GREENE COUNTY
After narrowly defeating Trinity Prep 51-50 in Loganville this past Friday, Greene County topped Lake Oconee Academy easily, beating the Titans 59-44 in a rivalry game the following day.
After those two victories last week, the Tigers improved to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in region play.
“Trinity Prep, we watched their game film but ended up playing against a 6-foot-5 kid that just transferred in,” Greene County coach Mark Wright told the Lake Oconee News. “We handled it well.”
The Tigers led by four points with under 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and held on to win by one. They got lucky in the end after Trinity Prep’s Shane Harbey missed a shot to retake the lead.
“(Trinity Prep) knocked down a three to bring it within one, and then we turned it over on the other end, but we played good enough defensively when they had a chance to win it,” Wright added. “So, we’ve been resilient enough to hold on and close out games. Taking care of business the way we’re supposed to. That has led us to the record we have right now. I’m very, very proud.”
The one-point victory over Trinity Prep on Friday made Greene County 2-0 this season in one-possession games. A few weeks ago, the Tigers defeated non-region rival Hancock Central, 71-70.
Wright highlighted his guys came to play and bought into the game plan when playing Trinity.
“I’m very proud. They responded well,” Wright said. “Even in the pregame talk, the guys took it over and emulated me. On the dry-erase board, they went over everything and corrected each other when they made mistakes. I didn’t have to say a word. It’s fun to see those guys retaining the information and applying it out there. That was cool for me to see. They’re receiving the message.”
Saturday’s win over Lake Oconee Academy was a different story. Greene County came ready to play, especially after losing to the Titans last season for the first time in program history. The Tigers played well from the start, with multiple players scoring double-digits in the 15-point victory.
Laryous Burt, Ryder Eschbach, Steve Miller, and Jesse Broadus helped lead the team against LOA.
The Tigers’ defensive prowess also forced several turnovers and put a lot of pressure on the Titans’ point guards. They turned those LOA turnovers into easy points on the other end of the court.
“LOA is going to play us tough no matter what,” Wright said. “Coach (Josiah) Rechenbach has those guys disciplined and pushes them. I had to remind my guys, if we’re up, they’re not going to stop coming at us. He pushed his guys the whole 32 minutes. We had to play a complete game.”
The win put Greene County at 10 on the year. The last time the Tigers won that many was in 2017-18. They’re off to one of the best starts in recent memory in Wright’s second season at the helm.
Greene County is busy this week, with four games, including a pair of region matchups against Aquinas, Taliaferro County, and Lincoln County. The Tigers are in first place in the standings at a 5-0.
While Wright’s squad has had a lot of success, he doesn’t want his players to get complacent.
“As far as the schedule goes, we’ve got some tough ones coming up,” Wright said. “We have to be able to use our talents and tools to be able to overcome adversity. As the season goes further along, teams get better. So, the teams we played in November aren’t going to be the same in January. We’re going to hopefully do everything in our power to win those games and support each other.”