Quillen. The lead reached 20 before you knew it. Five-straight from Grainger cut it to 15, but Claridy and Mills scored two layups in quick fashion.
Things got chippy toward the end with Taren Claridy getting blindsided and knocked to the hardwood. There was no retaliation or harm done, but another dust up on the other end of the floor a few minutes later did result in a technical issued to Zy Neal.
Cooler heads prevailed and Greeneville claimed a 60-41 win on the road over Grainger.
The Greene Devils host Volunteer next in Hal Henard Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
