The Chuckey-Doak boys spread the ball around on Friday and held off North Greene to pick up a 61-53 road win over their cross-county rivals.
The Black Knights put four players in doubles figures on Friday, and had different guys step up at various times to hold off a determined Huskies squad. Dom Atchison led the way with 15 points, Gavin Crum had 11, Knox McAmis 11 and Ben Palazzo 10.
*Normally we would insert comments from the winning coach here, but Chuckey-Doak coach Sam Broyles chose not to speak with Greene Sports Zone after the game. We apologize for not meeting the standard you have grown used to from our coverage. *
The Black Knights started the second half leading 30-22, but the Huskies came out playing tough on defense and quickly turned the game around. North Greene held Chuckey-Doak scoreless for nearly five minutes, and with 3:29 left in the third quarter Thomas Darnell drove the lane and gave the Huskies a 31-30 lead.
“These guy battle, and I love this group because they are never going to quit,” North Greene coach Matt Weems said. “We got after it on defense to get us back in it. But we are struggling to put four quarters together.”
That lead lasted just 27 seconds after McAmis fired in a three-pointer to give Chuckey-Doak the advantage back. Darnell and Ryland Grindstaff then traded jump shots from the free-throw line to knot things at 35-35.
Chuckey-Doak went to the fourth quarter leading 38-35 after Atchison sank a triple from the right wing.
McAmis started the final frame with a triple and then Palazzo went to work in the paint for five points that stretched the lead to 46-38.
Crum and Atchison each tapped in a pair of fast-break layups off the glass to push the Knights out to a 51-41 lead with 3:35 left to play.
North Greene did not back down and with 1:56 left Jaiden Bailey nailed a triple to close the gap to 53-50. McAmis again stepped up in a big way and landed three-pointer to give the Knights a six-point cushion at 56-50.
From there Chuckey-Doak was able to make enough free throws and get enough stops to secure the 61-53 win.
Friday started with North Greene using the long ball to take a quick lead in the first quarter. Tyler Britton sank a pair of three-pointers and Bailey landed another for an early 9-6 lead.
The Knights finished the frame hot from beyond the arc with good ball rotation setting up Atchison for an open look that gave Chuckey-Doak its first lead at 13-11. Jake Broyles followed with another triple and a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
Chuckey-Doak’s defense made it hard for North Greene to find anything easy early in the second quarter and they gave up just two points in the first five minutes.
On the other end of the floor Grindstaff, Atchison, Palazzo and McAmis all scored in the paint to give Chuckey-Doak a 26-14 lead.
In the closing stretch Britton and Bailey both hit from deep for North Greene and Darnell finished the half with a put back, but Chuckey-Doak led 30-22 at halftime.
Britton led North Greene on Friday with 17 points and Darnell scored 16.
“We got abused on the glass pretty badly and I felt like that was the difference in this basketball game,” Weems said. “We did not do a good job of rebounding the ball and that put us in a hole in the first half. When you give a team like Chuckey-Doak two or three opportunities they are going to score.”
