The Greeneville boys played tough on Wednesday night and never relented as they picked up a 59-56 win over Science Hill.
“I thought we competed well from the get go tonight,” Greeneville coach Brad Woolsey said. “I really have to give a lot of credit to Taren (Claridy) for his defense no matter who he was guarding. That was a tremendous effort, and Yordan (Mills) did a really good job of scoring the ball as well. Science Hill is a good team who has been playing really well recently, and for us to come out with a win tonight is huge.”
The first time the Greene Devils played Science Hill, back on December 2, it was the team’s first game with a full roster and they fell 54-44. Since then, the Devils have certainly taken some lumps, but Wednesday’s win also shows how much they have grown in two months.
“We had one practice together the first time we played them, and we have grown a lot since then,” Woolsey said. “We have grown corporately and individually. These guys have fought through tough times and stuck together. They have maintained a great attitude and continued to believe in the direction we are going.”
Wednesday’s game started with Science Hill scoring the first 10 points with Brody McQuire and Darrian Jackson each hitting from beyond the arc.
Three minutes into the first quarter Greeneville finally got going on a driving layup from Taren Claridy. Yordan Mills hit from deep and ran the floor for a lay in. Then at the buzzer Zy Neal was fouled on a three-point attempt. He hit two of the free tosses and cut the Hill Toppers’ lead to 17-15.
Neal got the second quarter started with a steal that he took the distance and converted through contact for three-points the hard way. That gave Greeneville its first lead at 18-17.
Science Hill regained the advantage at 27-25 when Eli Patton scored on an offensive rebound.
After Mills scored on a runner from the block and then powered one in from the paint Greeneville was back in front at 29-27.
Greeneville does not have a traditional post player in the regular rotation this season, but Mills’ ability to produce tough buckets in the paint on Wednesday made a big difference and he finished the night with 20 points.
“When you look at our last several games we have scored a lot more in the paint. To be a really good team you have score twos. Threes will come and go, but you have to score inside. Yordan was really good at that tonight, and We need to find different ways to get him the ball in there.”
Neal beat the buzzer with a three-pointer and sent Greeneville to halftime leading 34-29.
Neal led all scorers on Wednesday with 22 points.
“Zy did a good job of putting the ball in the basket,” Woolsey said. “He hit some big shots as well. They weren’t shots we drew up, but he’s a competitor. The really good thing about him is that he accepts coaching and wants to get better. When he starts putting all of the pieces together he can be even better down the stretch.”
Greeneville’s biggest lead came early in the third quarter when Braylen Kidwell drove the lane to make it 38-29.
Science Hill came back and when Jamin Robbins took a steal the other way the gap closed to 41-37.
Greeneville answered with a layup from Mills and two free throws from Neal, but on an offensive rebound from Jabriel Fain Science Hill cut the lead to 45-42.
With 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter Fain scored on another offensive rebound while taking contact. The free throw that followed sent the game to the fourth quarter tied at 47-47.
Neal got the fourth quarter started with a step-back three that gave the Devils the lead at 50-47.
Greeneville’s defense was tough in the final period and did not allow the Hill Toppers to score for nearly four minutes. They only allowed two field goals in the fourth quarter, but Science Hill did take a 53-50 lead when Robbins scored on a transition layup.
The Greene Devils evened the score at 53-53 when Mills knocked down a triple with a hand in his face. With 1:45 left to play Mills gave Greeneville the lead when he sank a jumper from the top of key.
After the defense got a stop Greeneville’s offense was able to run 46 seconds off the clock before Neal went to the foul line and stretched the lead to 57-53.
With seven seconds on the clock Patton was fouled on a deep shot and made three free throws to make it a one-point game.
William Woolsey then made two big free throws with 2.2 seconds left that put Greeneville on top 59-56.
“I’m super proud of Will for knocking those down,” coach Woolsey said. “That was huge and it totally changes the game. If you are sitting on a one-point or two-point lead there those final seconds are completely different.”
The Toppers got a decent look for Stephen Hensley at the top of the key, but his contested three-pointer was off the mark.
