RUTLEDGE – South Greene started the game with a bang, but the Rebels had to fend off a hungry pack of Grizzlies to hang on Thursday night to earn a 57-51 win on the road at Grainger.
“They’re good. Their record is not the best, but they are not a bad basketball team. We knew that and they played my tail off at my place last month. I respect them and coach Wolfenbarger does a super good job with his kids,” South Greene Head Coach Terry Hoese said.
The Rebels endured another thriller in Rutledge and gained a nine-point lead off the rip, but fell behind midway through the third quarter and could never pull away until the final minutes of the contest.
Chandler Gamble took over in the moments he needed to and led all scorers with 24 points. Gavin Dyer’s hot shooting in the first and clutch free throws in the end netted him 11 points.
Carter Williams led Grainger with 23 points and scored 17 of those in the third quarter alone to lead their charging comeback.
The Rebels began with a bang and fed Gavin Dyer with three three-point attempts, and he did not disappoint. He set the nets on fire with a trio of early triples to give South Greene a 9-0 lead.
“He’s come a long way for us. If he’s open, he’s going to knock down shots,” Hoese said.
The Grizzlies worked their way back to 9-7 with the help of four points from Konner Kincaid. Williams scored his first points with a triple before Kincaid’s streak. Gamble scored the final five of the quarter to lead South Greene to a 14-7 lead at the end of the first eight.
The lead worked its way back up to nine with layups from Trey Gentry and Noah Wright. A 7-1 run from Grainger pulled them back within one possession towards the end of the first half. Gamble’s finger-roll layup and Wright’s layup built a 7-point 24-17 lead at the half.
The Grizzlies managed to outscore South Greene 23-17 in the third and held a brief 33-29 lead before the Rebels would erase it and regain it. Carter Williams worked his way to an impressive 17 in the quarter to almost single handedly will them back.
Chandler Gamble kept up with Williams for the most part and scored 11 in the frame. He scored 6 of their last 7 to lead them into the fourth with a slim 41-40 lead.
“The Gamble kid got down there where he belongs and we got him the ball and he finished a bunch of shots,” Hoese explained.
Gamble continued his scoring tear into the fourth with four-straight to open up. He netted both mid-range jumpers on the baseline and in the paint. Grainger scored five-straight to then tie it at 45-45 before Trey Gentry’s floater and Noah Wright’s layup gave them a 49-46 advantage.
Coach Hoese spoke about Noah Wright’s exceptional defense on Carter Williams in the fourth. After scoring 17 in the third and leading with 23, he shut him down for zero the whole fourth quarter.
“Shoutout to Noah Wright. I stuck him on Williams in the fourth quarter and we went into a diamond and one and I just told Noah to not let that kid have the ball and I don’t think he scored in the fourth quarter. Defensively, he did what he needed to do to help us win the game,” Hoese expressed.
A triple from Kincaid trimmed their lead to 49-48. Gamble netted a clutch turnaround in the paint that was followed by Wright’s layup to boost their lead to five points. With 1:06 left Kincaid made a layup to cut the score to only two at 53-51.
The Rebels successfully passed the ball around and made Grainger use their remaining fouls before Chandler Fillers saw an opportunity to bank an open layup off the glass for two.
Gavin Dyer started the game with a bang, but remained silent the rest of the way and was held scoreless. His opportunity to put the game to rest came at the free throw line in the waning seconds of the game. He went a perfect two-for-two and iced the game.
The Rebels held off a charging comeback to steal a win from Grainger at home by the score of 57-51.
“First game back after not playing for about three weeks. I felt like the kids gave me good effort and we are still rusty, but hopefully in a few days we can get that out of us,” Hoese stated.
Chandler Gamble scored a game-high 24 points and Gavin Dyer had 11. Carter Williams scored 23 to lead the Grizzlies and Konner Kincaid helped with 16.
South Greene’s District 1-2A run starts back on Tuesday with a pivotal home game against West Greene.
GIRLS
Grainger 61, South Greene 24
South Greene suffered one of their most lopsided losses in recent memory on Thursday night as they walked off the court with a 61-24 defeat to Grainger.
“We’ve not been real good for a while. We’ve struggled with identity. The biggest frustration that I have right now is that we’re not playing like we practice. We leave the gym thinking we’ve accomplished a lot. My team has to get better in areas that need refinement when we get sped up,” Lady Rebels Head Coach Stephen Gregg stated.
Turnovers and the inability to make shots made things hard for South Greene. Still without starting point guard Madison Hensley, the Lady Rebels were hit with more handicaps when Kortnei Bailey struggled with foul trouble and starter Samantha Birdwell was affected by an early injury.
Twenty four turnovers and only 26 shots attempts are never a recipe for winning basketball and the Lady Rebels struggled all around.
“They did a good job at speeding us up all night. We had 26 shot attempts, 24 turnovers, and 24 points. We can’t even beat our feeder schools that way,” Gregg expressed.
Grainger had 13 different players score in total. Adison Hayes led the way with 18 points.
Grainger’s balanced scoring was showcased early in the opening quarter. Five different players scored and they opened the game with four different starters scoring their first eight. The highlight was Adison Hayes’ step-back three that netted her 1,000th point as a Lady Grizzly. Hayes finished with seven in the first.
Bailey seemed to be South Greene’s only source of offense in the first. She provided their first five points and helped stop the bleeding at times when Grainger started pulling away. Nevaeh Davis created a steal-and-score opportunity to end the quarter.
The Lady Rebels trailed 18-7 after the first.
Both teams kept the same pace in the second and their deficit only grew more. Reagan Arrowood netted South Greene’s only made field goal of the quarter with a layup on the block.
South Greene’s inconsistent shot making made points tough to come by and they trailed 34-14 at the half.
Adison Hayes scored eight-straight in the third quarter to create a 30-point lead. Natalie Foshie ended the run with a pair of foul shots. Ari Hoese made South Greene’s final field goal of the night from three-point land as they fell behind 49-21 after three.
The Lady Rebels finished the game with three more free throws and were held without a field goal in the fourth. Grainger walked away with a 61-24 win.
“You can tell we’ve got a long ways to go in a short time,” Coach Gregg said. “Hats off to Grainger. They just whipped us and we’re just on the other side of it tonight.”
Adison Hayes led all scorers with 18 points. Kortnei Bailey scored 7 points to lead South Greene.
South Greene’s next action comes on Tuesday night in a District 1-2A showdown at home versus West Greene.
