The Greene County basketball team won two of three last week after starting the season with four straight losses.
The Tigers have faced a challenging schedule to start the season, but have fared well despite some results.
Greene County (2-5) lost to Kell, Christian Heritage, Clarke Central, and Morgan County to begin the regular season. The Tigers then topped Warren County and Manchester before falling to Taylor County last week.
Greene County head coach Mark Wright believes his team learned from those four consecutive losses.
“We focus heavily on applying what we’ve learned during the first four games against a strong, competitive top-region team like Warren. I always tell my boys, we never lose. We either win or learn. So, those first four games served as learning experiences,” he said. “How did we improve? How did we learn to overcome adversity? How did we build chemistry? How did we learn to hold ourselves to a higher standard? By focusing on the games we want to excel in, we can achieve success. That was the goal, the standard, and the culture we aimed to establish during the first win of the season against Warren. And, honestly, it wasn’t easy.”
The Tigers defeated the Screaming Devils three times last season, with the final matchup being in the region championship game. Both ended up making it to the Final Four round of Class A Division II state playoffs.
Wright said that the team’s most recent win over Warren County “catapulted” it into the next two games.
“Warren’s a tough team, and they’ve been a tough team since I’ve been in this region, and they’ve proven themselves time and time again,” Greene County’s head coach said. “Coach (Uriah) Myrick, he’s tough to go against, whether we play here or play there. We talk all the time. We understand the level of competitiveness that’s involved. It’s kind of like Alabama-Auburn. It doesn’t matter what the record is. It’s going to be a dogfight. We were able to catapult that game into the next game and did well, but it was a struggle.”
The Tigers knocked off the Screaming Devils 68-63, then narrowly defeated Manchester 69-63 in overtime.
Unfortunately, Greene County lost to Taylor County 77-75 in another overtime game the following day.
Wright was excited that the Tigers played those three opponents because they could see any of them in the playoffs.
“The reason why the schedule is so tough is that I wanted to make sure my guys are battle-tested for region and state. We can’t be battle-tested for region and state playing a soft schedule,” Wright said. “We’ve got to play a tough schedule to make sure we’re ready. I’m not worried about our wins and losses so much. I’m more concerned about whether we got better. Did we stack good days? Did we compete? Did we work hard enough to compete for the region and ultimately a state championship? And that’s why I put together the schedule.”
Wright said he and the staff are still piecing together the roster and determining the best lineups. He mentioned that players such as Braylen Hurt, Gavin Brown, Ethan Wright, and Kayden Drake are coming along.
“I am dealing with 13 to 15 different puzzle pieces right now, and I’m trying to put them together in the dark with my eyes closed,” Wright acknowledged. “So, when I turn the lights on and open my eyes at the end of the season, hopefully, thankfully, and respectfully, we have a state championship, and my puzzle is complete.”