GREENE COUNTY
No. 7 Towns County managed to erase a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Greene County 78-77 on Jan. 16.
The Indians handed the Tigers (13-5), who entered the game on a four-game winning streak, their first region loss. They’re now in second place in the region standings behind Towns County at 7-1.
The loss to the Indians stung for coach Mark Wright, who took responsibility for the second-half flop.
“We didn’t play a full 32 minutes. We took our foot off the gas. That’s on me as a coach,” Wright said. “I told the guys that it was on me and not them. I’ve got to do a better job of keeping them motivated and prepared once we established the lead that we wanted. But it was a learning curve for us. I tell the guys that we never really lose, we just learn from our mistakes and correct them.”
From tip-off, Greene used the home crowd to its advantage, leading 19-14 after the opening quarter. Junior shooting guard Steve Miller powered the Tigers’ offensive attack in the first period.
Greene didn’t let up in the second, either. The Tigers outscored the Indians 17-9 going into the half.
Towns County couldn’t figure out Greene’s press, leading to points off turnovers. Junior forward Laryous Burt was also unstoppable down low, posting up and scoring a chunk of his points for the Tigers.
Trailing 36-23, the Indians’ halftime adjustments worked in the third quarter. Seniors Zane Floyd, Tanner Cunningham, Gage Rogers, and Connor Chastain started clicking together on the court.
The quartet figured out how to break Greene’s half-court traps and press while shutting down Miller and Burt. Their combined effort caused Towns County to end the third quarter on an 8-2 run.
Greene, which held a 58-50 lead entering the fourth, finally matched its opponent’s energy. But it wasn’t enough as the Indians had momentum and cut the lead to one point with 5:14 left in the game.
The final five minutes were back-and-forth, with the Tigers having a chance to win the game at the end. They trailed 78-77 with 4.9 seconds left but had to drive the length of the court to get a shot off.
The inbounds pass was to Miller, who sprinted up the court and floated up a prayer only to have it bounce off the rim; however, Burt got the rebound and sunk a putback jumper as the buzzer went off.
While the Tigers celebrated the shot, the play was called back due to a clock malfunction right as Miller let the ball go. The clock stopped at 2.8 seconds before starting back up again a few moments later.
“It unfortunate, but we should have never been in that kind of situation,” Wright added. “That’s on me.”
It’s unlikely Burt’s shot would have counted due to how long the play took place in real-time. Still, it was a heartbreaker for the Tigers, who went toe-to-toe with the No. 7 team in the state.
Floyd scored a team-high 20 points for Towns, with 12 coming in the final quarter of regulation.
Burt led the charge for Greene, posting a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Miller (16 points) and junior Ryder Eschbach (14 points) were the only other Tigers in double-figures in the loss.
Wright will use this game as a teaching lesson for himself and his players moving forward.
“The Towns loss was the hardest game to (swallow) because, as a coach when you’re up that much, you know they’re going to make adjustments at halftime and we will as well. And everything just lined up for us to not win that game, for whatever reason,” Wright said. “So, I’d rather lose that game now than later. When we see them again at their place on Feb. 6 or in the region tournament, we will have a better understanding of how to keep the lead.”
Greene bounced back with a 65-55 win over non-region opponent Crawford County a few days later.
The Tigers enter this week with Warren County at home on Friday and at Washington-Wilkes on Saturday. They have already beaten the Screaming Devils and Tigers of Wilkes County this season.