In front of a packed house at West Greene on Friday night the South Greene boys were able to hold off a late charge from the Buffaloes before making the decisive bucket with two seconds remaining to earn a tough 63-61 win.
“West Greene is good, and they have gotten a lot better. They are a team I don’t want to play again come tournament time,” South Greene coach Terry Hoese said. “This is a tough place to come and win a game, and I’m glad to get out of here with a win. My hat is off to my guys for doing the things we had to do to get this win. I felt like everybody gave me what I needed from them tonight.”
South Greene led for almost the entire final three quarters, but the Buffs tied the score with 20 seconds remaining. Hoese called a timeout with 10 seconds left to set up the last shot, and on the final play Jace Roderick found Chandler Gamble in the paint. Gamble elevated above the defense and drained the game-winning shot with only two seconds left.
“We went down 11 points in the second half, but we continued to compete and we pushed them to the brink,” Tolliver said. “A lot of people might be disappointed with the result, and this stings, but in the long run I think this will be good for us. I can’t fault the effort from my guys or their intensity. Gamble just made a big shot at the end. It wasn’t an easy shot, we didn’t let him go toward the rim. He just knocked down a big shot, and good for him.”
Gamble had a huge night for the Rebels as he went to the block often and powered home 39 points to lead all scorers.
“I feel like we can get a bucket from him every time down the floor,” Hoese said. “He posts hard, but I have to stay on him to keep going at it because he likes to drift outside. When he catches it around the basket he is tough, and if he misses he gets off the floor so quick he’s likely going to get the rebound. I’m happy for him, he had a great game.”
Friday’s fourth quarter began with South Greene leading 51-43, but after Elijah Williams and Conner Campbell each banged home triples from the corner the gap closed to 53-51.
Going the other way Gavin Dyer hit from deep to give South Greene a little breathing room. With 2:43 left to play Gamble sank a triple from the left wing to put the Rebels on top 61-57.
Ayden Lamons sank a pair of free throws for West Greene and then absorbed a charge on the other end that prevented the Rebels from making it a two-score game with under a minute remaining.
With 20 seconds on the clock the Buffaloes evened the score for the first time since the 4:16 mark of the second quarter when 5’6” Elijah Williams ventured into the land of giants and floated in a running layup from the left side of the lane that locked the score at 61-61.
The Rebels set up the last shot and Gamble delivered the win.
With the victory South Greene guarantees itself at least the No.2 seed in the upcoming District 1-2A Tournament. The Rebels are currently tied for first place with Hampton, but Hampton has the tiebreaker based on a preseason number draw.
West Greene is now 4-4 in league play, tied with Johnson County for the third seed.
Friday’s action started with South Greene taking 10-5 lead in the first quarter when Gamble sank a triple. That lead grew to 15-7 when Dyer knocked down a three-pointer. The first quarter ended with the Rebels leading 17-12.
With 5:38 left in the second quarter West Greene’s Sam Wisecarver attacked the rim and scored through contact. His free throw tied the score at 20-20. After getting a stop on defense West Greene briefly took the lead at 23-20 when Wisecarver drained a corner three.
Noah Wright came up with a tough put back for the Rebels, and then in a span of eight seconds South Greene got to the free-throw line three times to swing back in front. First Gamble was fouled putting back an offensive rebound. He made one shot to even the score at 23-23. Jace Roderick grabbed the miss and was fouled putting it back up. He made his first free one, and Gamble grabbed the rebound on the second, scoring it while getting fouled again. His free toss was off, but South Greene held a 26-23 advantage.
South Greene took its biggest lead at 34-26 with 1:08 left in the first half when Gamble powered in a layup.
West Greene scored the final points of the second quarter when Tytus Shelton took in an inbound pass and hit a short jumper with four seconds left to close the gap to 34-30.
The Buffaloes scored the first points of the second half when Campbell drove to the hoop to narrow the margin to 34-32.
Gamble then went on a tear, scoring nine points and putting the Rebels in front 45-34.
In the closing stretch Wisecarver and Cambell each scored four points for West Greene, but South Greene ended the period leading 51-43.
Williams led West Greene on Friday with 18 points, Wisecarver had 16, Campbell 11 and Lamons 10.
In addition to Gamble’s 39 points Roderick scored 12 points for South Greene.
