WASHBURN – The North Greene boys fought to the finish on Thursday night, but ultimately a slow start was the Huskies undoing as they fell 59-57 at Washburn.
“We dug ourselves a hole again. We missed some shots in the paint that ultimately cost us,” North Greene coach Matt Weems said. “We fought and scrapped at the end, and we had a chance to win. I was proud of how we fought back. I’m not happy with he result, but I’m proud of them for fighting.”
The Huskies trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, but after a late turnaround they had the ball last with a chance to steal a win on the road. The potential winning shot never materialized, and the Pirates escaped with a two-point victory.
“I have guys that have played in a ton of games, and they aren’t bothered by being down 10 or 15 points. They know with a couple of minutes on the clock they still have a chance,” Weems said. “We put some pressure on Washburn and forced turnovers. That let us score in transition. But at the end of the day we have to have a couple more shots go in.”
Thursday’s second half began with Washburn leading 32-20, and when Dylan Mullin pulled up for a jumper from the right block the Pirates held their biggest at 39-23 with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
Tyler Britton got the Huskies going with a straight-away trey, and with 2:35 left in the quarter Jaiden Bailey swiped possession at midcourt and took it the other way for what turned into three points the hard way. After the made free throw North Greene closed the gap to 39-31.
In the final 1:34 of the period Bailey and Britton each got in the paint for layups, and Bailey finished the period with a three-pointer that closed the gap to 43-38.
In the early portion of the fourth quarter Bailey and Britton each hit from deep as Washburn’s lead shrank to 47-44.
The Pirates answered with a 10-0 run in which Mullin knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Over the next 3:23 North Greene’s defense locked down and frustrated the Pirates. The offense scored 13 straight points to tie the game for the first time since 0-0. The run was helped by a technical foul that allowed Britton to sink four free throws on one possession.
With 35 seconds left Isaac Gaby used a steal to set up Britton for a runner that closed the gap to 57-54. After Washburn missed a layup Bailey came down the floor and nailed a three-pointer from the left wing that evened the score at 57-57 with 15 seconds on the clock.
The Huskies fouled Matthew Harville with 12 seconds on the clock and he sank both free tosses to give Washburn a 59-57 lead.
North Greene got to midcourt and called a timeout with nine seconds left. They tried to set up Britton for a game-winning three-pointer but the Pirates stayed on top of him and knocked the ball loose coming off a screen.
The night started with Washburn’s Mullin hitting from beyond the arc three times in the first quarter. North Greene got seven points from Britton, but the Pirates finished the period leading 18-12.
In the second quarter Washburn stretched its lead to 30-16 when Harville hit a triple from the top of the key.
Thomas Darnell answered with a pair of buckets in the paint for the Huskies, but Washburn went to halftime leading 32-20.
“I felt like we shot the ball well. We attacked the rim like we wanted, but we just didn’t finish on some shots right in front of the bucket,” Weems said. “Those have to go in. It’s minor things, but we are running out of time to get them squared away. It’s almost February and it is the time of the year we need to be playing our best basketball.”
Britton led North Greene on Thursday with 25 points, Bailey had 18 and Darnell scored 11.
Mullin led Washburn with 30 points while Harville put in 19 points.
