RUTLEDGE – The North Greene Huskies started hot, but slowly watched the lead slip away as the flame burnt out in the Huskies 53-43 loss to Jefferson County on Monday.
Going into it everybody knew Jeff County would be a tough challenge for the Huskies. A 1A school playing a 4A school poses many challenges. Size, speed, and numbers come to mind. For North Greene, it was the physicality that played a difference and separated both teams.
The Huskies started hot with a 13-4 lead,but soon found themselves on the other end of a 26-7 run spanning from late in the first quarter to midway through the third. Their defense once again held a team to under 55 points and played well, but turnovers and lack of toughness led to the Patriots giving them their first loss.
“I think we started fast. We were up 13-4 and started how we wanted to start,” North Greene Head Coach Sam Tarlton said. “I thought we executed the first half about as well as we could execute. We kept them under 55 again and where we had a hard time was the physicality throughout the game. As they wear you down, we started turning the ball over two or three times in a row and then it gets away from you.”
North Greene slides to 3-1 on the season. Lawson Davenport scored a team-high 17 points. Bennett McLain turned in 12 points in another double-figure effort.
After Kip Parker got the game started with a layup, McLain scored five-straight to open the game. Tyler Britton sank two foul shots and Jaiden Bailey’s offensive put back saw North Greene take a 9-4 lead before reaching it to 13-4 on four-straight from Davenport. Parker scored five-straight to end the quarter.
North Greene led 13-9 entering the second quarter, but ran into problems. Jacob Shrader made a layup after a Husky turnover and it was followed up by another layup from Isiah Kirk. Shrader beat North Greene back in transition for a layup and Deacon Taylor drained a three-pointer to tie the game 18-18. Jacob Chaney handed Jeff County the lead before the half with a three following an offensive rebound.
“They were very good in transition and we wanted to slow them down. We didn’t want to get into an up-and-down game with them,”
The Patriots held a 22-20 lead over North Greene at halftime.
The third quarter quickly got worse as a 9-0 run from Jeff County put North Greene’s deficit at double digits.
Davenport secured a layup after four scoreless minutes, but when North Greene scored Jeff County seemed to answer. That 9-0 run was the difference in the quarter as they went into the fourth trailing 38-29.
A strong run of seven-straight points halfway through the quarter cut the margin to only four points. Lance Carrico’s floater and three-pointer helped trim it down. Lawson Davenport made it to the charity stripe and knocked down a set.
The blow that hurt the most was Kip Parker’s run of six-straight points after North Greene gained a lot of the game’s momentum. North Greene got back within six after Davenport’s floater and McLain’s reverse layup, but a crucial turnover that resulted in a layup on the other end with a minute to go sealed it.
The Huskies suffered their first loss of the season to Jefferson County 53-43 on Monday at Grainger. Kip Parker scored a game-high 23 points for Jeff County. Lawson Davenport scored 17 to lead the Huskies.
North Greene suits back up on Wednesday for another matchup against Grainger on their home floor at 10:00 AM.
